December 30, 2009

This may be the last blog of 2009.....hard to believe.

We spent Christmas in Florida this year. We flew out of Atlanta at 11:00am on Christmas Eve morning and got into Sarasota around 4pm (lotta travel in between). Jay's brother Chad and Chad's girlfriend Stephanie picked us up in Tampa and we went to Walmart to get some necessities and then to Chad's house to pick up his (ginormous) dog, Rudy. Then we went on to his parents' house where we all spent the night. We had our Christmas gift exchange and dinner that night.

On Christmas morning we went to Jay's grandparents' house for Christmas lunch and a white elephant gift exchange. We stayed there for the remainder of the day.

The next day, the guys all went fishing while we gals went to the beach. We walked for about an hour and had a good time just talking. That night we went to a Winter Wonderland at Lowry Zoo....turns out it was more for kids than adults but we still had a good time.

On Sunday we went back to his grandparents' for a brunch before some family had to leave for home. Jay and I went with Chad & Stephanie to two different beaches to look for shark teeth that afternoon - we found a small handful. It was amazing how different the beaches look - one of the beaches we went to was covered (literally COVERED) in seashells. It was like walking on glass, but we did find some good shells to bring back.

On Sunday night we went to a gathering at Jay's friend's house. A lot of his old Florida friends were there, like a hangout they used to do in high school and after. I have to say I didn't like it at all, but I'm glad Jay had a good time.

We left for home on Monday morning and finally walked in our door around 7pm. I am convinced there is NO place like home. :)

December 20, 2009

Wow, so lots has gone on since my last blog post. I always swear to myself I'm going to be better about posting and then I get super busy and.....well, I don't. Hopefully soon there will be more to blog about. We shall see. :)

A couple weeks ago we decided to give (gift/shove/beg to take/etc) Collin to my parents. A third Jack in this house was just wreaking havoc on our house physically. He tore up stuff and ruined the living room carpet and never seemed to understand the concept of housetraining, along with a million other things. It was just too much to handle. Baylee and Gavin did enjoy playing with him for the most part, but even they had their moments when they were just sick of him but couldn't get away from him. So my parents agreed to take him. Dad has loved Collin from the first day and they are a great match. He's been there for a couple weeks now and it seems to be going well. I miss him but it is definitely a much quieter household now.

We are leaving for Florida next Thursday morning and cant wait! We're flying out of Atlanta around 11am and will be coming back on Monday afternoon. We'll be spending five days with Jay's family. Even all of his out-of-state family from his dad's side will be coming to Sarasota so we can all be together.

It's so nice to have a break from the regular routine of work. I love my job but it's always nice to have a break. I'll be working in my kiddo's house from 9-1 next Mon, Tues, and Wed, and then again the week after when we get back. We go back to school on the 4th. I really love shadowing and I would love to be able to stay with this kiddo for a long time.

We do have more news to share.....something we've been talking about for a long time......it's baby time for the Miller household. :) Nothing official yet, but we hope to have an announcement soon, or within the next couple of months. You'll be among the first to know. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Merry Christmas from the Miller clan!!

October 25, 2009

I snitched this from someone else's blog b/c it looked fun.

A - Age: 27
B - Bed size: king
C - Chore you hate: cleaning out microwave or fridge
D - Dog's name: which one? Baylee, Gavin, Collin, Bella, Henry, Mac, & Stinky
E - Essential start your day item: 90s country on the tv
F - Favorite color: blue
G - Gold or Silver: silver
H - Height: 5'6"
I - I am: hoping to sleep well tonight which is unlikely since i slept until 2pm this afternoon. not smart.
J - Job: behavioral therapist
K - Kids: very soon :)
L - Living arrangements: with my hubby and pups
M - Mom's name: Linda
N - Nicknames: Ducky (its a new one but i like it), Babe/Baby, G, Giner, all depends on who's speaking to me
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none
P - Pet Peeve: being interrupted
Q - Quote from a movie: "Be careful - it's dumb out there!"
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: 2 brothers who are wonderful, 2 half-sisters who dont give a crap
T - Time you wake up: 630 on work days
Underwear: present
V - Vegetable you dislike: i like almost any raw veggie
W - Ways you run late: it's called "husband"
X - X-rays you've had: chest/lungs (far too many times), knee....think thats all
Y - Yummy food you make: tonight i made pork chops & rice w/ sour cream sauce
Z - Zoo favorite: zebras

October 13, 2009

Been awhile! Lots of stuff has gone on since my last post. We got a new puppy - Collin. He is another Jack Russell, which brings our household list to 3 Jacks. I dont think I'd ever have another kind of dog - once you go Jack, you never go back. Here is a picture of our "little dude."


We celebrated our first anniversary on October 4th! This year seems to have just flown by - guess that's what happens when you're an adult - seems like all we do is work and work and work and pay bills.

We went to the beach this last weekend for our anniversary. It was a comedy of errors from the time we got there to the time we left, but we had a great time. We had to reschedule our reservation from the weekend of the 4th to the weekend of the 11th. We drove the four hours to the resort we picked, only to find out that hotels.com had never transferred our confirmation and they were totally booked for the whole weekend. So I spent an HOUR on the phone with a hotels.com CSR until he agreed to fix the problem. He was quite content in saying it was not his fault and that the hotel was going to have to pick up the tab to rebook us somewhere else. I still do not know who ended up footing the bill for it (wasn't us!) but he got us booked into a resort on N. Myrtle that ended up being the most amazing place we've ever stayed. We had a heck of a time finding it and had already lost about four hours of our day waiting on the issue to get fixed. We got checked in and got a few freebies for our troubles and were offered the chance at free aquarium tickets and a free dinner at Bonefish Grille if we were willing to take a (short) tour of the Wyndham Hotels the next morning........yes, a timeshare presentation. It sounded great to us at first b/c of all the freebie stuff they were willing to give us, but by the end of the presentation, we were both so annoyed at having been there for FOUR hours that we just didnt care anymore. We said no about thirty times before they finally gave up and just gave us our free tickets. I will never do that again = it was great that it saved us about $90 in entertainment/food, but we really only had one full day at the beach and we spent half of it being pressured to buy a $60,000 timeshare. Blah blah blah.

We did have a great weekend though and hopefully we can afford to do this every year for our anniversary. My parents kept the dogs (thanks again, ya'll!), which is a job in and of itself. Collin is SO bad.....

I'm still fighting some bronchial crap....I went to the dr last Wednesday and he kept assuring me I had allergies and should take some Zyrtec. Yeah right. I kept telling him I had bronchitis and I knew what that felt like, but you know how drs are - they always know how you feel better than you do. So he gave me a 6-day pack of Prednisone and I finished it up Monday and still felt like crap. The cough is a hundred times worse today and I was getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen at times. My chest feels like someone is sitting on it and I cant talk w/o feeling the pressure. I left work at 11 this morning to go back to the dr -- saw another dr and she said I have the beginnings of pneumonia. So I got loaded up on strong antibiotics, another round of prednisone, and an inhaler. Ahhhh, sweet relief is in sight.....I hope.

As I'm writing this, Collin is sitting in my lap, sleeping. If you've ever met Collin, you'll know this is an extremely rare occurrence. He NEVER stops moving.....or biting.....we're working on that.

Jay got two deer in the last week!! Both does and we're looking forward to fresh deer meat. I cant wait to grill those backstraps.....yummmm!!

August 15, 2009

Taking a break from cleaning....sitting down to blog.....I know how much you all miss it. Right? Who reads this? Nobody.

We finally got our new schedules at work. They start on Monday, and at 5:30 yesterday the supervisors were STILL working on finishing them. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh? Anyway, I have a great fall schedule! I have two clients - both of whom I've had for the last few months and am very familiar with, so that's a plus. I will be one's school shadow from 8:15-3:15 every day, and the other at home from 3:15-6:15. I'm not sure the days on that one yet, as they are having to lessen my hours. I was slated for 43 hours and they can't pay for over 40 hours. So I assume I'll have the home client 3 days a week and have 2 afternoons off. Yay! I'm very happy with this schedule. I was nervous about it, b/c you never know who you're going to get or how many hours you're going to get, etc. I'm looking forward to the next few months!

I can hardly believe it's almost fall. I'm definitely ready for fall weather. Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate to be hot. This summer hasnt been too horrible for heat but there have definitely been a few days where I wished for winter. I love fall and am really looking forward to it getting dark again earlier (anti-daylight savings? whaddya call that?) I have such great memories of coming home from school with the family and it getting dark around 6:00pm.....Mom would make a breakfast supper and the whole house just seemed.....cozy. I'm always glad to see it get dark early again....then I know Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming soon.

August 2, 2009

There have been so many nights I've sat down, fully intending to blog, and then I get sidetracked (imagine that) and end up doing something else.

Let's see....where to start....work has been going okay - I'm eager to switch to the fall schedule and get OFF one particular team. The child is just too much for me to handle most days and he's so unpredictable and a physical danger to all therapists. I've already been kicked in the face twice this summer just trying to get him to stand up when he falls to the floor in total noncompliance. I did sneak a peek at the fall schedule in the conference room, and if all stays the same I will have a wonderful few months. I'm keeping 2 of my current kids and gaining the one I've been really wanting to work with. I know not to hold my breath though b/c things constantly change.

All pets are doing well - we had a big scare with Henry a couple weeks ago and he spent an afternoon at the vet getting a lot of antibiotic injections and a bag of IV fluids, only to find out I was right in my prediction - he had a bad stomach virus. The vet techs led us to believe he had parvo and we wanted to be safe rather than sorry later, so we took him. I dont regret it b/c he's currently here and happy and I wouldn't trade that for the money we had to spend at the vet. It was worth it to have him healthy. :)

I put him some hilarious videos on Facebook of Lynyrd stalking his goldfish and later eating them - not for the squeamish, but still a good chuckle. =)

I'm looking forward to a visit from Jay's parents and brother (and maybe brother's female friend) in a few weeks - I always enjoy their visits and the change from the normal day-to-day life.

All the things I had in my mind to blog....I forgot. Oh well.

