New Dishwasher - Take 2

I say this is Take 2 because this is our second new dishwasher in 2 weeks.  We had to get a new dishwasher because our old one is on recall after only having it for 2 years, there is supposedly something wrong with the electrical system and it could cause a fire.  So in order to get the rebate we needed to order the new dishwasher, only certain model numbers qualified, and now we can get the piddly $250 rebate on a $700 dishwasher.

The first dishwasher took at least 2 weeks to come in.  Jacob brought it home, had it all set up, was getting ready to push it in and realized that the whole frame was completely bent out of shape.  We called maintenance who came two days later, they confirmed and ordered new parts, which would cost the same as getting a new dishwasher and said if we couldn't order a new dishwasher they'd repair the old one.  I'm not sure if the repairs would come out of our pocket or not or would be covered by our warranty, but we paid for the 5 yr extended warranty cause of our luck with appliances.  Anyway, the parts came in Tuesday evening and the repair guy was scheduled to come Wednesday and so was our new dishwasher.  Since we were able to order the new dishwasher, which only took 1 wk to get here this time, Jacob called and canceled the service call (or so he thought after a lengthy talk with the operator), but maintained the appointment in order for them to pick up the parts.  Well, the guy calls around 2 on Wednesday to confirm his arrival time and I said, now this is just to pick up the parts, this is no longer for a service call.  The guy was surprised and confused and said he'd be here shortly.  He arrived around 2:20 and was like, what's going on?  I was like, my husband called yesterday and informed whomever at the office that we were able to order a dishwasher.  The guy who came the week before said that if we were able to order the new dishwasher that when the parts came in that we should just keep the appointment to pick up the parts, but cancel the service call.  Apparently the lady in the office didn't relay that to the service guy.  He didn't seem very happy.

Anyway, the new dishwasher is in, Jacob installed it yesterday evening and I'm on my second load today.  This load I'm trying the normal wash, but it's not helping any with the noise.  This dishwasher is supposed to be a 400 quiet series, but it ISn't very quite!  If the noise from this thing doesn't go away, which I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be as loud as it is, we'll probably need to call in the maintenance people to check it out!  If there isn't anything that we can do about it I might just have to run the dishes only at night...  I'm not sure why it's being such a difficult machine, it's quite frustrating! 

The first load I did on a sense mode, which went pretty quickly.  Our other dishwasher, even on the short cycle, would take 80+ minutes to wash the dishes.  I didn't time the sense load, but it seemed a lot quicker than that!  We'll see how long this one takes, there isn't a timer on it like our other dishwasher, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see...  Another thing with this dishwasher is that it isn't screwed into the cabinets like the other one and when I loaded the dishwasher it tipped over several times.  I had to keep the drawers half in/out to keep the whole thing from falling over.  We're going to have to fix that!

Wednesday Night Bible Study

This evening I went to our Wednesday Night Bible Study by myself.  Jacob stayed home with the kids since Maggie is still sporting a snotty nose and I didn't want her slimming everyone and have anyone catch her cold (though Church is where she got it from, 2nd one this month), he offered to stay home since I stayed home with the girls on Sunday. 

Bible Study went pretty good.  We talked about the Holy Spirit and all He does for us.  Pastor made a huge list of everything on the board.  Basically He, the Holy Spirit, is always with us doing everything for us and as long as we rely/trust in Him/God we never have to worry about anything because essentially He does everything for us.  Sounds easy hugh?  Except for the whole flesh/selfish thing that gets in the way ALL the time!!!  I'm working on it though. 

I also found out that next semester is when we are actually going to talk about 'how to tune our hearts to be able to hear what the Lord has to say'.  I almost started crying because I think that that issue was part of the reason that I joined the class in the first place and to find out that I'm not going to learn 'HOW' till next year...I was a bit heart broken!  We did go over a few items about listening to and hearing from God, but we didn't go in depth.  I did learn a little bit though nothing in great detail, but Pastor said that we need to filter our bodies of the flesh and worldly things so that we don't have all the distractions and then we should be able to hear what He has to say.  He said that it usually takes him half and hr to attune himself to be able to hear God, but then it's clear as a bell.  (All this what the pastor says has been a 'Jenny paraphrase', just fyi.)  Also if God has to yell at us or do something drastic or huge to get our attentions, WE AREN'T LISTENING!!!  Or being quiet enough to hear Him!

Anyway, I'm hoping that at our meeting with the Pastor next Monday that we can discuss this a bit more because unanswered questions and the feeling like I have no clear direction in my daily life is really driving me crazy!  I want to be able to ask God a question and get an answer.  At least to important, potential time critical questions!  I DO realize that it's possible that God's idea of important or time critical isn't the same as mine, but I guess that's the part that, if true, is really weighing on me because I don't see the harm in knowing the answer to the question and actually not knowing the answer is causing me great stress.  I'm not a patient person, but I've been praying and asking for quite awhile now and I still don't have peace, which is what I'm searching for, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do?!  I do have a plan though and that will have to tide me over till I either get a word from God or something else happens to answer that question in a different way!  We'll/I'll have to wait and see...

I am glad that I started this Bible Study though.  I think it's going to help me get my attitude in the right place to be able to cultivate the type of relationship with God that I long for!  :O)

A Score for Maggie's Birthday, the story revieled.

I told you I'd give you the details of how I found Maggie's new chair 

and how much of score it was,

well her Birthday has come and gone, so here goes...

 

I had been thinking about getting Maggie a little chair for the living room for some time, you know something her size so she could lounge with the rest of the family when we are in the room since she's not quite big enough to get up onto the couches or larger chairs yet.  About 3 and a half weeks ago I decided to try and find one.  I was originally searching for one of those foam chairs that are covered in a soft fabric, they usually have some type of character on them like Princesses or Fairies, they even have characters for boys, but I just wasn't finding anything.  AND unfortunately earlier in August I'd passed up a couple opportunities when the chair was just an idea, not a decision.  :O(  

I searched Craigslist every day, too many times to count.  Checked the chairs out at regular retail stores, but didn't want to pay the $30 price tag, and finally last week decided to go around to a bunch of resale and discount stores to see if I could find one.  After two hours of searching I had no luck until I came to the last store on my list.  I started around the left side of the store making my way around the back while I searched, rounded the corner and there was a foam chair...in somebody elses hands.  SMH  It was the only one in the store and come to find out, was just put out that afternoon.  I stayed for awhile hoping the people would put it back, but they didn't and left with their $4.99 foam chair purchase.  I was SO BUMMED!  It'd just missed getting what I'd been looking for by mere minutes!!!  SO FRUSTRATING!!!

On September 1st, since I wasn't having much luck on my own, I decided to submit a request on Craigslist for a little kids chair of some kind.  Almost immediately I got a response from a lady who didn't have a chair, but did have information on a place that she had gotten a chair for her son for much cheaper than regular store prices.  I thanked her for her info, Mapquested the place with the intention of checking it out if nobody else got back to me by the weekend or we didn't find one at the Mile High Flea Market we were going to head on Saturday.