July 8, 2009

I woke up the WORST mood this morning. It was one of those mornings where every little thing seemed to go wrong and when it did, it just pissed me off more than I already was. And they were little things - not big deals, but.......the end story is, sometimes it really SUCKS to have a uterus. Girls? =)

The day did get progressively better. My morning home-session went quickly and w/o much ado. I grabbed a quick lunch on my way to the center for my afternoon session. It went well and the "hallelujah" moment came when I put the kiddo in the car and his mom said, "I guess you know this is his last week."

Really? I acted like it was news to me. =)

My late afternoon session went well - this is definitely one of my most favorite clients b/c she is so easy to work with. Throughout her entire session, her brother (and four friends) were continuously skateboarding and rollerblading through the entire (4-level) house - including up and down the stairs. It was incredibly annoying and distracting, and the dad just sat on the couch acting like his son and friends were not recreating a circus act all throughout the house. I had to end her session early b/c she was so distracted.....as was I. I love this family but these are the most laid-back parents I've ever seen, and though their kids obey pretty well, it's ridiculous to allow that kind of behavior in the house. Just my opinion.

Tonight I made chicken cordon bleu and wild-rice pilaf for dinner. We just finished eating and are sprawled on the couch watching NCIS before Jay has to go to work at midnight. Some nights I really hate this night shift deal. =(

July 7, 2009

So I'm going to cheat a little and write this one the morning after, and put the date as the actual day I'm writing about. Shh.....no one has to know......

Today was a long one. Got up at 7:15 and was out the door by 7:45; had to be at work at 8:30. My morning client is one of the most incredible kids I've ever known. He is SO smart, yet not very verbal, but has talents a lot of people can only dream about. Give him a tube of Playdough -- the kid can build Pixar.

PIXAR.

Look it up sometime on a Disney movie - the 3D letters, the little lamp used for the "i" - he does it to a TEE. I'll see if I can find a picture I took and post it on here later. He can also a replica of the Disney castle, complete with the scrolly letters "Walt Disney." I swear you'd think you were looking at the tv screen when he's done with it. And how long does it take him to do this, you ask?

About 2 minutes. Amazing.

Anyway, my morning session ended at 11:30 and I went to a quick lunch with Kendra. She's about the only person there I know I have total confidentiality with, and we always have a great time hanging out.

My afternoon session went okay - not as well as it usually does. This one is usually great for me but he was in a funk and very noncompliant all afternoon. Not sure what that was all about.

Tonight, we gave Sammy away to his new home. I was reminded of what a small world it really can be -- I advertised some info about him on Craigslist (dont slam me though, we were being extremely choosy w/ who we were going to let take him) and I got about seven emails about him over the next couple of days. The one we picked out sounded perfect for him - small family looking for a laid-back puppy for their daugher, etc. I emailed back and forth with the dad for a couple days, giving him info about Sammy and asking for their vet references, etc. Well, the mother emailed me this morning to let me know what name their references were under at their local vets office ---- turns out I knew her! Our dads worked together at Hollingsworth for over 20 years, and we used to hang out a bit as kids. Such a small world. Needless to say, I felt a lot better about giving him up then; she had just as many pets as I did growing up and I know he is in a great home now.

They got here around 7:00 and the little girl played with Sammy for a few minutes and then announced she wanted to go see all the other doggies before she "picked." I told her there weren't any other doggies "available" and that this one was the one she could have. She had to think about it for a minute, then said okay, that she loved this doggie. lol

I hope he'll be really happy and I hope they'll take great care of him. I miss him already, but Jay says he does NOT miss the constant barking and the mess he always made. At least Henry can now sleep in peace and not have to share his kennel anymore. =)

July 6, 2009

Okay, so I lied - I do feel like blogging before the weekend is here. =)

It's been a busy day, although short. I got up at 7 and made breakfast for us both and was in the midst of getting dressed when my phone rang - my morning client canceling. Sigh. Don't these parents know that we don't get paid when they cancel? This was one of my easiest clients, too, but oh well. I replied to some emails and lurked on Facebook (shocking, yes, I know) until 11ish, then headed to the center for my early afternoon client.

The majority of that session went well, and I got the news that this may be his last week. (Really?!) As long as I can get make-up hours, I'm cool with that. He's been in transition for a move to NC for several weeks and I knew it was coming but I didn't think it was going to be this soon. He did have one rough aggression issue this afternoon where he pulled out a small handful of hair (mine, not his - OUCH), pulled my earring out (not through my ear, just out...big sigh of relief) and bit me twice. Just another day in the life of this kiddo. Gotta love it.

My late afternoon session went fine. This one almost always does. There are pros and cons to having older clients, and more high-functioning clients. This one is so compliant and fun to work with. I always look forward to her sessions.

I ran by Bloom to pick up some steak to grill for dinner tonight, and we had corn and a pasta side dish with it. I made blackberry cobbler for dessert, but we havent eaten it yet. Jay soon fell asleep on the couch (and is still there) while I ran out to get Lynyrd some more goldfish. He ate his last one yesterday morning and has been showing signs that he's hungry. I know you people laugh at me for having a pet bass and probably even more so that I know his "hungry" signs, but if you were around him, you would see that I'm not joking. When he's hungry, he follows me whenever I walk into the kitchen. He swims the length of his tank every time I walk by and he thrashes around if I stop anywhere near him. I offered him a worm but he stauntly refused, so I ran out to Petsmart (down the road) to get him some more goldfish. I got 12 and as soon as I dumped them in, he promptly ate 4. He's definitely growing a lot and I can't wait to see how big he gets.

Now I'm laying in bed and watching "Intervention." I LOVE that show, and "Obsessed" that comes on after it. I watch far too much television. We'll see if I can get back into the habit of blogging daily.....I dont even know if anyone reads this other than my mom. How about a quick comment post if you read this??? =)

July 5, 2009

Two blogs in a row--- how about that? =)

Today was pretty uneventful but nice. I got up at 630 and made bacon, eggs, & toast for Jay as he came home from work. We ate breakfast together and went to bed. I slept soooooooo good for the longest time - I dont know why I'm so tired some days. I made myself get up at 1:30 (just in time for the game, of course) and cracked out the painting supplies. I've been telling myself I needed to get it finished this weekend. I was able to paint the top part of the laundry area and behind the washer/dryer and the whole top wall above Lynyrd's tank. The only way to finish that is to drain most his water out and move the tank to get behind it. He's going to hate that and so am I - it took a long time to fill that tank and it's going to be a tedious process to take the water out and back in again, but I need to get the kitchen finished so I can put the paint in the garage and be done with it. Hopefully by next weekend it will be compete. The Braves lost, by the way. Shocking, I know.

I got Jay up at 4:30 and off to work at 5:00, and then I went to work cleaning out the closets in the guest rooms. I moved the guest room bed to a different position and reorganized things to fit in the one closet. I moved a lot of the fishing/hunting equipment to the garage, where it was supposed to have been taken months ago. [ :) ]

Next step is to get the carpet replaced in both guest rooms, or at least in the pink room. The carpet in there is so stained with muddy footprints that it's not even cleanable anymore, and for what we plan to use that room for in the future, it needs to be replaced. That'll be whenever we have some extra money to put into it.

It's gonna be a long week....lotta hours this week, so I probably wont have time or feel like blogging until the weekend. Hope you all have a great week!

July 4, 2009

I'm sitting here tonight with Baylee in my lap - trying to BE my lap. She is terrified of the fireworks going on all around our neighborhood and I feel so bad for her - she's crying and shaking and I can't move without her moving with me. Poor babe.

Last night we went to my parents' for a family cookout. I had been really looking forward to finally meeting Joe's girlfriend. =) We all had a great time and I took a few pictures, not as many as I had wanted to, but.....I did get a few and just posted them on Facebook.

I'm enjoying my weekend and got a lot of deep-cleaning done this afternoon and tonight. I rearranged the two dressers in our bedroom, since I cant even begin to move this gigantic king-size bed, and rearranged all the drawers to try to make it more organized. I love rearranging furniture, as my mom will attest. When I still lived at home, I rearranged my bedroom at least once a month, if not more often. I love the "new" feeling it brings and how clean the room is when all the corners and crevices have been cleaned. Tonight I vacuumed all the carpet edges throughout the whole house and I didnt realize how great this vacuum was - those edges look almost new!

This week is going to be a busy one - I'll have about 39 hours put in. I know to a lot of you, that doesnt sound like a lot, but with this job, 30 hours a week is considered full-time b/c of the stress of the job. I do love it, though. For the most part, the clients I currently have are good. Four of my six are wonderful. One is difficult b/c he is so severe, and the other is difficult b/c he's just a brat, quite frankly, and has absolutely no discipline or limits at home. We will be changing schedules again at the beginning of September, so not much longer.

And for the record, please stop asking us when we are going to reproduce/get knocked up/procreate/have children/multiply/whatever way you want to word it (these are just some of the various ways ppl have been asking us this question lately). I debated on whether or not to even post this here, b/c I know in the past ppl have been offended by my opinions of things, but.....this IS my blog and I'm free to write whatever I want. =) But anyway, the decision of when to have children is a really personal one, and it's nobody else's business but ours. You don't know what private reasons we have for waiting and I hate feeling like I have to explain our reasons to other people when really, its not their business. So, please, don't ask anymore. When it happens, we'll tell you. Promise. =)

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Summer is almost halfway over.

June 29, 2009

It's been a hectic week - I met my Tues/Thurs morning client last week, for the first time. It took about five minutes for me to feel totally overwhelmed. He's unlike any autistic child I've ever worked with and I was at a loss as to what to do with him. I spent the majority of the session looking over his notebook and familiarizing myself with his programs, all the while trying to keep him from darting out of the room and disappearing. He's nonverbal for the most part and has a scream that could shatter glass when he doesnt get his way. We had a team meeting for him and I do feel better about future sessions, but he's going to be a tough one. He is, however, incredibly talented with play-doh and art supplies. He built things that amazed me - it would have been difficult for an adult to make these things, much less an 8-year-old autistic child. I have my first "real" session with him tomorrow morning and I'm going to attempt to begin his programs and am a little anxious about how it's going to go. Sometimes 3 hour sessions are just too much to be with one specific client, other times, it seems to fly by. My Tuesday afternoon child is precious - I've been with him for several months already and they kept me on his team when we changed schedules, as he and I have a strong bond already. He's very much verbal, as any of you who have met him will attest to. Verbal, and hilarious.

I got a phone call from a......friend/acquaintance/I'm-not-really-sure-what-we-are-anymore.....this morning on my way to work. She was "let go" from her job this morning, with no advance notice or pay - just "we no longer employ your position, goodbye" type of scenario. I haven't seen or really spoken to this person since my wedding and really am unsure where we stand. We were best friends for fifteen years and once we graduated, everything seemed to just ebb away - we got busy with separate lives and you know how that story goes. Anyway, she was interested in seeing if my workplace was hiring and I got her an application, as we are almost always hiring new therapists. I do not know that this type would be her cup of tea, however, but I'm more than happy to do what I can for her. I wish we could have the type of friendship we used to have, but we have grown apart in a lot of ways and no longer have the same values or morals that we were both raised to have. I disagree with a lot of decisions/choices she makes and I do not mind saying so when she asks, and that almost always causes a rift. I try to be conscientous of her feelings, but at the same time, I'm not going to lie. It makes me so sad to hear of some of the past choices she's made.

I took Baylee with me tonight to Petsmart to get some more goldfish for Lynyrd. He ate his last two this morning and has been thrashing around all evening.....usually an indicator that he's hungry. I tried a worm but he clearly did not want it. We graduated him from the feeder goldfish and have been getting him medium-size goldfish instead - he eats about 2 a day now. It's hilarious to watch him stalk them - he gets so antsy when I put their bag in the water to let them acclimate to the temperature, and he attacks the bag so many times its usually punctured and I have to let them out early. Then he starts this cat/mouse game - he lays still on one side of the tank and waits for one to venture his way, then he chases them back to the other side. He likes bullying them more than eating them most of the time. He could easily catch one but instead he nips its tail and swims away. Such a jerk fish, lol.

I'm really looking forward to our family cookout this Friday evening - for several reasons. I think I'm going to make blackberry cobbler and chip dip and anything else that's needed (Mom?). Three days away!

Random things I love.....

This one's been a long-time coming - I've been compiling it for weeks!! I'll add on as I think of more (my ADD brain is always circling, lol)

1-down comforters
2-fans on high when i'm sleeping
3-daisies
4-air conditioning
5-fresh cut grass (the look, not the smell)
6-dryer sheets
7-sound machines
8-Olive Garden's angelhair pasta w/ alfredo sauce
9-rain falling hard on the roof
10-having a dog curled up beside me in the bed
11-favorite tv shows
12-having a dayplanner (not always using it but HAVING it)
13-puppies & kittens (shocking, I know)
14-parrots
15-being married
16-90s country (when it was still country, not the pop junk they're turning into)
17-family dinners/get-togethers
18-fall (the season, not falling....though I do that often)
19-hugs (not from weirdos, mind you, just friends/family)
20-Jay's laughter
21-cold milk when i'm really thirsty
22-a breakthrough with an autistic child (those of you who work with them will understand that)
23-favorite songs when i'm in a bad mood
24-the smell of Jay's cologne on Sunday mornings
25-loud music when i've had a bad day
26-the beach
27-grocery shopping (not sure why i enjoy it, but i do)
28-going out to eat
29-the smell of fresh laundry
30-extra sharp cheddar cheese
31-bagpipe music (hence my bridal processional)
32-the smell of fresh air when the windows are open on a spring/fall day
33-sleeping late
34-long naps
35-margaritas at Texas Roadhouse
36-the stand-up tanning bed
37-getting my nails done, though i never do it
38-going deer-hunting with Jay, even though I'm never quiet enough lol
39-bass-fishing
40-Pete's french fries
41-bare feet

More to come later, I'm sure!

June 17, 2009

I am REALLY slacking with blogging lately! Things have just been so busy and hectic......I know I always say that, but it's true. We finally started the summer schedule at work and it's been quite confusing for me. Last week, half of my regular sessions were canceled b/c the kiddo(s) was/were out of town. I did a few substitute sessions at the center to make up for it. This week, one kiddo is still out of town and I'm making up his session with another client of mine at her home. I will be glad to get into a "final" schedule next week with all of my clients. For the most part, it's gone really well - the one client I was worried about is definitely going to make me earn my salary. There are just so many things that I as a parent would refuse to put up with, and it never ceases to amaze me what some parents choose to ignore.

I'm loving all these thunderstorms we've been having lately - thunder is so relaxing to me......don't ask me why. I would enjoy it more if Gavin weren't so upset during them - I may have permanent scars from where he's tried to literally climb me during these last few episodes.

For those of you who have Facebook, you probably already know that we recently got a new aquarium for Lynyrd. We had been keeping him in a 10-gallon tank on top of our microwave (baked fish, anyone?) for the last few months but, with all the worms he'd been eating lately (6-8 daily), he quickly outgrew it. I found a listing on Craigslist for a 55-gallon aquarium w/ stand and accessories for decent price and was able to talk the owner to about half her asking price. We picked it up that afternoon and set it up for him - it took us about 45 minutes to get it filled and another 45 minutes (uh-huh) to wrangle Lynyrd from the little tank and put him in the new one. He swam off immediately and I'm sure he thought he was in heaven - he has really gotten to swim freely in months and now he has all the room he needs. I couldn't figure out how to give him worms b/c, even though he still shows excitement when I hold up the worm container, he fails to see them falling for him to catch and then he just gets irritated and swims off.......so I bought a bunch of feeder goldfish and minnows at Petsmart for him. I attempted to let the bags float in the water to acclimate them to the temperature but Lynyrd attached the goldfish bag and popped it (ha!) so I dumped all the fish in. He went NUTS!!!!! That was yesterday evening and he is still in "hunting" mode. He's eaten about half of them and I think he's just bullying the rest.

How many ppl do you know that can spend ten minutes writing about a fish? Lol

We're looking for a good home for Sammy, if anyone knows of one. Preferably one where he can be indoor/outdoor and not just outside all the time. He does need to be housetrained but he's a great puppy. After the training session Monday, Jay has decided to rehome him - he just doesnt have any hunt in him and it's not fair to keep him as a pet, b/c he'll just spend all his time in the kennel outside. We certainly have enough indoor dogs as it is, so he can't come in. So if you know anyone interested in a beagle puppy, let me know. He's 8 months old and up-to-date on all shots & wormings.

Gotta go finish cooking dinner. =)

May 24, 2009

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and I have the whole day off - PAID!!!! Hooray for an awesome job! Actually, I will only be working 3 days this week. I took Friday off for our upcoming trip, and also the following Monday. We're leaving about 7am Friday morning, as soon as Jay gets home from work and showers, to make the 9-10 hr drive to PA. Two of his cousins are graduating from high school and this is also a great time to visit the whole family while we're there. We'll be staying at his grandparents' house until we leave on Sunday night, then we'll drive through the night to get home and sleep on Monday. Jay has to work Monday night, and if we get back in time for enough sleep, I may do my late afternoon session, just for the money.

There are two more weeks until we change schedules, and like I mentioned before, schedules are always subject to change and mine has been changed - not drastically, but I did get more hours added to my already-busy schedule. I will still have the same 3 kids I have now and have gotten 3 more added in. Though instead of having 2 of those kids every single day, I'll now have these 6 kids 2 days a week. Here is my new (and hopefully final!) schedule for June-August:

Mon: ZC (900-1130) at the center, lunchbunch (or what we affectionately call "stimcess") (1130-1215), AP (1215-315) at the center

Tue: RM (830-1130) at the center, NB (1215-315) at the center, GP (400-545) at home

Wed: GP (830-1130) at home, AP (1215-315) at the center, AG (330-530) at home

Thur: RM (830-1130) at the center, GP (1215-315) at home, AG (330-530) at home

Fri: ZC (900-1130) at the center, lunchbunch (1130-1215), NB (1215-315) at the center

Whew. Just writing it makes me tired, lol. It will be great for the money, though! We've been working on our budget and, though it always looks best on paper, we hope to have all our bills paid off by this time next year. Hopefully, lol.....things always seem to come up.

I'm sitting here writing this, listening to the rain POURING outside and still wondering how in the world my plants always die........they get plenty of sun and water and they seem to hate me b/c they never last.

So everyone pretty much knows I was really ticked off at the Idol finale......Kris was a decent singer but it was obvious (whether you liked Adam or not) that he did not have the talent Adam had. I had a feeling it was going to be another upset like the year of Daughtry, and I feel like Idol tried to raise its ratings by promoting and promoting and promoting Adam constantly and then turning the tables with the win. I know America supposedly has the final say but sometimes I really wonder if they do....it seemed like every week the number of votes went up drastically and there was always something "new" that Ryan had to say. Hmm.....

I have fallen in love with the show "Intervention." It is amazing how screwed up ppl can make their lives simply by taking that pill or having that drink....it gets so out of hand so quickly. And I have yet to see an episode where someone does not go to treatment.....wonder if they're in cahoots with Idol......

Tonight I am so frustrated with these dogs - they have been barking at every tiny little thing and it is really making me mad. They dont listen to any "shh" or spanks or anything - they just bark and run. There is no way a baby will ever sleep in this house at this rate. I would hate to make them outdoor dogs - they have never spent a night outdoors in their entire lives but if they keep this up I dont know what choice we will have.

What will you be doing for Memorial Day? Does anyone even read this blog anymore?

May 13, 2009

Lately I am SO unmotivated to blog. (Had you noticed?) I just dont have nearly as much to say (ie: complain about) now that I have this awesome job. I come home happy (most days) and just dont feel the need to get online and pour out my feelings about how miserable I am.