Saturday, The Mile High Flea Market was busy!  I really had no other agenda for being there other than to find a chair for Maggie and letting the kids ride on the street carnival rides they like so much, so our trip around the shops was quick and unfortunately uneventful!  They just didn't have what I was looking for!  So, we headed off to the place the lady had told me about, Denver Overstock Freight.

We headed toward our destination and I ended up taking the wrong exit, so we took about a 10 mile detour.  Finally back on the right road we arrived where we thought the place was, but driving down the road there wasn't anything around really, just a dead end and a fenced sale yard.  Backtracking we followed a tattered sign blowing in the wind past a run down brick warehouse and finally saw some small yellow commercial signs on stakes pointing towards the rundown warehouse.  We parked in front of one of the signs.  Looking around we were really apprehensive, the place was rather scary, it was really run down and the signs were pointing to the basement. Jacob went in to check the place out for us.  Several long minutes later he came out and motioned for us to come in.  We all unloaded from the van and headed down the steep crumbling stairs to the basement.  Going through the large double rusted steel doors, of which only one was open, we entered a long corridor shrouded in almost complete darkness expect for the light coming in from outside.  As we traversed the hallway we felt a bit hesitant, furniture, fixtures, and other odds and ends lay broken and neglected along the walls.  All were covered in years of dust and cobwebs.  The uneven floor tripped us up a few times, but we continued on into a lit room.  The room was full of all sorts of other odds and ends, lots of boxes and furniture of all kinds.  Then we saw all the little chairs.  There were probably 2 or 3 dozen little rockers and other stationary chairs on the floor.  Cars were the first we spotted, then princess, fairies, pooh bear, and a little stationary butterfly chair.  We looked them over a bit, then Jacob and the kids went off to explore while I decided.  The salesman was near by so I asked him how much the little rockers were.  He said he'd let me have one for $20.  That was about $10 over my price range, so I kept looking.  Maggie and I went over to check out the little stationary butterfly chair.  By then Jacob and the kids were back, I told him about the other chairs being $20 and that I hadn't asked about the butterfly one yet, so Jacob asked.  The salesman came over and gave the chair a good look over, he said he'd let us have it for $10 cause it was soiled, then he walked off to do some other work.  Jacob whispered to me, "I like the $10 chair." We looked around a bit more, even asked about these nice cushioned storage chests that they had.  In the end we decided to just get the little stationary butterfly chair for $10!

The cool thing about it is that the chair we bought, if bought in a regular retail store (like Toys/Babies R Us) costs at least $69.99.  So it was a total score or only $10!!!  

When we got back home I sent an e-mail to the lady who had given me the information originally and thanked her again for helping us find such a great bargain!  

So if you're ever looking for furniture in Denver, check out Denver Overstock Warehouse.  Despite their location it's a great place to shop for excellent bargains!  :O)

 

Here's a picture of Maggie's new chair!

Maggie in her new chair playing with her laptop.

More 1st Birthday Pictures of Maggie

"Oh so pretty"

Twirling with her new scarf.

Rocking in her little chair.

Maggie was rocking out to the music in her Birthday card, "Shake Your Grove Thing" by the Chipette's!

It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but you get the idea. :O)

Maggie's 1st Birthday!

Today is Maggie's 1st Birthday!  

It's hard to believe, but this time last year I was holding baby Maggie in my arms!

What she's done so far today:

She drank a bottle when she woke up.

Got dressed in an outfit Anna picked out for her.

Took a bath.

Got dressed again.

Ate some oatmeal and pears w/ cinnamon.

Played with her brothers and sister.

Took a nap after Anna and David went to school.

Got up and played with John a bit before we left to get balloons for her party later this afternoon.

Drank another bottle and some water.

Now she's looking out the sliding glass window watching the different shapes that a combination of sun, shadows, and wind is causing on the ground outside.  She's also trying to grab a shadow on the carpet and go backwards through the sliding glass window so she can go outside.  

Wait...now she's playing with a sack of squirrel food.  lol

She's a busy girl!

It's now 11:31 and she off again, this time I'm not sure where as she's taken off walking down the hallway.  Oh, she's decided to play with the vacuum.  lc

This list will be pages and pages if I write down everything she does till her next nap and after.  But, I'll write more soon and try to summarize all she does and add more pictures...

Maggie's Birthday Party!

Maggie's 1st Birthday Cake.

Blowing out the candle.

Dainty bite.

Enjoying her cake to the fullest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*~* Maggie enjoyed her first chocolate cake!  She had fun getting her presents though she wasn't quite sure what to do with them before they were out of the packages, she just stared at them curiously.
Our friend Cindy and the Reeds came to help us celebrate, thanks for coming guys!
Dinner consisted of mashed potatoes, green beans, cooked carrots, and turkey breast for Maggie.
She played for the rest of the evening until about 7:30 when we all went upstairs for cuddles, story time, then bed. 
  Over all it was a good day!  :O)

Gift Ideas for Birthdays and Holidays

Dear Family and Friends,

Birthdays and holidays are coming up fast.  In case you were having troubles coming up with gift ideas, I have started wish lists at Toys/Babies R Us and Walmart for Jacob, the kids and myself.  These are solely for reference and we are not expecting you to only buy from them.  These are just idea of items that we are interested in to help when you are looking for gift purchases in the future.  I am also going to add a few pictures and lists of characters, colors, and sizes for all of us, plus a list of things that we don't want the kids to have, either because the characters are rude, obnoxious, or the gift is very messy, etc.

The kids have all grown a lot this year.  They still have some of the same interests, but lots of new ones as well.  I hope this helps make your shopping a little easier!  ~Jenny  :O)

***Walmart Wish List is under: Jenny Lacock, December 2010, CO
http://www.walmart.com/wishlist?povid=cat14503-env172199-module021209-lLink3_WL

***Toys/Babies R Us List is under, Creator: Lacock, Jenny, Aurora, CO
http://www.toysrus.com/wishlist/index.jsp

JACOB:
Jacob wears size LARGE
His favorite colors for clothes are BLACK and NAVY BLUE, please no girly colors like purple, pink, or pastels.
He prefers SILVER
*Gentlemen's Emporium:  http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/gentlemans.php
Barnaby Clifton Intrepid Motorist  ...Jacob likes this particular outfit and all that goes with it, though anything from this sight (not the girls stuff however) he said he'd be very happy with!
*Steampunk:  He prefers silver on any steampunk items.
*Anything LEGO, just FYI we have all the video games, however we don't have any of the new LEGO type board games.  I've put the three that we decided that we liked the best and couldn't create on our own with pieces we already have on the Toys/Babies R Us Wish List.

JENNY:
No clothes please, I'm still losing weight so I'm between sizes.  AND no jewelry either, I like to look at it, but never wear it.
Love GOLD, hate silver!
I love AUTUMN and autumn colors like dark oranges, yellow, deeper greens, burgundies, and brown.  HATE purple, pink, and light colors, especially pastels!!!
I like leaves, little birds (especially wrens and black capped chickadees, but they have to be realistic looking), and squirrels.
I love ladybugs (really cute ones) and yellow sunflowers.
*AND...the BOBA FETT bobble head that sits on a TV or Computer in the Wish List is for me  :O)
*This link is to a super cute ladybug music box that I like:  http://www.amazon.com/Little-Cutie-Porcelain-Ladybug-Music/dp/B001SJ3HVG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283731572&sr=1-1
*This print is cute:  http://fromtheheartart.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=314&osCsid=2585c1d1b1a465991a099a06a0640564
*Gentlemen's Emporium (Ladies):  I love this hat!!! 