Speaking of jobs, I was finally about to find out my new schedule this week. Every 3-4 months the schedules change and we all get new kids, to keep both kids & therapists from getting burned out. I am actually still keeping 2 of my 3 kids and gaining 3 more, all only 2x-3x a week. I like that a lot better than having the same kids every single day - that does get a little monotonous at times. Here is my new schedule:

Monday: Z. (8:30-11:30) at the center, A. (12:15-3:15) at the center
Tuesday: R. (8:30-11:30) at the center, N. (12:00-3:00) at the center, G. (3:45-5:00) at home
Wednesday: G. (8:30-11:30) at home, A. (12:15-3:15) at the center
Thursday: R. (8:30-11:30) at the center, G. (12:15-3:15) at home
Friday: Z. (8:30-11:30) at the center, N. (12:00-3:00) at the center

It looks super busy but it actually flows really well. I'm very happy that most of my time is at the center - I dont like home visits that much and the child I have at home right now is pretty easy, so I'm hoping the one I have this summer is, as well. I was very concerned that I may have to have one of my current children at his home and the parent situation there is not a good one, but after speaking to my supervisor at length about it, I was happy to find that I will only have this child at the center - where there are always witnesses, lol.

Jay is doing MUCH MUCH MUCH better after starting this new medicine. He is definitely back. :) He is feeling so much better, physically and otherwise, and is starting to really get back to his old self. I am so encouraged. =)

We're hoping to go to PA at the end of the month for two of Jay's cousins' graduations. It will be a whirlwind trip - leaving Friday morning as soon as Jay gets home from work and returning Sunday night..........remind me to bring my cd pack for the many hours I will be driving while he sleeps. I'm looking forward to seeing his extended family again. I'm also excited to be off on a Friday afternoon from work......some of you will understand why. :)

I'm kinda happy, kinda sad that American Idol is almost done. I'm REALLY hoping Adam wins it (Grace - no comments here! lol) and I'm eager to see who gets the boot tonight. I cant wait for Big Brother to come back.....love that show.

I'm grilling chicken as we speak so I better sign off here to go check on it. It will be delicious with corn casserole and steamed green beans. Yum!

April 30, 2009

Obviously I'm getting into the habit of blogging once a month. :)

The last few weeks have been the same as usual. Just as I start to really get into a routine with my kiddos at work, the schedule is about to change. I was under the impression we changed kids every 6 months, but now it's going to be every 3 months. In one way, it's a good thing, b/c one can get really burnt out if you have a difficult kid...or lead. I won't go into details but I am pretty happy to have a change. My kids now are pretty easy and I've bonded with both and enjoy them both, but for some other reasons it will be good for me to change. We won't find out our new schedule/kids for another couple of weeks, at least, but we are supposed to start the new rotation on June 1st. I still LOVE the job - I look forward to going (most) every day and usually have a pretty good day. I've made some great friends there!

Jay is still looking for a day-shift job, but not much out there right now that's calling his name. He's going back to the dr this Wednesday to talk about some other options, b/c he's not feeling any better. He's been taking Synthroid for his hypothyroidism and, while it's working for that, it's causing a lot of other issues that need to be addressed. So pray for him please - we REALLY need to get it all fixed so he can feel better and be back to his old self again.

He does have this weekend off and we're looking forward to just relaxing at home together. :)

April 18, 2008

Yes, yes, I'm still on the earth. I know I can no longer chide my friends for not posting regularly...... :( lol

I get so BUSY in the evenings and I just don't think to post or feel like it when I do think about it. Since I dont have the computer regularly with me at work so I dont think about blogging until I get home and start reading other ppls' blogs.

The last few weeks have been great! I fall more in love with this job every day. I have my moments where certain ppl/situations REALLY frustrate me, but for the whole, I've made a few great friends and there are others I will have to learn to tolerate. The kids are fantastic and I look forward to going to work every morning.

Jay's job really frustrates him lately - not the job itself, but the night shift. He's really been looking for a day-shift job but there's not much out there he wants to do. So if you know of anything (ANYthing) please let us know.

March 29, 2009

Gosh, it really has been awhile......I check this blog almost every day for other ppl's updates, but I never feel like just starting to write my own. Maybe I wrote all my nanny-blogs during time of depression and boredom, lol.

I now have 32 hours at work - it's exactly what I was wanting to get, between 30-35. My schedule is now:
Monday: 9:00-11:30, 12:00-3:00, 3:30-5:30
Tuesday: 9:00-11:30, 11:30-12:00, 12:00-3:00, 3:30-5:30
Wednesday: 9:00-11:30, 12:00-3:00
Thursday: 11:30-12:00, 12:00-3:00, 3:30-5:30
Friday: 9:00-11:30, 12:00-3:00

(for those of you trying to keep up, lol)

I am loving this job! Some days have their challenges but I dont ever not look forward to going. This week has been busy but it went by really quickly. The weekend has been great - we went to Stax for breakfast yesterday and came home and did nothing - just laid on the couch and watched tv and talked. It was so nice to relax. After Jay left for work last night, I cleaned the house down to the smallest detail........it always makes me feel so happy to have a clean house....b/c it will usually only be a matter of minutes before Stinky tracks in perfectly-formed red mud pawprints on the carpets and sling his slobber everywhere when he shakes his head and ruin all my hard work.

This morning I got up at 630 and made bacon, eggs, and toast for Jay for breakfast and then went back to bed and slept until 2pm. Twelve hours of sleep.....I havent had that since the summer after high school, lol. I had to get up though, so I could get dinner started and be able to wake up Jay at 430 for work.

For now, I'm watching American Idol reruns and smelling the meatloaf I put in the oven a half-hour ago......hope it's done soon.

March 15, 2008

Boy, I feel like when I do blog, it's been weeks since the last one, but it's only been a week. My days are busy and I'm tired (in a good way) when I get home, and I dont really think about blogging that much. Before I just did it b/c I was so bored and there was nothing else to do.

On Thursday morning, Jay and I went fishing with my cousin at a pond/lake near his house, since I dont have to be at work until 11:30 on Thursdays. I caught two bass!! Remarkable for me, since I usually catch squat when we go fishing. I was so excited! I wheedled Jay into letting me keep one and we put it in the fish tank at home. So far he's doing well, though he did eat my goldfish after a couple days. I know that seems obvious, but he ignored them for so long I thought he probably just wasn't interested......wrong. The food count total for Leonard (yes, Leonard) is as follows: 2 goldfish, 1 cricket, 3 worms and half a minnow that he apparantly regurgitated during the stress of being put into a tank. Nice.

I was really thinking a lot this week about how God has worked in my life with this job situation. It was truly an answer to prayer to quit a job I hated and not having anything to back it up, and the next week being offered my dream job. The timing was perfect, as God's timing always is. I was also thinking about how many things there are to appreciate about this job that just were not there in the nanny job. The RP is happy there and I'm so glad for her - I hope it always stays that way.

Things I do not miss about the nanny job:
- the ability to call in if I'm sick and not get the 3rd degree
- being off ON TIME, every time
- knowing exactly what my paycheck will be by the hours I worked (at the nanny job, on the rare occasions they let me off even an hour early, it was taken out of my check....yeah)
- I enjoy going in to work every day b/c I know what I'm doing is rewarding
- I get home most days around 4pm and I'm able to spend time with Jay before he goes to work
- I'm paid more per hour (even before taxes)
- I never have to work overtime, but if I did, I would be PAID for it
- I dont have to clean anyone else's laundry or do anyone else's dishes
- my boss is friendly and always says a hearty "thank you" at the end of the day or whenever we pass in the hallway
- there is a high support level between everyone there, if something is wrong or you need anything, there is always someone there to ask or someone to offer help, and if you dont "click" with a specific child, different arrangements can be made
-if you need to make a personal appt, it's never a big deal, and if you want to make up your hours missed with the child, you can, but you dont HAVE to
- I love having ADULTS to talk to during the day and not being alone so much

Things I do miss about the nanny job:
- to be honest, I really dont miss anything about it. The money was good (at first) but after awhile, the hours (50-55/wk) were just not worth the money. Plus, by the time they took the taxes out (incorrectly), I was paid less per hour than most Mexicans make. I have not once missed going at the crack of dawn or getting home at dark, I haven't missed the daily tantrums, the loneliness of not having any "grown-up" conversation all day. I do miss having Grandma show up every 3 months (on the dot) and tell me how to do my job like she suddenly an expert on the baby she's seen precisely three times in the last year and leaving giant messes she expects me to clean up.

I could go on and on but I dont need to. It's in the past and over and I LOVE my new job. I already feel at home and comfortable there. Not to say it hasn't had it's challenges - I have no doubt that N is going to give me a run for my money when we start doing programs next week, but in the end, he'll calm down and we'll get some things done. I'm so glad his mom is on board. It was a little rough with Z's mom this week - long story short, she's gotta learn to let go and trust us. She doesnt need to stay there all six hours to constantly check on him - he's fine and he's doing a GREAT job already and making big strides with all his programs.

I'm making crockpot spaghetti for dinner tonight - some for Jay to take with him to work and some for me to eat later, and hopefully some to take for lunch tomorrow, too. This is one of my favorite meals. Here is the recipe:

- 24 oz tomato sauce
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/4 cup diced garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 lb hamburger meat, browned
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp oregano ----------Mix all ingredients in crockpot and simmer on low for 3 hours. Cook 16 oz of your favorite pasta noodles and ladle sauce on top - enjoy! This is one of our favorites.

March 8, 2009

I love the time change in spring - I know it stinks that we lose an hour of sleep, but it is so great to have the extra daylight in the evening. I think one of the hardest changes for me when I was nannying was when we lost that hour of daylight and it felt like I was getting home SO late (okay, it WAS late, but you know what I mean) since it was always dark when I left. Right now it's 7pm and still complete daylight outside - I love it!

My blogging has really slowed down these last couple of weeks - I dont sit at the computer all day like I did when I nannied. My job has purpose now, lol. :) This week has been busy - I worked with various kids when people were out, and also started working with Z, a little boy I will have from 12-3 every single day. It was fun to connect with him and start learning his little personality. My schedule changed yet again on Thursday, prompting me to have to buy a new dayplanner b/c I (like a dumb person) wrote in marker on my old one. I like color, what can I say? So I got a new one and wrote in pencil this time. And for the record, if I hadn't filled in the next 3 months in marker, I wouldn't have bought a new one.

So my schedule (for now) is pretty decent - I was looking forward to not having to work late afternoons at all, but with the new schedule I have a few late afternoons, and it's not so bad. Here's a look at my weekly schedule now:

Monday: 8:30-11:30 with L at the center
11:30-12:00 with the lunch-bunch at center
12:00-3:00 with Z at the center
3:30-5:30 with A at her house

Tuesday: 9:00-11:00 with N at the center
11:30-12:00 with the lunch-bunch at center
12:00-3:00 with Z at the center
3:30-5:30 with A at her house

Wednesday: 8:30-11:30 with L at the center
11:30-12:00 with lunch-bunch at center
12:00-3:00 with Z at the center

Thursday: 11:30-12:00 with lunch-bunch at center
12:00-3:00 with Z at the center
3:30-5:30 with A at her house

Friday: 9:00-11:00 with N at center
11:30-12:00 with lunch-bunch at center
12:00-3:00 with Z at center

As you can see, no day has the exact same schedule, and Monday and Tuesday are my long days, but the other three days are a piece of cake! Thursday I dont even go in until 11:30, and doing lunch-bunch is totally optional. I'm the "extra" in there, and I do it if I need the extra hours. I'm very happy with it and I love this job. I haven't met N yet but I've heard he's a sweet and funny little boy. I also haven't met A yet but have been told she is very high-functioning and I think I can make it through 2 hours with her programs.

I love my job. :)

Today has been a long one - Jay left about 4:30 this morning to meet his friends in Atlanta for the Nascar race. It's tough on me for a few reasons and I wont get into it here. I'll just be glad when he's back.

I took Baylee and Bella to my parents' house today to finish cleaning and eat lunch with them. I was happy with Bella's behavior for the most part - she was very shy at first but warmed up quicker than she usually does. Baylee, of course, was the Queen as always.

March 2, 2009

A snow day!!!! I am so grateful for this new job, where I get the day off - I talked to RN and she had to go in today!! My word, I would have just flat out said there is no way I can come to work today - keep your own kids. :) And I would have said it with a smile.

Right now our power is technically on, but it has been going on and off for the last four hours and resetting all the clocks and the tvs, and I'm in the midst of watching tv, so I have to wait for it to reset itself every single time.....takes about five minutes. Not long, but annoying when it happens every twenty minutes or so. The snow is rapidly melting here. I have enjoyed but am not sad to see it go.

We let the beagles out this morning to clean their kennel, and it was hilarious! Bella (as usual) hauled butt all around the yard and the house, totally oblivious to this white stuff all over the ground. Henry took tentative steps in it, then chased around with Bella for awhile. Sam....pulled a total Sam and refused to even walk in it - he just stood there and whimpered and cried, until he finally waddled over to me and cried until I picked him up - poopy feet and all. Their kennel was disgusting after all the rain this weekend - there was poop EVERYWHERE and all their white parts were brown - I kid you not. It was nasty. But he was so upset and freezing cold and I felt so bad for him, so I picked him up and cradled him......and looked forward to a hot shower afterward. We debated bringing them inside for warmth, but their bed inside the kennel is pretty warm, and the thought of three baths and having to clean up poop/pee from Stinky's crate or the bathroom later on this afternoon really wasnt appealing for me.

After all that and a hot shower to wash away the smell of puppy-poo, we went (like crazy people) to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. That was an adventure. We took Jay's truck since it's a 4WD, and still had a couple sliding times. At the redlight by our house, there was a car spinning its back wheels relentlessly and we stopped to help - it was an older man. Jay was able to go bumper-to-bumper and get him moving again (after asking of course, lol).....I hope that poor man was able to make it home. He was in an older wagon-type car and had no traction whatsoever. Anyway, it took approximately 45 minutes to make a typically-20-minute drive, but breakfast was awesome.

I went back to bed when he did and slept a few hours, waking up off and on when the power would go off and the dogs would start their relentless barking.....they can really drive me crazy sometimes. I just finished getting some things out for dinner and will start cooking in an hour or so. Jay doesnt have to go in until midnight tonight, so most of the snow should be gone....ice will be the biggest issue.

Okay, that took me an hour and half to write b/c I kept getting up to do other things, lol. Can we say ADD?

February 28, 2009

Wow, I dont think I've ever gone an entire week w/o blogging.....and I really haven't been that super busy this week. I think I blogged so much at the nanny job b/c I was so bored all the time and there was nothing else to do.

This week has been GREAT! I've learned so much while overlapping at HopeReach and I feel *almost* ready to be on my own.....which is good, b/c on Wednesday I start with a little boy who will be in my caseload. I will have two little boys - hereby known as N & Z (names w/held for obvious reasons). I have N from 830-1130 every morning except Thursdays, and I have Z from 12:15-3:15 every afternoon. N is 4 yrs old (I think) and Z is 2 (I think) - I'm a little more nervous about Z, since he is so young and probably has not had much intervention. We shall see. I'm really loving this job!

When I got home yesterday afternoon, Jay said he was taking me to the beach....I was happily surprised. It was supposed to be date night and it was his pick.....I was thinking dinner, lol, but he went a little further. The only thing he didn't consider was finding someone to take care of the dogs....he was thinking it would be okay to put them in the bathrooms until we got back (24 hours!!) and I said "no freakin' way!" ---- so we had to start calling ppl last minute. Fortunately good people stepped up and were willing to help out - thanks, guys!!! :)

We had a great time - got there about 9 (hit Columbia traffic....ugh....and about five different wrecks in the rain - 2 of which we actually witnessed) and found the hotel (on the beach!!!) with no problem. We got dinner and walked on the beach for a few minutes. I love the beach any time of day or night, but it always seems so much more vast at night. I love it there - it's my most favorite place on earth. We got up early this morning to walk the beach some more before we left to get breakfast and head home. And those of you who laugh at my OCD and how I like to make lists a month before a trip will be happy to know that I packed for both of us in less than five minutes and the only thing I forgot was a hairbrush, lol.

Tonight after Jay left for work, I got out ALL of my cleaning supplies, spread them out on the table, and organized them. Then.....I got to work deep-cleaning the house. I've only surface-cleaned for the last couple of weeks and it desperately needed a deep-clean. Now it's done and I'm happy with it - I love a clean house. I put all the clutter away and cleaned out drawers and everything.

Furthermore, tomorrow I am taking two bags of clothes, a HUGE bag of books, and an older tv (still works) to Goodwill - so if you are interested in any of it, let me know tonight or in the morning. The tv is still pretty nice, just older. It's 17" (I think) and just been sitting in our living room since Christmas. First come, first serve. :)

February 21, 2009

The last two days have been busy ones. I got to HopeReach yesterday morning at 8:30 to start overlapping in therapies to observe. I had to chuckle when I was led into the first room....and the little boy there was one I had at Southside five years ago. =) He has pretty severe autism but has made a decent amount of progress since I last saw him. I got to spend three hours watching his therapy, then there was an hour lunch break. I ran to Simpsonville to drop off a voided check for Jay's direct deposit (we got a new account since our old one was hacked into via PayPal) and ran back. My afternoon session was with a little boy who was nonverbal. He communicates through a Dynavox - which I've only heard of and never gotten to see. It was really neat, and I felt so encouraged at the end of the day. It is definitely work I can do, but the paperwork is going to take awhile to get the hang of. I know I'm going to LOVE it!

This morning I slept in til 10:00....it felt great!! All the mornings of getting up at dawn really catch up to ya fast. I fed the pups, cleaned their bowls out (full of poo, ew) and chased Baylee around the road for awhile. She refused to come back to the house and ran across the street, almost got hit twice by a car, and I had to pluck her out of the Boobman's yard....nobody ever wants to go in there. So she got a spanking and her e-collar put back on (to stay!). I went to Walmart for a couple things, came back to the house to load up the carpet shampooer for my mom, and gave Henry a bath before taking him with me to "the house" for my brothers' "housewarming" pizza party. He loved it and everyone seemed to like him. He was very well-behaved and loved the attention. It was his "turn" for a trip and it worked out well b/c Bella would have been a nightmare in a crowded house. Little turd, lol.

Tomorrow is church, lunch with parents, and date night!!

February 19, 2009

POKE ME WITH A FORK -------- I'M DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!!!!!!!!! No more nannying for me!!!!! It has been a day full of excitement (and also a lot of annoyance) for me, but I am finally done. Tomorrow RN (replacement nanny) takes over for good, although she has been with me Tuesday and today of this week. It has come at a great time, b/c the mom has decided to cut out kiddo's afternoon nap and baby's morning nap, which now means there is no break at all....all day long. It's just 10-11 straight hours of solid entertaining at least one, if not both, kids. Life will never be the same and I got out while the gettin' was good. I got lucky yesterday that it was the only day I had to entertain kiddo, and it was only for a couple hours. He had speech therapy and we didn't get home until 3:30. I made him have a little "rest time" with some books for about 30 minutes, then we had movie-and-popcorn time, just us. He always begs for a movie on rainy days, so it was perfect timing.

I wasn't even sad leaving today, though earlier this afternoon when I went to get the baby up from her nap, I was teary. I rocked her in the chair in her room for a few minutes, just savoring a few minutes and I was surprised that I teared up. I think she knew something was going on, b/c she's been so "lovey" to me all day, hugging and snuggling, and that's definitely not her style.

So tomorrow I will start overlapping ABA sessions at HopeReach, and I am so excited! I cant wait to see "what I'm in for" lol.

February 16, 2009

What a morning. I know you guys are all looking as forward to my starting a new job as I am, so I won't be as 'w'itchy in my blog and complain daily, lol.

I got here this morning and knew ahead of time that Z was out of school - that's fine. I had made plans for us if he wasn't going with this dad, but turns out he was, which was fine, too. He was rushing kiddo out of bed and into hunting clothes and telling him they were going to be late....so I'm thinking "cool, they'll be gone all day and it'll just be a girls' day."