Victorian Touring Hat, Cognac

...A Gift Certificate to the Gentlemen's Emporium would be awesome too, they have so much that I would like to buy!!!

ANNA:
She wears size 10/12 or Large girls.
Her favorite colors are dark emerald green, dark blue, purple, and dusty rose.
*She loves jewelry!!!  Especially items with rhinestones and dangles.  She can wear gold or silver, but prefers gold.
*She's into Oriental items/designs, I have attached a picture of an outfit she likes.
*Gems and collectible/decorative rocks!
*Horse figurines
*Fancy dress-up dresses and shoes, she wears a size 3 in girls shoes and a 6 in womens (that's a bit bigger than her actual size, but she'll have them for longer)
*Hello Kitty

DAVID:
David wears a size 6/7 or a MEDIUM boys.  He could use sweat pants, long sleeve t-shirts, and footie pj's for winter, he's outgrown most of last years.
His favorite color is GOLD, he also likes BLUE and SILVER.
Spiderman is still his favorite super hero.
He is also still interested in LEGOS.
*One of the "How to Train Your Dragon" comforters is for him and they are only sold at Walmart!
*He also said he'd like anything that has to do with "How to Train Your Dragon".  I didn't purchase as many things as I should have before the movie came out and as soon as it did it was all gone within days because the movie was so good!  Now it is all really hard to come by anymore...if you are lucky you might be able to find something on eBay or Amazon???

JOHN:
-John wears a size 4/5 or SMALL, though 5/6 pj's are probably going to fit him better since he's on the taller side.  He could use long sleeve t-shirts, and footie pj's.
-His favorite color is BLUE, also likes GREEN and RED.
*He likes Batman and Indiana Jones for action characters.  An Indiana Jones costume would be awesome, something with a whip and satchel maybe???
*He's specifically pointed out several different Batman characters with a car at a couple different stores, but I've passed on getting them so far.
*The other "How to Train Your Dragon" comforter is for John!
*Anything "How to Train Your Dragon" would be awesome for him as well, that's actually what he finally decided that he wanted for his 4th birthday this year.  He got HTTYD shirts, pj sets, shoes, and a couple hooded towels (that's all they had left at Walmart) he was so excited!!!

***DAVID and JOHN are both really into BAKUGAN right now.  They can be pretty expensive individually (about $5/$6 or more), but you can sometimes find 'lots' (collections) of them on Craigslist or eBay for cheaper.  I put a couple carrying cases on the Wish List, the blue one is for David, the clear is for John.  They are really fun, portable toys that the boys like to carry around in their pockets.  They are also great fun on the run toys!
.....the boys BOTH REALLY LIKE to play police officers too, so any sets that include police equipment and/or uniforms (which they don't have yet) would be a BIG hit!!!

MAGGIE:
Maggie wears a size 12 to 18 months.  Her leg length though is still closer to 12 mo. though.  She needs winter clothes, pj's w/ feet, long sleeve shirts and fleece pants.
*She looks best in dark browns and pink, and other darker or fall colors, some light pinks.  Please NO purple, she looks awful in it!
*She really enjoys ripping paper, things that have buttons that she can push, and ball to toss and roll (there's a really cute princess soccer ball at Toys R Us that would be perfect for her, I think it's on her Birthday Wish List).  I'll add some of her birthday Wish List items to the Christmas List when her b-day one expires.

Other Ideas...
Gift Cards to:
*Lego.com  ...No shortage of things to find there and they ship directly to us!
*eBay   ...to get some Lego figures and pieces the kids have been wanting that people sell individually out of sets.
*Barnes and Nobles OR Boarders (I have a membership card to the later one and get a discount).  ...The kids all enjoy books, we have a family reading time every night before bed.  Anna is also interested in a couple series's that she would like to keep up and so do I!
*Olive Garden  ...This is one of our favorite places to eat!
**Staples (Office Store)   ...Had some great art type materials for Anna and I by Staedtler wich is made in Germany.  They are the best I've found and I immensely enjoy working with them, they are really high quality!
*OR Hobby Lobby (our Hobby Lobby is a craft/home type store a lot like Michaels)  ..for the art supplies as well and other home decorations, plus I can use the 40% off coupon I get every other week to get the Staedtler supplies even cheaper than Staples!!!  Here is link for their site:
http://hobbylobby.com/
*Chick Fil A Restaurant ...for Jacob, it's one of his favorite restaurants, but since nobody else likes it he doesn't get to eat there much, would be a food for grabbing lunch for work!

PLEASE NO:
*Spongebob, Wiggles, Telletubies or Barney
*Pokemon
*iCarley, Hannah Montana, High School Musical or other TV related teen type items (we dont' watch any of them)
*Plush Toys other than the ones in the Wish List, they are a learning/musical toy.
*Villains
*Moonsand
*Clothes with SKULLS, about SPORTS, or PEACE signs
*Leopard or other animals prints.
*NEON

David Quotes, 9-2-10

When were leaving the grocery store yesterday evening David said he wanted to be as old as Anna so that he could sit up front and sit next to Maggie.

"David when you are 10, how old will Anna be?" Jacob asked him.

"20."  he answered.  " Ya Anna, you'll be a teenager when you're 20!" he exclaimed excitedly and Jacob and I laughed!

...A few minutes later...

David was looking out the window of the van as we pulled out onto the road.  There was a large building with a terra cotta tile roof across the street, "For a minute I thought that roof was made out of chicken!" he said sounding a bit shocked and confused.  lol   ...He had had chicken on the brain since we were in the grocery store and saw the fried chicken in the deli.

Payday means, BUSY DAYS

Thank God it's payday again!!!  For some reason our funds seem to run out quite quickly and a few days after payday our account is so low our extracurricular activities grind down to almost nothing.  We mostly just stick around the house to keep the last few dollars in the account till payday arrives.....  

Now that it's payday again the routine errands need to be planned...  First is usually getting the grocery list together.  This morning as I started to work on my list, I was going through the pantry to figure out exactly what we needed and I ended up setting down my list to reorganize the pantry.  I threw out the old stuff, moved stuff around, and vacuumed the dust bunny floor.  I also drilled a new screw in the wall to hang the mop from since I'm not sure where the nail went that used to be there???  With that cleaned and my pantry list complete I decided that I would fix a couple other things in the kitchen that I've noticed needed replaced, like shelf paper that was getting all ratty on the edges.  So, I removed three different shelf liners and replaced them.  This time I made the sticky paper go over the edge and in one case all the way around to the bottom so that it would stick, particle board edges don't allow sticky paper to stick to it very well.  I also cleaned out the bottom drawer that holds the reusable storage containers, oven mitts and pads; ended up relocated some pretty much unused items and throwing out some ratty mitts.  Then I put the dishes in the dishwasher away and started to reload it.

With all the above accomplished I decided to work on the computer copy of my grocery list.  I keep an Xcell spread sheet of my grocery list so it's easier to add items and delete others that we no longer need.  It's pretty handy!  I also went through my stack of coupons, threw out the old ones, decided which ones I'll need for my pending grocery trips and even organized them according to location in the store (that's something that I don't usually do, but think it might be a good addition to my routine for the future just so I don't have to search through them all while I'm actually shopping to locate a particular coupon).  Now my list is all printed out ready to take with the kids and I to the different stores we need to do our errands at.

John and I have already eaten lunch.  Maggie just woke and is eating half a hot dog.  I'll be feeding her some cereal when she's done, then we'll take off.  Now I just need to figure out whether I want to try and get everything done today or break it up over several days.  Hmmm?!?!  We'll see... 

Stop Complaining

       I just wanted to start out by saying that I struggle with complaining as much as the next person.  However, this topic has been on my mind a lot and I've started to feel really guilty for my negative attitude and I want to try and change because I know that complaining isn't conducive to a healthy family atmosphere or when I'm around my friends either.  I would also like to apologize to my family and friends for all the complaining I do and let you know that I'm going to try and be more positive and think more carefully before I speak, please keep in mind that I am only human and things may slip, but I am going to try harder to have 'a thankful heart' not a 'negative complaining' attitude!  ...Below is an article taken from Joyce Meyers website, I'll include the link at the bottom so you can check out more information if you are interested.  God bless you all!  Love, ~Jenny

In Everything Give Thanks

A Thankful Heart

by Joyce Meyer

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year, and as Christians we can celebrate it all year long. 

Psalm 100:4 tells us to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise… (NASB). The Message says it this way: Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise…. In other words, thanksgiving and praise are the keys to entering into God’s presence and being at home there. 

Now for most of us, being thankful doesn’t come naturally. Our normal, fleshly tendency is to let our circumstances determine our level of thankfulness. The problem with that is, depending on what our circumstances are at the moment, we may or may not feel like being thankful for them.

But for the believer, being thankful is meant to be a way of life regardless of what we may be experiencing at the moment. It is an attitude of our hearts that we maintain by the grace of God. I believe it’s vital for us to choose to have a grateful attitude because just as thankfulness opens the door to God’s presence, thanklessness opens the door to the destroyer in our lives. 

God’s Battle Plan

When we have an ungrateful attitude of murmuring and complaining, it’s like sending the devil an invitation to come into our house. I once had a dog named Buddy. When he was outside and I wanted him to come in, I would whistle for him and he would come running. Well, complaining is like “whistling” for the devil. When he hears our ungrateful words, he comes running through the door of our soul. He is quick and happy to give us more misery to complain about. 

How do we defeat him? I believe one of the quickest ways is through praise and thanksgiving. In Psalm 149:6 David gives us a picture of our battle position against the enemy. He declares, Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands. A thankful attitude protects us from a negative mindset and sets us free from Satan’s captivity. As we thank God for who He is—His character, ability and might—we will see His power for victory released on our behalf. 

Practice Daily

You and I need to make it our daily aim to have a grateful heart and resist complaining. I don’t mean that we need to stick our head in the sand and avoid dealing with things that are negative or difficult. But we do need to make it our goal to be as positive as possible every day. When we maintain a positive attitude, it’s much easier to fill our thoughts and words with appreciation.

As you look forward to celebrating another Thanksgiving holiday, why not let it be the beginning of a new season of gratitude in your life. Begin going to bed thanking God and waking up thanking God. Ask the Lord to help you develop an attitude of gratitude one day at a time. As you generously express your appreciation to God and others, you will not only dwell in the presence of the Lord, but also walk in victory over the enemy. Now that’s something to be thankful for!

http://www.joycemeyer.org/OurMinistries/Magazine/0611/in+everything+give+thanks.htm

Just Missed It

I've been trying to find a comfy foam chair for Maggie for weeks now and toying with the idea of getting one for even longer.  Well today I decided I'd go out to a bunch of different resale stores to look for one; don't want to pay the $30+ for a new one that the regular stores are charging.  So John, Maggie, and I headed out about 11 this morning.  We went to Little Tikes Trading Post, Big Lots, Unique Thrift Store, then the Goodwill.  No luck!  Then we headed to our last stop 'Kid to Kid'.  As I went in the store I started looking around for a foam chair, as I finished my lap around the store I noticed that another family had a little foam chair in their hands, the one and only one in the store, it was marked $4.99.  They didn't look like they were sure they were going to buy it so I thought I'd stick around and see if they'd put it back.  Meanwhile I found a cute little pair of soft sole dress shoes for Maggie and a super cute little ballerina tutu for her from Gymboree.  I waited for quite awhile before I decided to go and check out, unfortunately when I got in line the other people were already in line ahead of me and they DID purchase the chair.  I'm so bummed, if I'd only shown up a few minutes earlier the $5 chair would have been mine, well Maggie's!!!  Humph, I guess that chair wasn't meant to be...  I'll keep looking, but I'm running out of time, Maggie's Birthday is next Thursday!!!

Invitations, Evening Workout #2, and a Sick Baby

Several of my friends have been asking me over and over if I'm going to have a Birthday Party for Maggie's 1st Birthday, which is coming up here in one week tomorrow.  Until yesterday I was like, "I don't know, I haven't decided yet."  Well, I finally decided and committed to a date and time.  I even got the invitations handed out to a couple friends this morning and the rest are in the mail.  We're going to hold a very informal party for her on the 9th, her actual Birthdate, from 4-5pm.  We'll just have a little get together with some close friends, serve cake, and watch Maggie have fun ripping paper off a couple presents!  That's something that she really enjoys doing, ripping paper that is...  I already have a couple things that I'm planning to give her:  a little cell phone, some play keys w/ buttons, and a baby doll.  The last item I want to give her I've been trying to find for weeks, I don't want to spend more than $5 to $10 dollars for it.  I'm trying to find a little foam chair for her to sit in since all the chairs in our house are too high for her to crawl into just yet.  I've seen her try to lounge in her highchair seat sometimes.  It's the type that you strap onto a regular chair and you can also buckle the child into so they can't get out.  We usually just use it sitting on the floor, but it's really hard plastic and not very comfortable for lounging, but she's so cute when she tries to lounge in it!  I just want to find her her own little chair so she can hang out comfortably with the rest of the family when we lounge in front of the TV.  :O)

I also sent/gave out  the invitations for the Ladies Tea that I'll be hosting once a month till December.  Our next Tea will be on September 21st @ 12pm.  I'll be providing the tea and soup at every get together.  The other ladies will alternate bringing sandwiches, fruits/veggies, and desserts.  We decided that since the last two times some of us have gotten together for tea, we've overloaded on sweets so much that we got sick, that doing the same thing the next time around was a bad idea.  So we've switched to a lunch rather than just a sweets things.  I'm still looking forward to the 'tea' part, just this time around there won't be enough sweets to OD on that I'll feel like my head is going to explode!   We'll probably continue doing Teas into next year too, but I'll figure that out later this year and send out new invitations for those dates when the time gets closer.