I should have known.

Dad decides he has some work to do in his office, shuts the door, and proceeds to talk on the phone for the next three hours. He came out twice at 10:30 and said they were leaving in just a minute. Uh-huh. You guessed it - they didn't leave until noon.

I really did come in the door this morning wanting to make it a great week, but it seems like some days he just flat-out ruins my mood with his selfish behavior.

So anyhoo, this weekend was quick - I went to my ABA training on Saturday. The morning instructor (who was younger than me, I think) got on my last nerve with her peppiness and treating us like we were 4 yr olds. The afternoon girl was great - I didnt realize who she was until she came in - I had met her last week and we hit it off. I'm SO excited to start this job! The morning session didn't teach me anything I didn't already know, but the afternoon was really overwhelming. I'm still looking forward to next Monday though. =) My brain felt so FRIED after all the paperwork training - 8 hours is too long for my ADD brain to have to pay attention.

Sunday was relaxing - I went to the grocery store and bought some iron-rich food to help with Jay's new food diet. He got his lab results back from the dr today and he has hypothyroidism, and eating iron-rich foods will help that (I'm glad, since I spent $130 on it yesterday, lol). He'll start his medicine tomorrow and see how long it takes to get it back to normal, but I'm really looking forward to him feeling better. =)

Tonight we're having our taxes done. I have a number in my head that we NEED to reach to get a couple of specific bills totally paid off and I will be so happy if we get to that number. If not....oh well. It will just take us a few months longer to be debt-free.

February 12, 2009

Happy Lincoln's birthday to those of you who celebrate. I celebrate the fact that public schools don't take a day off....like they will on Monday for President's Day. So dumb. If school gets a holiday, I think EVERYONE should get the holiday. Close down all the business or pay ppl double-time if they're willing to work....why should some ppl get the break and the rest have to make up for it? I promise I'm really not in a grouchy mood today, just pondering.

This week has been boring as usual and since yesterday I am REALLY feeling the itch to get out. I cant afford to take an entire week's paycut but I can afford a day or so, if I can talk the RP into working next Friday on her own. If she's able to shadow as planned for most of the week, it won't be a problem. I'm also trying to talk her into taking the kiddo for the morning/day on Monday since he's out of school (for the aforementioned President's day....again, so dumb). That would be nice (for me). I'm just ready to GO.

Kiddo has his Valentine party at school today and absolutely demanded that I show up with the baby. I said maybe. I probably won't since I'm meeting Mom for lunch and this will most likely be the last time she gets to see Allie (::sniff sniff:: for Mom) and plus, I really dont want to go to the Vday party b/c he's always out of control when anyone shows up at his school. He likes to show off. His dad's home all day and he's not even going. I'm in the kind of mood to get on my soapbox right now about the fact that he's been home EVERY day this week ALL day long. WHY?!?!?!?!?!?

I want to publicly say that no matter how much money I may have one day (theoretically speaking....if I won the lottery or something hahahahaha) that I want to be the one to stay home with my kids. This little speech will raise some hairs I'm sure, and if you want to comment, that's fine, but understand (again) these are my opinions and you're certainly entitled to yours, and I'm not trying to bash any of you at all. That being said, I'm not necessarily "old-fashioned" when it comes to gender roles, but I have always always always wanted to stay home with my own kids. Maybe it's because I've half-raised other ppl's kids for years and I've seen how desperate some kids (ahem...these) are for their own parents' time and they rarely get it. I definitely validate getting your kids out once or twice a week to play with other kids, like a mother's morning out program or something, but to put your kids in full-time daycare (by full-time I mean ALL day long, not school - daycare) when you dont HAVE to is just beside me. Now, I'm not trying to offend (I promise!) those of you who do have your kids in daycare b/c you have to work to live, I'm just saying that when I want to be willing to live without a lot of things in exchange for the opportunity to be home with my kids. It's that important to me - cable tv and a huge car are not important to me. And I understand that our finances may not allow me to stay home full-time, but we're going to try our hardest. I want to be the one to teach them and see all their "firsts" it just grates me that there are kids in full-time daycare when they don't absolutely have to be. When I worked in public daycare, there were at least 8 kids (that I knew of) in my 3 year old class who had at least one non-working parent, yet they were there every day from 6:30am-6:30pm, simply b/c it was more convenient for the parent. I feel like some kids get shoved off into the care of others b/c parents don't want to deal with them and that's so unfair and unhealthy for the kids. Lately I see more and more that these kids (here) are desperate for time with their parents and they never get it. They spend 2 hrs a night with their parents - eating dinner (usually out) and bathtime and then it's off to bed and I'm here to get them up in the morning. On the weekends she's usually on call and he takes them both to his mom's house so he can go hunting/fishing w/o them. It's so sad. I understand sometimes you have things to do or work to get done and need someone to watch your kids so they stay safe, I get that. But the situation here is so odd - he's been home this entire week, doing nothing except twiddling in the garage or watching tv or taking naps. Why not spend that precious time with your kids? Or at least some of it? If your own time is more important (consistently) than time with your family, then maybe you shouldn't have even had a family. It's such irresponsibility. They should come first. I DO understand that there are families who HAVE to put their kids in someone else's care so they can pay the bills, so don't rip me for writing this. I'm not talking about you - this is meant for families like this one who could easily (EASILY) survive (and flourish) on just one of their incomes, but instead, it's more important to have 7 boats (seriously) and a lake house and downtown house and beach house and timeshares and whatnot. I just dont feel like any of that should take precedence over time with your family. These kids need parents - not just caregiving.

That being said, I *really* didn't mean to get into all that. I debated deleting it all, but I got emotional all of that so I'm leaving it. It's my feelings and that's what this blog is all about. =)

Onward........yesterday was a long day - Wednesdays here are always long. The housecleaners were here so I took Allie with me to get my TB test done (for new job) and then to the grocery store. She's always charms ppl everywhere we go. =) I took the groceries back to my house and unloaded them and then took her back home to nap. Got her up about 11:30 and we picked up Z from school.....went home and gave them lunch, then headed out to his speech therapy appointment. Wednesdays are hard b/c naptime is pushed back to at least 3:30, and once we got home I got them both in bed and dad decides to take Z for his haircut......so no nap. They got back about 5:15 and I stood in the living room for 15 minutes waiting to leave. The usual. =)

Hopefully today will be uneventful - Thursday are usually my most difficult today b/c I'm SO ready for Friday and so far I'm not able to push time forward to make it get here quicker, but as soon as I figure out how to do that, I'll let you know.

Guess I'll sign it off for now..... =)

February 10, 2009

Wow, it's been a few days.....a little long for me, but I've been busy...or sick. Don't judge me.

I have not gotten the first thing done today. My replacement nanny (hereby known as RP lol), a friend of mine, came to shadow me today and it's been a very off-schedule (for me) day. It went a lot better than I expected it to go, as far as getting the baby acclimated. She played willingly but will not let RP hold her yet. We tried a few times and it only succeeded in the baby screaming until I took her back. But I was happy with the playtimes - went well. I haven't had a chance to get much of anything done though. I'll be glad to see this day end.....well, this week end, if we're being honest. Just 8 more days.

This weekend I had planned to work at First Pres for the entire Valentine Banquet.....I worked Friday night and had a blast (miss you gals SOOOO much!!) but woke up Saturday feeling like crap again and was so sore/weak. I spent most of the day in bed. I felt a little better Sunday morning so we went to church and to my parents' for lunch, then took a nap and had our date night. More on that in a minute. Monday morning I woke up feeling like crap again but it subsided as the day wore on.

So back to this date night -- we have been wanting to try out the Blue Ridge Brewery downtown for a long time. They supposedly have great food and a cool atmosphere. Well.....$52 later, I can honestly say we will not be going back there. The food was mediocre, at best, and expensive for what you got. Jay got the wild game sampler and really wanted to try the antelope, but they didnt have it. The chicken I ordered was about the size of my palm and the cheese that it was supposed to be "drenched" in somehow did not make it onto my plate. Now for those of you who know me well (or at all lol) know I am a cheese-a-holic and this was depressing. Plus, to be this big "brewery" station for all of Greenville, they had approximately 3 beers available (minus the bottled stuff). This was not a disappointment for me since I do not like beer, but it was a huge disappointment to my hubby. He was looking forward to trying something new.

Oh, and to all of those who congratulated us on catching the mouse (thanks!) -- we have another one. He ate the top off a biscuit that I forgot to bag up the other night. Great. Looks like I'm bringing in Sammy to play later......my little mouse-catcher. And garbage-eater......I digress.

Jay is going for a dr appt on Thursday. It's taken me months to try to talk him into going to get a blood test done to see what all this constant-fatigue is about. I really believe it's just a vitamin deficiency or anemia of some sort, but please pray for him b/c he's really anxious about it. He's into all the "what-ifs" that it could be and it's really scary to think like that. His appt is Thursday at 2pm, if you think about it. =) I'll let you know when we know.

I went yesterday for my paperwork "meeting" at HopeReach. It took about an hour and Allie was really good - charmed everyone there and was fairly quiet, for her. I had all of the necessary paperwork I needed, and all that's left is to get my TB test done and read. Then I will be awaiting the 20th to come and go, and I'm FREE!!!! I'm so ready. I think RP got a little taste today of what the reality in this house is going to be like......can't say she wasn't warned. She will definitely do better than I have, as a lot of things did not seem to bother her at all. She's a lot more flexible/lenient with her time than I am, and I feel like she will be a good fit for them.

Here's hoping.

February 6, 2009

Today has been.......a typical day in the nanny field. I got here this morning and the mom was gone (typical for Friday mornings) - I think she leaves early so she can come home early..... sometimes.... Anyway, I wondered for the next hour and a half whether or not kiddo was going to school. The last two Fridays he's been kept home for no reason and I really was not in the mood to take that on today. Finally around 9am they left and i put Allie down for morning nap. At 10:00 I woke her up (the short her morning naps are, the better she usually sleeps in the afternoon..... usually). We went to the bank to dispute an issue I was having with our new account and getting Jay's direct deposit in - it's usually in by Wednesday night/Thursday morning but I still haven't seen it there and, quite frankly, we gotta have it in there asap. They fixed it for me and said it should be entered in by tonight. Then we went to grab some lunch and I picked up Z early, b/c I didn't feel like sitting in the parking lot for an hour while Allie screamed from the injustice of having to sit in a carseat in a nonmoving car. So we went home, ate lunch, they both went down for afternoon nap about 1:30.