Last night I didn't get to my workout till way after 8:30.  Usually everyone is in bed by 8, but last night that didn't happen.  I put on "G.I Jane" and walked on the treadmill varying the incline throughout the whole workout.  (I like to watch that show because I find I get really motivated to workout and get in shape because the guys are being such jerks to her; makes me want to to kick some a**!)  I got off at about 32 minutes and was about to sit down to start working on my leg exercises, however Maggie was crying like crazy so I went upstairs to check on her.  Jacob was up with her, holding her over the garbage can, apparently she'd just thrown up again (3rd night in a row).  It was now after 9pm.  I took Maggie from Jacob and held her.  We put her into a new outfit.  Jacob went back to bed and I took Maggie downstairs to just cuddle her for a bit and watched some more of my show.  Maggie didn't really want to sit very still though, she kept trying to grab the controller or my phone, so I finally just took her back up to bed and laid her down.  I had already turned the movie off so I just went to bed myself.  Had another good nights rest!  I think these evening workout are really going to work out!!!  We'll see what happens tonight?!  Hopefully after several long naps today Maggie will sleep off more of her illness and she'll feel good enough to actually go to sleep without throwing up again!!!

Jello Arms and Evening Workouts

Yesterday since I was too tired to work out in the morning I decided to workout in the evening after everyone else had gone to bed.  I watched "The Closer" while I walked on the treadmill for 3o minutes then did some ab work and exercised my arms a bit despite my achy shoulder.  It was actually nice working out in the evening with everyone in bed, I didn't have to worry about any interruptions from the kids or anything else for that matter!  I even went to sleep rather quickly and slept pretty good.  I always seem to be more tired than energized after a workout, so that worked out too!  After a bit of consideration I think I'm going to stick to the evening workouts.  I had originally planned to workout first thing in the morning.  I was going to get up about 5:30 and do my workout, shower and be dressed before the kids got up in the morning.  However, stuff seems to be getting in the way of getting up early enough to get all that in before the kids get up, so it just isn't working out as well as I'd hoped.  Plus the kids are going to be going to school earlier a couple days a week for before school activities so I'd have to get up even earlier to be ready before they get up.  Evening just seem to be the better compromise!

This morning, I had to get the kids ready early so that I could attend a meeting in the Library for an accelerated Math program that the school wants to place Anna in.  I found out all the criteria that they accessed to select her and what they'll be studying this year.  Basically she's scored high in 3rd and 4th grade on her CSAP tests, had high spring MAPS scores, and passed w/ an A or P in 3rd and 4th grade.  Plus she's been recommended by her teacher and demonstrates a maturity to sustain the program.  It's going to be a challenge, but by the end of the year she'll be ready to move onto Algebra in 6th grade since they'll be covering pre-Algebra during her 5th grade year.  Thank God she has her father to help her out, he's a whizz at math!

As everyone was leaving I took the opportunity to talk to the Principal and Math teacher about Prairie, the Middle School Anna will be going to next year if we don't try and choice into another school.  I told them what I've heard from friends and what my friend have heard from friends.  I told them about my concerns about safety and security especially with gangs, which I've heard is a problem there.  I'm not really concerned about the ethnic diversity there, just that there might be a problem with kids not caring due to financial difficulties or parents not caring, which I've also heard from friends.  They told me that Prairie tested the highest of all the schools in the district in math, they really take it seriously there.  They also said that many families have sent their kids to Prairie and their kids are thriving there.  They recommended that I go and talk to people at the school, observe classes and talk to the school counselor.   So over the course of the next two months that exactly what I'm going to have to do since I can't submit any other paperwork to attend other schools till the 1st of November.

After the meeting I took David and Anna to their school lines.  John and I headed home, but I decided not to far into our trip home that I wanted to talk to my friend Athena about schools so we turned around and headed towards her house.  She was actually just getting to the school to drop her kids off, so we joined up.  (She's debating sending her kids to Prairie as well due to negative feedback from friends.)  Anyway, we had a good talk and also discussed a few different things that were on our minds.  I even cleared up a bit of  frustration, at least on my end, about something that had happened between us recently (unintentionally hurt feelings due to an over sensitive me).  This whole time I had been holding Maggie in my arms, she'd fallen asleep (she's still sick).  I continued to carry her, while John pushed the stroller.  Athena walked us most of the way home and we went our separate ways just down the street from our house.  Back home, I laid Maggie down for a nap in her crib and my arms were so shaky from holding her so long they felt like jello.  They are better now that they've had a chance to rest.

Shoulder Pains, a Sick Little Baby, PLUS

Yesterday before bed I suddenly had trouble using my left shoulder without immense pain.  I thought it was kind of weird because I don't remember hurting it at all, it just really, really hurts whenever I try to move it a certain way, or if I lift it a certain way, or just try to hold something with my left hand that has a little weight to it.  It's so weird and annoying because I have to be really careful or it hurts like crazy.  It almost feels like it wants to fall out like my right shoulder sometimes acts like it wants to...  Hopefully it heals soon because whatever is wrong with it is really going to hinder my activity for awhile till it feels better!  :O(

.....So last night Maggie got ill.  She was up from about 11 to 2 in the morning, she just couldn't get comfortable.  I ended up feeding her a bottle about 1.  She almost drank the whole thing, then decided she wanted to drink a bit of water too, but shortly after taking a couple sips she starts to cough and choke a bit then threw up all over herself, her blanket, me and the chair we were sitting in.  She continued to spew a couple more times till her stomach was completely empty and they she seemed to be all better, she was happy and talking.  I took her to the bathroom and stripped her out of her soaked clothes and washed her down, put a new diaper on her and got her into a new outfit and put her back in her bed.  I had to take her blanket and outfit to the tub to rinse them out since they were caked in puke.  (I really dislike the smell of puke, makes me feel like I want to puke too!  EWWW!!!)  I got the two rinsed out and discovered that Maggie's blanket is super absorbent and gets really, really heavy when completely wet.  That's just good info to know in case she has it around a water source, because unfortunately it could aid in her drowning if she falls in cause it's so darn heavy, it would be hard to get it off if she was tangled in it!   After wringing the blanket and pj out I ran them downstairs and threw 'em in the washer, I also stripped out of my clothes since they were soaked with puke, which I'd been wearing the whole time, yuck!  I got the small puke load started, wrapped up in a towel, and ran upstairs to wash myself off a bit and get into new pjs.  Maggie seemed to be better after her puking episode.  She still didn't get to sleep right away and I let her drink a little water so her tummy wasn't completely empty, that helped settle her stomach and she decided to finally go to sleep.

Maggie slept in a bit this morning.  She has been rather clingy and cranky today, though it alternates with happiness, curiosity, and the need to run around the house.  Plus her poor little nose is running like a faucet.  I gave her some allergy meds this morning because she's been itching her eyes and nose like crazy, I'm hoping the meds dry up her nose so she isn't sliming everything anymore.  I have to wipe her nose every 5 to 10 minutes and boy does she not like that!  She doesn't act sick really other than being a bit clingy, so I think she'll be better in a day or so.  She might take longer naps than usual.  Hopefully she doesn't slime all her blankets and crib, not sure when I'll be able to get to the laundry since the AAA people haven't shown up yet...

....Maggie is now at that height that she ends up bumping her head on tables if she isn't careful.  She isn't really aware that the tables are there until it's too late.  I'm not sure how long it's going to take her to figure out that she has to watch where she's going so she doesn't keep getting injured.  Fortunately it hasn't been anything serious yet!!!

*Jacob came in at about 5 this morning to give me loves before he went to work.   I had planned to get up at 5:30 to workout, but since I didn't get to sleep till after 9pm, then was up from 11 till 2 in the morning with Maggie I was so tired I turned my alarm off and slept till almost 7.  I'll have to workout later today after AAA comes to clean out the the rest of our drain pipes.  I'm waiting to start a load of dishes in the dishwasher too.  A lady called this morning and said they should be arriving around 9, but now it's almost 10.  I don't have any plans to go anywhere today, but I do really need to get a few chores done and those require the use of the drains, which they are supposed to be cleaning out!  I hate waiting around for things that were supposed to be done earlier, puts a crimp in my whole days activities!!!

Wondering...

My eyes hurt today.  I'm not sure if it's because I can't seem to control my emotions lately and have been crying a lot or that my contacts are saying their ready to be changed out, either way it's no fun!

I've been having this drawn out e-mail conversation with this guy who seemed to be interested in this perfume I am offering on Craigslist.  It was a rather furstrating conversation because he kept asking me questions that were either already clearly stated in my advertisement or that I had already answered in my e-mails to him.  I had to repeat myself over and over again and correct his apparent mis-understanding on the price, which was also clearly stated in my advertisement!  Anyway, this morning, after probably a dozen e-mails between us, I was writing the guy back with my address to come and buy the perfume (he e-mailed me back last night around 10:30 and said he come by after church this afternoon), I received an e-mail while I was typing my e-mail out.  After I sent my message out I checked the new e-mail, it was from the guy.  He said he'd found the perfume elsewhere for $25 new and though he was getting it all for 1/2 price he didn't want to drive down from Thornton since he didn't even know what it smells like.  SMH  Boy was I frustrated and disappointed!!!  I really hate getting the run around from people like that!!!
Afterwards I went upstairs and recapped the whole thing to Jacob and cried a little.  (There is more to the whole situation than just the frustrating person I had dealt with, that's why I was so emotional about it, but I don't want to go into it now...)

We all got up late this morning and since we were running short on time, to leave fore Church, we put our rears in high gear.  We were out the door by 8:40 and made it to Church with 5 minutes to spare.  The kids were all in new classes, which I forgot about, but since I was only dropping Maggie off I didn't find that out till I went to pick the kids up from their classes.  The Sermon was on God being our Shepherd.  We also found out about some of the Fall Bible Studies that were being offered.  I heard two in particular that I wanted to look into, MOPS and a Pathways Class on Expanding your relationship with God.  So after Service I went and picked up the information for the classes.  MOPS is on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month and apparently costs about $100 to attend, which isn't something that I hadn't planned on and I definitely don't have the money right now to join.  It doesn't start until the 15th of September, but I've been thinking about joining for years, so I might actually do it this year (when we have some money).  The other class sounded interesting in the Download (our Church's information session), but Jacob thought as I read through the brochure that the class on Connecting sounded more like what we should try out since we are pretty new to this Church and don't know hardly anyone yet.  That start's on the 8th of September, which is also a Wednesday, so Wednesdays might be a very busy, busy day for us through the rest of the year?!?!

After Church we went to WOW! to check out their tent sale.  It wasn't very interesting, unfortunately!  Since there was hardly anything in the tent worth looking at we went inside and looked around.  Their stuff is just too expensive and since we aren't really in the market for any furniture anyway, we probably won't be going back there any time soon!

On our way back home Jacob and I got into a discussion about money.  That always leaves us rather frustrated and wondering why we can't seem to get back on better track financially when God gave us the peace to buy this home.  Unfortunately things keep breaking and as it stands right now it's going to take us over 5 years at our current rate, or possibly 2.5 if we really crack down and try to get the bills paid off.  However, that would mean Jacob would need to take a big chunk of the money I get every month for the family to live on and we would have little to no extra money to live on for the next 2.5 years.  We really don't want to be in debt anymore, but we really aren't getting a break from financial trials!  This year alone, the water heater, furnace, and sewer line broke and needed to be replaced.  That's over $20,000 in expenses that we just don't have the income to pay off very quickly!  Plus our not even 2 yr old dishwasher got recalled and replacing it costs more than the rebate they are giving us by at least $500 dollars.  It's just so frustrating!!!  And though we are making payments on these credit cards, things keep breaking or getting damaged and require larger sums of money than we have at any one time to fix them without going even deeper in debt.  We aren't sure what to do...  It just feels like we did what God gave us peace about to do and now we are suffering more and more every year financially!  SMH  Yet again this is where the wonder comes in and where the sermon today touched on, God does provide for us!  We have a roof over our heads, reliable vehicles to drives, clothes to wear, and food to eat, however there is little room for anything else and I don't necessarily mean the frivolous stuff, though that is rather frustrating as well.  Jacob and I like to be generous people.  We like to help others financially and with gifts to bless their lives, however in our current financial situation we are unable to do so!  There is no extra income to help or bless others because all the extra money we get goes towards paying off these darn credit cards from broken appliances and house repairs!  So until we can get a card or two paid off we are really going to have to take it easy.  Life is going to have to revolve around the house and not getting out for the extracurricular stuff all that much!  I/we really hate being in this position and we apologize for not going to help anyone out all that much financially or with gifts, but it just isn't within our means right now.  We're finding it harder and harder each month just to pay the bills!  So please bare with us as we work to correct this, it may take us a couple years, but we are trying and hopefully when things are better we'll be able to bless all of you all the more!!!

Dancing in the Park

AND OTHER STUFF WE'VE BEEN UP TO LATELY...

Yesterday I stuck around the house most of the day, cleaned a little, and spent some time with John and Maggie.  I also sent out a few cards and realized that I don't seem to have as many people to write since I'm writing most everything here in my Blog.....

The guy in charge of the crew that did all the work for the maintenance on our sewer line, with AAA Plumbing, came by after 2 to make sure that everything was put back to normal.  Everything looks pretty good though there is a divot in the the front lawn that he said if it doesn't grow back in the next couple weeks they'll come out and take care of it.  He scoped out the pipes again, everything looks great, and he went over the paperwork with Jacob, who arrived home just in time to do that.  I paid the bill and scheduled the whole house drainage pipe cleaning for next Monday at 8am (it's included in the package we bought).  So hopefully with the new pipe line and the Home Service Plan that Jacob signed up for with AAA, we won't have any more major problems with our pipes as long as we live and if for some reason we do, it's covered by warranty!