I settled in with the laptop to get some stuff done, feet propped up, tv on, drink (apply juice for congestion) beside me, getting comfortable.................and up comes the garage door - the dad has arrived. Sigh. So now he's walking around upstairs on his cell phone, talking loudly as usual, which will probably wake Allie but not Zack since he could sleep through a train wreck, and I'll be back to square one. Typical day here - one never knows what will be going on or when.

I want to congratulate my friend Becky on getting this nanny job - she will be taking my place on February 23rd and I certainly hope she knows what she's getting herself into. She seems really excited about it and I'm glad for her. I'm glad it will give her more financial stability and job security, and I hope the things that have become giant issues for me will not be an issue for her. I really am happy for her! I worry b/c I sounded just like her a year ago when I first started this job - it was going to be great pay, and for a 40hr week it would be decent pay, but by Friday when you've worked 55-60 hours, quite frankly the pay sucks. It's less than $7/hr once it's divided up. But I digress - I hope this turns out to be the job of her dreams! She's going to shadow me next Tuesday and hopefully more often after that, b/c it's going to take Allie awhile to get used to a new face. It's not going to be an easy first few days for her.

I'm hoping to get off early today. The mom had yesterday afternoon off and this afternoon off, b/c she may be possible subpoena'ed for a court case for one of her patients. Yesterday she let me off at 4:30 (thank you!!!) and it was nice to get home before dark....I missed seeing Jay by an entire three minutes, too. Boo. So hopefully today, if she does not get called into court, I will get off early as well. If she does have to go, I'm stuck here til 5:30 and I have to be at 1st Pres at 6:30 to work......I would love to shower before I go there and they would probably appreciate that, too.

My weekend will be busy - I'm working tonight (as previously mentioned) from 630-830 and then again tomorrow morning from 8-12 and tomorrow evening from 6-9 for the Valentine banquet at 1st Pres. It's really good money for a really easy few hours, depending on the age you get stuck with. I don't what I have until I get there, but last year Michael and I got the oldest group - 10-12 yr olds and all they did was watch movies and eat snacks. Easiest hundred bucks of my life, lol.

So bored. I didn't realize it was almost 3pm.....that's nice. =) If we can make naptime last until 4pm, I will consider the day a success. =)


***I would just like to edit this to add, for all entertainment purposes, the dad has been sitting here for thirty minutes reeling on a fishing rod......no line or anything like that, just reeling.....and reeling.....in the living room......funny!

February 5, 2009

Before I start ranting, as all my blogs have seemed to be in the last year or so, I have a couple of things to say. If you read this blog and are offended by some things I say about the way I feel about certain places or things or people, I'm sorry you are offended, but this is MY blog about MY feelings and this blog is full of MY opinions. Not everyone agrees on everything and that's what makes us all unique - I'm glad you love what you love and I'm glad I love what I love, but if our opinions differ, don't take it personally. Thanks for reading my blog. =)

We caught the mouse last night! Well, we caught A mouse last night. Sammy (the runt puppy) caught one last Saturday and.....ate it.....and I was wondering if that was the only one we had, but it was pretty small. Last night I heard scuffling behind the gun cabinet (again) and I shined the flashlight behind it - to see we had caught a BIIIIIIG mouse on the glue trap. Perhaps a small field rat? Not sure. It was definitely big enough to have made all the holes in the food containers and eaten half the top of the cupcake that night. I always feel bad for them b/c once we pick up the trap, they start squealing and struggling....like they know they're going to die. I took a pic of it and then Jay took it out behind the house and shot it. I think he just likes to shoot things (not live things necessarily, just things) so he didn't want to miss an opportunity. Though I can't speak, last time we caught one, I turned the trap upside down in the toilet and let it drown. It was going to be hours before he got home to kill it and I didn't want it to suffer (yeah yeah) that long on the trap. It was over quickly - 30 seconds max. I hated doing it but it was a no-win situation. So hopefully the mouse situation is over - he was a big one. Check it out:



Today has had its ups and downs. It still annoys the heck out of to have to be here all day when the dad has not even left the house!!! Why on earth do you WANT somebody else to be raising your kids if you're here and have the time to spend it with them?!? Seriously - I know he probably has a few things to do, but you know what? So do I! I could really use a morning off to make a dr appt and do some errands that I can't do while dragging Allie around - it would be courteous of him/her to offer to listen to silence while Allie sleeps......cause that's really all that happens here before noon every day. Sheesh.

On that note, maybe today wasn't a good time to have that rant, but this morning's naptime was a joke. An absolute joke. The last two mornings she's slept for 20 minutes and then been wide awake, and two hours later is just exhausted and crabby.......which quickly makes ME exhausted and crabby. So I thought "great, a long nap this afternoon since she's so tired!"

Nope.

I put her in her crib around 2pm and she was asleep right away............only to wake up at 3pm and be up for the afternoon. Fantastic.

Anyway, same thing this morning - I put her down for nap and she slept 20 minutes and was wide awake. I wrapped her several times.....took Houdini all of three minutes to get out of that, throw the blanket out, and push herself to sitting up again. To say it was annoying was an understatement. So this afternoon, I wrapped her in a bigger blanket and sat in the rocking chair (where she couldn't see me) until she fell asleep. That was......20 minutes ago.....so we'll see how long it lasts.

The mom had the interview with the other potential nanny last night. I do have a inkling who she's going to hire, but I wont say here. I know who the kiddo wants, for sure.....he has no problems voicing his opinions - about anything, lol.

I do have to say to the new nanny: good luck. You're starting on a tough note already b/c the grandma will be here, with all her meddling and hovering and thousands of suggestions for how you should to things and never bothering to help do anything. She wakes the kids up from their nap when SHE thinks it's appropriate, but doesnt offer to help entertain them in the afternoon once their awake.

Just the icing on the cake, new nanny. I hope you can deal with what I haven't been able to - you only think you know what you're getting into, but if you can handle it, you're way more woman than I am.

Good luck.

February 4, 2009

It's been the day of mail drivers.....meaning, I've seen a total of 7 mail deliverers so far today. Not that it's so important, but it stuck out to me that every road I was on had at least one postal car delivering mail. Struck me as funny. Just saying.

Today's been nice - reminds me of how much I love to be left alone. The mom left around 8ish, the dad and Z are still gone to NC (playing in the snow) and will be back sometime this afternoon (supposedly by 5:30 but that remains to be seen). So it's just been Allie and me - makes for a nice day.

We met Jessica for lunch (yay!) at Moe's. Now, I know what I've said in the past about disliking Moe's, but I was really craving that queso chip-dip.......it was good but disappointing, too - not nearly as good as I remembered it to be. It was fun to have girl talk and catch up - I look forward to having more time to get together with friends in this new job, and also to seeing what my house looks like in the daylight. It's been awhile since I've seen that on a weekday.....

I got my information email from HopeReach today with all the training info - I cant wait to get started!

February 3, 2009

So as I sit here in the kitchen, my replacement nanny is being interviewed in the living room. Sweet!!

I'm trying to figure out this tax situation thing - the mom keeps telling me that I wont need a W2 or whatever b/c THEY paid my taxes, but dont they just pay SS, not my income tax? Doesn't the money that comes out of the income tax belong to me if it was overpaid? She says it belongs to them and if money comes out of the refund, then it's theirs, or if it was underpaid then it's their responsibility to pay it, but I dont understand that. If that is true, then all along I should have been getting the whole $425 and letting them pay SS on it and not just getting the net amount of $350. I dont trust these ppl all the time, that's why I'm a little sketchy. That and the fact that we really NEED this refund money and I dont understand why it would go to them, not me. It's still my money, isn't it? I need an accountant's perspective here.......anyone?

I will not have my interview with the preemie's family today b/c I have to work late....til like 8pm. I'm mad b/c I only got off at 5p yesterday and that does NOT make up the difference and I most certainly will not be paid extra for it. Grrrrr......13 days left here and not a day more. I did find out this morning that the grandma is coming to town ON the day I leave - hahahahahaha!! I avoided it! I knew it was time for her to come again, b/c she comes every three months, and I am SO happy to not have to deal with her, too. Now she's the new nanny's responsibility - best of luck, new nanny! There are so many things you get to learn how to deal with that I get to wave good-bye to and forget about forever.

I'm worried about this tax thing......it doesnt seem right. Hopefully I can get an answer for it soon so I can take my mind off it.

*****Edited to add: I won the tax argument!! She called her accountant and asked and they said any refund belongs to ME. They are only responsible for paying SS and FICA, and any income tax overpaid belongs to ME ME ME. I'm so relieved - I was afraid we werent going to get any money back and we need it.

Happy face! =)

February 2, 2009

Wow, February already. I have to say I'm typing this with my hands shaking like crazy - I put the kids down for a nap about 30 minutes ago and just heard a huge crash upstairs. I raced up there (2 flights) and by the time I got to the top of the stairs, the baby was SCREAMING. I swear, ya'll, I thought she had fallen out of her crib - that's exactly what it sounded like. I was terrified to open the door. She hadn't fallen out but she must have been sitting up and fallen backward and hit her head on the bars, and her sound machine hit the floor - that was the big crash. My heart was racing - I was so sure she had fallen out and that crack was her head on the floor. I comforted her and she must have been scared b/c she just sunk into me and she never does that. So I just put her back down and wrapped her up so she can't sit up. It's her new trick and she refuses to lay down if she doesnt have to.....hence she doesnt get much of a nap and is quite cranky. I rolled my eyes this morning at breakfast when she threw fits (literally) for things at the table she wanted that other ppl had, and the mom was running around trying to get it all for her. I just sat there. She doesnt have to get what she wants just b/c she wants it. If she screams, so be it. She screamed in the car today from 11:30-12:15 nonstop b/c she wanted her pacifier, and I handed it to her twice and she threw it straight to the floor. So I put it up. Too bad; I'm not playing that game.