I made chicken curry and vegetables over rice for dinner yesterday.  I really wanted to eat more, but my stomach was telling me not to.  The kids aren't all fans of the curry, but we told them if they ate up we'd have a surprise for them when we went out later that evening.  Our Community had scheduled a DJ and Free Ice Cream Social for 6-8pm.  I'd been thinking about going all week since I'd seen the fliers about it and was still debating, but I got a call from my friend Athena and she wanted to know if we were going to go?  I told her I wasn't sure, that I needed to call Jacob, so after I got off the phone with her I called him at work.  He said it sounded like a good opportunity to get out and do something different!  So, I called my friend Carley and invited her and her family to come;  she accepted.  Then I called Athena back and let her know we'd be going.  Just before 6 we all got ready to leave to the Community Commons for "Dancing in the Park".  The kids got pants, t-shirts, socks, and tennis shoes on, then outside we sprayed everyone down with bug spray just before we left the house.  (Mosquitoes can be killer here, especially to some of us, like David, he must be extra sweet.)

"Dancing  in the Park" was lots of fun!  It was nice to just sit and talk with friends and listen to the music while the kids run around.  I did get up to do the "Hokie-Pokie" with Maggie, she thought that was a riot.  I think we all had a good time, even Maggie got to run around a bit.  She thought it was fun to walk up and down a strip of the sidewalk where we were sitting.  She even got a bit too bold and took off a bit too far from us, Jacob chased after her.  lol  David got a lot of tree climbing in, there are some really good climbing trees in that park of the greenbelt.  Anna got to hang out with a bunch of her friends.  John stuck pretty close to us, he's not very social and was rather bored and cold, so he wrapped up a bit in our picnic blanket and just laid down.  He wanted to leave early, but we stayed till the very last song then headed home.  I hope they do another one of these in the near future.  I think I heard them mention something about doing one in September maybe?  We'll see...

This morning I got up about 6:30.  Woke up on my own, Maggie wasn't up yet.  Jacob wasn't in bed so I went downstairs and found him playing a video game.  He was too distracted with his game so I went upstairs and did my regular Saturday weigh in, plus I also did my measurements which I haven't done in about 2 months.  I'm progressing nicely, lost 2 lbs this week.  I think I haven't lost more because I've been doing more strength training and am converting fat to muscle which weighs more.  At least I did lose 2 lbs, that's my goal for ea. week.  My measurements were down in most areas as well, but I haven't done my measurements as regularly and I haven't lost as much as I should have in the last two months.  It's really hard to stick to this WW program and not eat the things you like.  I am working harder now though!!!

Jacob decided to shut his game off when the rest of the family was up.  Anna was the only one that had grabbed cereal for breakfast, so I proposed that we go and get doughnuts, it's been about 2 wks since we last got some.  However, Jacob decided that he wanted to get a couple things done this morning before we left.  He fixed the boys closet door which was off it's hinges and hung this small cast iron 'Welcome' sign with squirrels on it that I've had for quite awhile.  After we were done (I helped hang the sign) we left for the doughnuts, it was almost 9am.  We went to Smart Co. and I let each of the kids pick out 2 doughnuts, Jacob too, and I grabbed 4 cream cheese filled croissants.  On our way out we got a bunch of bananas and a small bag of white peaches, for the healthy part of our meal.  :O)  At the register a lady asked that we come over to her line, she'd just opened it up, so we went over there instead of waiting for our line.  I told the lady I had a dozen doughnuts and she was like, no you have some croissants in there, they aren't the same price as a dozen doughnuts. I was like "I've been getting almost the same thing, almost every Saturday since you guys opened and I've only ever been charged the $3.98 for a dozen doughnuts."  She was like, "I'm sorry, they shouldn't have done that because the croissants, danishs, and other pastries are a different price."  I was like, "So how much is this going to cost me?" I was only prepared to pay the $3.98 for a dozen.  She figured it out and it came to over $7.  I was like, "This is ridiculous!", grabbed my doughnuts and fruit and headed back to the the bakery.  I checked the signs on the door and there was a .79 cent sticker for 'other' pastry items.  Then I asked the people working in the Bakery about the dozen doughnut price and apparently those 'other' pastries are not  included in the $3.98 dozen doughnut price.  I was ticked!!!  I couldn't put the doughnuts back since I'd already grabbed them, so I grab 4 more 'regular' doughnuts to make the full dozen 'doughnuts' and get the $3.98 price and paid the extra for the croissants.  Anyway, I was not a happy camper, not when I'd been coming for over 2 months, possibly 3 and getting the same thing and now all of sudden I have to pay A LOT more than what I used to!!!  I WON'T be getting doughnuts as often as I used to anymore, not when it's gonna cost me so much more!!!  :O(

So I left Smart Co. in a bad mood, probably shouldn't have been driving, and we went home.  At home the kids were excited to get their doughnuts.  I had forgotten, which doughnuts each child had picked (since I was throwing my own little fit) and unfortunately I ended up giving one of John's doughnuts to David and he took a bite.  John started freaking out because David was eating his doughnut and I realized, as I looked at the doughnuts more closely, that I had given David's John's doughnut and he knew it!  I grabbed the doughnut from David and gave it to John, but then he didn't want it because it had a bite taken out of it.  This whole issue went on for awhile, but it eventually resolved and everyone gets THEIR doughnuts.

After doughnuts Jacob let us go to Furniture Row to check out the rocker, recliner I thought I'd be interested in (mine's been busted for awhile now).  Turns out that they one I went for isn't as good of quality as I would have hoped.  The arms of the chair, though very cushy, would go flat pretty quickly due to not so quality materials and the back didn't provide as much support as we would have hoped, so we left.

It was after 11 as we headed back towards home.  I'd already decided that I wanted to get Chinese for lunch so went to LD's Chinese Buffet.  I planned to only spend about $30 for take out, but as we arrived our friend Athena was there w/ her kids, unloading them from her van.  Come to find out our friends the Mikelevicius' were there for their daughters Birthday lunch, that's why Athena and her kids were there, so we decided to eat in too.  It was nice to see everyone and get to spend some time with them, even though it was pretty noisy in there!  AND fortunately the dine-in fee wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be!!!

Back home Jacob put Maggie down for a nap, she missed her morning one because we were out.  Then we worked on my chair a bit.  I had him help me fix the cushioning on the arm.  After he'd repositioned it a bit he decided that he'd check and see if he could figure out why/how the back was broken.  After removing the back, which a very hand feature to Lazyboys, he found out that one of the screws that holds the side support in place was completely broken off and was no longer holding the side support in place.  So, he grabbed a large screw from the garage, drilled a pilot hole in a different location, but still providing the same support, and now my chair doesn't fall over to the left anymore when I sit in it, it's completely supported now!  YAY, for my Honey's ingenuity!  Now if only the darn arm cushion would stay in place!!!  ;O)

So, now that the majority of our projects/plans are done for the day I decided to get on here and post an update.  Jacob is playing another video game and all the kids except Maggie are watching.  Not sure what we're going to do for the rest of the day???

Stuck At Home

AAA Plumbing arrived this morning to replace the sewer/drainage pipes for our house earlier than expected, shortly after 8 am.  I was told they weren't coming till 9, but earlier is always better for me and I was ready for them.  The inspector came in and marked all the different power and water lines.  Then after another scope of the pipe line they found out that the pipes are clay all the way up to the house so instead of putting the accessible drain out out in the yard, they now need to put it in exactly the same place Jacob had dug the 4  foot deep, 6 foot long hole on Monday and filled back in because the first company we talked to said they couldn't put the drain out there for "safety reasons".  It was pretty annoying!  They started digging about 9:30 this morning and are finally starting to put everything back the way it was before, it is now after 5pm, though the grass is going to be a bit flat in places and there will be a lot of loose dirt around for awhile, but hopefully this will take care of our pipes backing up anymore!