This morning the mom asked if I had any work plans yet b/c she wants me to stay longer. I said I had interviews today and tomorrow, but I would not able to stay longer than my given time frame. She hinted that I really didn't give them much time - but I gave them FOUR weeks! That's two weeks longer than I had to give; I thought I was being generous doing that. Believe me, I'd LOVE to be out of here two weeks sooner than planned, but I know it takes awhile to find one person to take a nanny job, but she didn't do any interviews or anything last week, so that's not my problem. Once the 20th comes, I'm done.

I had my interview at HopeReach this morning and it went great! I didn't realize it was right next door to my grandmother's assisted-living home. I should hear back from them within 24-48 hours about their offer, and I'm so excited! This is the job I really want - it's my dream job. I've studied it and read hundreds of books about it and have some hands-on experience with it, but doing it full-time will be a challenge that I'm psyching myself up for. Thirty hours there is considered full-time and enough for benefits, so that will be wonderful.

Hopefully we will find out soon if Cryovac is going to hire Jay permanently - they said "at the beginning of the year" but who knows when that will be. It would fix a LOT of financial issues for us - we could get the equity line opened up and all our debt paid off and just put paychecks into the equity line......breathe a lot easier. =)

This weekend was good - Sunday was pretty boring since Jay slept all day and I just tinkered around. I cleaned out the bookshelf in the guest room and am getting rid of about 30 books/magazines. It looks a lot nicer now - I'm trying to clean out stuff we dont use to make a little more room in the house. On Saturday I cleaned the house and it felt great - it had been almost two weeks since I'd really done anything other than laundry and it was getting bad (in my opinion, of course Jay thought it was fine, lol). I love to have a clean house - it makes the endorphins in my brain just swim around happily.

Tomorrow evening I have an interview with a family of a preemie baby - he's about 8 weeks or so, I think, and just came home from the hospital. Originally they were only looking for someone until April but I think that's changed and she wants to do an interview, so I'm going to at least talk and see what they're looking for. They live on this side of Spartanburg, so it will be at least 7p before I get there, depending on whatever time I get out here, which we all know is never the same.

Ahhhh........14 days left!

January 29, 2009

Today has been pretty uneventful. The dad is gone and that always makes my day a heck of a lot better. After a (short) morning nap (for her, not me, lol.....i can only wish it was me) we went by First Pres to pick up somet stuff. I miss it there so much....I would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Anyhoo, then we picked up Z from school and I was going to take him to get ice cream before we had lunch (I felt like it).

Here's where the fun part comes in. I drove up and down Pelham Rd twice looking for Brusters, b/c I could have sworn it was down on the end where Chik-Fil-A is (mind you, I've only been to this one once....years ago). Okay, so after nonstop conversation in the car, lots of it revolving around ice cream and the place we were trying to find, I gave up and we headed back toward the house. Now, as we get to the light at Hudson/Pelham and I prepare to turn on Hudson, Z pipes up, "There's a ice cream place down there with red/white stripes. We go there all the time."

Yeah.

Where was that 20 minutes ago? I know he didn't know the difference, I just found that hilarious that after all that driving back and forth and constant conversation about what we were looking for and where it was, he knew exactly where it was once we were in more familiar territory.

lol.

So we went to Bruster's on Pelham and got ice cream to eat in the car on the way back home. Before lunch. Just because.

Now it's naptime and I've got my feet propped up, relaxing with the laptop and a great episode of "Snapped" on tv. Love that show. Hope I get off on time today....the last three Thursdays have been past 6:00 when she gets home. You'd think I'd be more used to it by now but it still makes me mad that it happens. Oh well. 16 more days here and I'm FREE!

Tomorrow night is Jay's birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We're meeting about 6 friends there and just having a fun dinner and some ice-cream cake afterward. Should be fun! I've had this planned for at least three weeks or so, and he's looking forward to it, too.

I got a phone call from Hope Reach today about scheduling an interview. They do line therapy for children with autism - both in-home therapy and in-school shadowing. I would prefer school hours, but will take what I can get if the money is good enough. =)

January 28, 2009

I DID IT!!!!! I DID IT!!!!! I'm so proud of myself and so happy and so relieved....it's hard to tell you all the emotions running through me right now.

The whole way to work yesterday morning I prayed for a clear direction on what to do - do I give my notice now or wait it out a little longer? I told God I really needed a "gut-punch" type feeling to know I'm doing what He wants me to do.

So around the breakfast table, the dad announces he is keeping kiddo home from school - juuuuuust like last Friday started out to be. (Turns out this time he actually kept the kid with him like he promised last week and didn't do) As soon as he said that, I had the most amazing feeling come over me - I knew what I had to do. And I suddenly didn't fear it anymore.

So after they left and the baby was napping, I typed out what I wanted to say and then wrote it in a letter. I only did the letter b/c I wasn't going to have any time to personally talk to the mom since she's been working late (8pm) every night this week. I was very proud of my letter - it was very professional and to the point - no blaming, no whining, just stating this is what I had to do for the sake of my own home. I wrote their names on it and left it on the kitchen table when I left work last night. I mentioned in the end of it that she could feel free to call me last night if she wanted to talk about it.

She didn't call and to be honest, I was a little worried that she was going to be REALLY upset. I prayed for continued peace on the way to work this morning, afraid I was going to be nervous about walking in the door to an unfamiliar situation, not knowing how either of them was going to react to the letter.

Turns out she didn't even read it until early this morning, but the reaction was better than I thought. She said they were disappointed to lose me, but she understood that I had to take care of my own home first. She also did exactly what I knew she was going to do - offer to put the baby in morning daycare and let me keep both kids in the afternoon. I told her I would think about it and talk to Jay, but I'm not going to take that offer. I want a clean break. To do afternoons would mean I'm still having to wait for her to show up in the evenings, deal with the dad being here half the time, the kid being nap-free when they decide to make that move, deal with both kids all day when they're out of school and especially spring-break, not get any days off or time off or sick days, only get my personal vacation when they decide to take theirs, and a whole lot of other reasons that made me decide to quit this job in the first place. I dont want to be here anymore - morning or afternoon. It's just too difficult - evenings are the times I need to be home, anyway. She did ask if I had anything lined up yet and if I would be willing to stay on longer if necessary, and I said no (to both). I told her I was still talking to a few ppl about PT options, but my quit date was firm. I know how that will go...."we need one more week" will happen about ten times until I just walk out. It just can't work.

I feel SO good about this - I'm so relieved it's over. The two hard parts were leaving the letter and walking in the door this morning to an unknown demeanor. But both worked out well and I'm happy about it. I know God will take care of us and bring along the perfect job for me and for our situation.

On another note, I got interviewed by Channel 4 News in the parking lot of Walmart this morning about the dangers of texting while driving. If they only knew, lol. I lied through my teeth when she asked if I ever texted while driving. (Who the heck answers that honestly when they're standing there with somebody else's child that you drive all over the place every single day?!?) So.....watch for me on the news today. Hopefully they wont show me b/c I looked awful and......was a little liar, lol.

=)

January 27, 2009

First, a birthday update - my hubby is the sweetest man on earth. I was starting to get a little disappointed on the afternoon of my bday - he was still asleep and kept asking me where I wanted to go for dinner, when all I had asked of him was to pick something and surprise me. He got up (he worked the night before) around 4:30 and then was on the phone talking to a friend who was stranded on the interstate by Laurens Rd. Now I would just like to point out right here that I have pulled this trick many times (to get out of things and places I dont want to be, lol) and therefore knew exactly what he was doing. He faked a phone call and it would have been more convincing if he had not made the call last 8 seconds, when this is a friend who can talk for literally hours. Then, as he was telling me he was going to help so-and-so get the truck started, I knew he was up to something. He is not a good liar (good thing) - his whole face just shows it. So I said "ok" with a smile and left him to it.

He came back an hour and a half later with Olive Garden take-out and flowers. =) So sweet.

On to another note - this weekend was the longest of my prayer-life. After telling Jay everything that went on Friday when I was so pissed off at this father for just doing whatever he wants and expecting me to pick up the pieces, we were both knowing it was time to quit. I was so relieved; this giant load was off my shoulders......I felt good. Until Sunday night when we sat down to crunch out some numbers - I let Satan get a hold of my thoughts. Those numbers didn't even come CLOSE to saying, "yes, quit your job and you'll be fine." I cried and cried and cried - all that burden that had been lifted now felt thrown back on me and I again felt that trapped feeling of.....I'm stuck here forever and there's never an end to it.

So I went to work yesterday, miserable again. I emailed our SS teacher and asked if they could meet us after work to talk about it all, and they were so gracious with their time. They have been through the same thing several times, as have a couple of friends of ours, and everyone keeps saying the same thing - you have to just jump when you feel God's peace, and let it go from there. I prayed the entire way to work this morning - if it's meant for me to leave here, w/o having another FT job in hand, then I need a "gut-punch" feeling to tell me. I'm no good at this guessing game anymore. So once I got to work, the dad again decided to keep the kid at home (for no reason), just like last Friday. I immediately had flashbacks to the hell of what last Friday was, and all of a sudden I had this overwhelming peace. I just KNEW.

So I just finished writing out my resignation letter. I did not write about my 497 issues with them nor place any blame. I simply said for the sake of my own home/family/marriage, I have to do this. I'm giving them 4 weeks and my last day will be the 20th. Unless of course they are truly pissed off and just tell me to leave now, which I'm not even panicked about b/c I know this is from God and He will be taking care of us.

As far as jobs are concerned, I have several PT options. Southside has ASC openings and always need EE subs. I have emailed 1st Pres about subbing and any positions opening. We will make it. I'm sure there will be sacrifice for both of us, but he has been more than wonderful and supportive and encouraging to me and I'm not afraid of it anymore.

I'm free. =)