They've been blocking the driveway all day so John, Maggie and I have been stuck at home.  It's a good thing I didn't want to go anywhere today, well earlier today anyway.  However, I was hoping that this evening after dinner we could take a trip to Furniture Row to check out this recliner that they have on sale right now, but since they are still blocking the driveway and may be for another hour or two, depending on how long it takes them to fill everything back in and put things back in their places, we probably won't be going today.  We'll see?!

Anyway, John and I played a couple games today.  I opened a Lego Memory Game, but John found it too frustrating and we only did one game.  Then we played 2 games of Connect 4 and he beat me both times, which he was really excited about, he's not a very gracious loser just yet.  Later after a few of his movies and after I'd started one of mine he asked if we could read a book.  I told him to grab the Muppet Babies books that we have on the shelf and I read him the two that he picked of the lot.  He really liked them and wanted me to read them all, but I told him we'd read some more tomorrow, we have about 5 or 6 more of those books we'll read them in the next few days.

I played a bit with Maggie today as well.  She tried to just sit on my lap while I played with this Fisher Price game she has that you put these ball into and they take different courses to the outside depending on which hole you put them in. I had to show her several times how to put the balls in the slots, but she finally figured it out and decided to do it on her own.  She doesn't have a very long attention span just yet though and she soon tired of the game, started rubbing her eyes and ended up going down for a nap.  Her first nap was interrupted by our very annoying doorbell buzzer, but she took a decent afternoon nap.  I think she'll go to bed tonight without any problems, she hardly ever fusses when it's time to go to bed especially if I give her a bottle before she's laid down.

Anna came home all excited from school today!  She was jumping up and down and handed us a letter from the school.  Apparently they took a test in the last few days and due to her scores she's been selected to join an advanced Math program during regular school hours.  We need to attend a meeting next Tuesday morning that will tell us all about the program.  Anyway, she's very excited about it and Jacob seemed rather impressed!  I'm glad that she takes after her father on the Math front because I'm sure not any good at it!  :O)

As for David, well he tried the pizza at school today.  He said that he liked and didn't like it, so not a top favorite.  I'm not sure what he did today though, he doesn't really talk much when he gets home, he likes to go and play immediately upon arriving home.  I guess I should check his backpack to see if he has any homework today.

I wasn't able to accomplish a whole lot today.  Got the dining room cleaned up after our tea yesterday, did a bit of vacuuming and bit of organizing, but since I haven't been able to use any running water today it's really limited what I've been able to do cleaning and constructive wise.  That's okay, it was a nice down day.  Now I'm going to check and see what every one else are up to and hopefully if the driveway is clear we can head out for a short trip to the furniture store...

A Bit Emotional When it Comes to Weight Loss Discussions

**DISCLAIMER**  Sorry all, this is just a vent to make me feel better!  So please don't read on unless you wish to read my little vent fit...  Sometimes you just got to get it out cause keeping it all bottled up inside could cause an emotional explosion!!!
 

...I'm always trying to teach the kids that they need to think before they open their mouths and say something that they will later regret!  I think everyone needs to be more careful with their words and conversations because you may not realize that  you're talking about something that can be an emotionally sensitive subject for the person(s) you're talking to!  

I mentioned the above because, I was talking with a friend the other day and she started talking about one of her friends who has lost 30 lbs since joining Weight Watcher's and saying that she looks really good!  She kept going on and on about it and my friend was even talking about joining Weight Watcher's herself since her friend was doing so well.  (I've been trying to get her to join since I mentioned it earlier this year and she even said she was going to join once she wasn't pregnant anymore.)  It made me feel kind of bad since I'd already been talking about this with her, but she hadn't done it and now that her other friend was doing so well she wanted to join too.  Plus I felt bad because she was praising her other friend for a 30lbs weight loss, when I've been doing WW also and have lost almost 40 lbs.  (I'm just shy of the 40 lb mark, may even reach it by Saturday if I keep up the good work this week.  AND This weight loss has me over 5lbs under pre-pregnancy weight!)  The whole conversation just made me feel like I don't look as good as her other friend or that my friend just hasn't noticed the change in me, I don't know maybe it isn't that noticeable?!  

Anyway, I've been thinking about it a lot since (which isn't the best thing in the world to do) and the whole conversation just makes me feel bad, you know those kinds of conversations that you have with someone where you feel like to you need to defend yourself or compete with what their saying because you've done even better than who they're talking about???  I've even almost cried a couple times this morning!  I know that feeling bad is my fault and my friend didn't mean anything by praising her other friends progress, I guess she didn't realize how sensitive a subject weight loss is for me, but it has rather hurt my feelings because I've been trying really hard to lose weight...  

With my weight loss I am feeling pretty good.  My body isn't where I want it to be just yet, but I am working on it and I think I'm seeing pretty good results in the time frame I have been working on it!

...Even as I type this and read back through I'm realizing that I'm a bit jealous that my friend was praising her other friend and didn't say a darn thing about me when I've achieved more doing WW than her other friend has, well at least I've lost more weight!  I guess I just have really low self-esteem right now and am extremely prone to emotional breakdowns when weight loss discussions are involved, so this conversation didn't help!

SO, if you did decide to read this, I know you may not always know what's going on in someone's life, BUT IF YOU CAN think a bit before you say something or strike up a conversation anyway.  You might just save at least one persons emotional state for the time being!

~*~ Tea at My House ~*~

Yesterday (August 25th) I hosted a Tea for a couple of my girlfriends.  I spent the whole morning cleaning, cleaning, and doing more cleaning to get ready.  The house looked lovely by the time it was time for everyone to arrive and I already had some of the items ready for everyone to enjoy.  I made cucumber sandwiches, which John tried and then kept coming back for more and more, I'd bought pirouettes, chessmen cookies, and some oatmeal, dark chocolate, cherry almond cookies (which I never did try).  My friends arrived one by one.  Cindy brought a platter for meat, cheese, and crackers and an Asian dish that we never even brought out (she took it back home for dinner).  Carley brought some baklava, cream tarts, and coconut mount cookies with the bottoms dipped in chocolate.  Athena brought several bags of various different cookies, one was a sampler pack of Pepperidge Farm cookies, yum!  We had three different teas:  Irish breakfast, a strawberry one, and a Honey Vanilla Chai.  We all had a good visit and got a bit overloaded on sugar again, at least I did!  

We are planning on doing a tea at least once a month from now on and from what I gather the girls would like to invite more friends to join us, so this could get pretty big.  I'll take pictures in the future, but for now I don't have any to post.  I need to get a few things for our tea too, like a table cloth.  When the kids got home they ate up the rest of the goodies and I made them two new pots of tea, which they drank a bunch of, however they kept pulling the bed sheet, which I used for a table cloth, off the table.  They should have some really pretty fall ones available pretty soon if not now, I just haven't been looking.  I should also pick up some washable place mats, or make them?!  We'll see...  So over all it was a good time.  A chance to relax and visit with the girls!