12.21.2008

Cabin Fever!!

Okay, I know we all love the snow here in the PNW but really, it's getting old. We have been stuck in the house for three days now and I would just like to go shopping!! It's Christmas and I should be out with the crowds, spending money, and boosting the economy! But I supposed some good has came from this.. first I finished my Christmas cards (although no stamps so I cannot send them!), second I read two books, and third I had time to put together this little slideshow...



Today there has been 2 more inches of snow on top of the extreme 1/2 inch thick slab of ice that is covering everything. The snow is super powder and not moist enough to build a snowman.. But we are in the process of making an igloo. What crazy weather, and although I love the snow, I would really like to see atleast some of it melting away... I mean, Christmas Eve is only two days away and that is alot of snow to clear off..

In addition to that, we are getting bad cabin fever.. When the snow plow passes we all race to the window to watch, and if we miss it, it's as if our whole day is ruined... -pretty bad huh-

12.06.2008

What's Been Keeping Us Busy

Adrianne has been enjoying her gymnastics. Unlike Alexa, she is thriving and loves to jump, hop, run, and do crazy things. She had her second time on the balance beam and she did very well. She even jumped off into the foam blocks (after a few pushes from dad). A friend of ours gave us a few gymnastic outfits, doesn't she look cute!



Here is Alexa, on our way to gymnastics, she wanted to play peek-a-boo with the camera, so I took these shots.



While it's been chilly, it sure has been sunny. I have been awakened by Alexa saying, "Mom, it's sunny outside! Hot enough for pretty dress!" So here she is in her pretty dress, playing hopscotch that I made for her in the driveway. It's still there today and I can see she can't wait to get out there and hop around again.

11.29.2008

My Little Miss Adrianne..

Everytime I look at Adrianne I realize just how much she is growing. It kills me. With Alexa it's honestly not that bad, I don't mind her turning into a little lady, but Adrianne.. I can't stand it. She's supposed to be my "baby" and she even hates it when I call her a "baby". Even when I say goodnight to her I just wish I could suck her up and put her in a glass bottle to be treasured forever. I always want to hug her and hold her growing hand..

Isn't that mommy mushy-ness, and I am not a mushy person. But I just wish I could capture every moment and never forget.

Here is her first photo after we arrived home from the hospital, I love it, and I always have. It shows just how much sisterly love my girls have for each other, from the very start.

Alexa and Adrianne - January 2006

A day of FIRSTS...

We took family photos! Check them out, and while you do imagine Frank S. singing the Christmas Waltz... :)







Alexa was a little less cooperative, I don't blame her, we didn't get the photographer that I wanted which is something that I dis-like about the Sears. But Adrianne really did well and she was cute as a button.

After the photos we went to see Santa. It was awesome, there was no line at all and Santa was happy to talk to the girls and ask what they wanted for Christmas (Alexa would like a guitar, and Adrianne a horn). And for the FIRST time they sat on Santas lap all by themselves!! I wanted to cry, they are so grown up. The photo isn't one of them smiling, but hey I can't expect everything!

On the way back through the mall we wandered into Icings and got Adrianne her FIRST pair of earrings! She did awesome although she did cry saying, "It poked my ears!" She was fine after about 3 minutes and ever so happy to see her earrings in the mirror. Oh and I forgot to mention she picked the BLUE earrings (no not the pink ones that mommy wanted, or the clear ones that daddy wanted... yes people, blue). She will be wearing jeans for the next 6 weeks to match her blue earrings.. But she is happy with them and she says they don't hurt, they actually look alot better than Alexa's did when she got hers done.

When we got home we decided to defrost some meat and I was cleaning off one of our forgotten kitchen counter tops while Julius decided it was time to peel the wallpaper off the main bathroom.. Yes people, our FIRST remodel effort. It's quite a mess and we spent about 2 hours on half of the bathroom.. Its really bad underneath because it was originally wallpaper, then they plastered over the paper (why I don't know) and then wallpapered again.. Kinda hard to understand but I think we have it under control.

What a big day for all of us.. In addition to that, I got up at 6am and went to Walmart to get Christmas gift for everyone, then the window people came and installed the last window in the kids' room, and we even had time to do the laundry and break out the Christmas decorations.. WOW (needless to say, my homework is still lingering..) We might get our tree tomorrow, yay!!

Cause... "It's that time of year when the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say, MERRY CHRISTMAS..."

11.26.2008

Three Hours and Still Organizing..

Do you scrap? Do you have a ton of stuff? Like an overwhelming amount... We'll I do. I have spent most of the day organizing my crafting "closet" it's crazy! How did I get so much stuff? And the worst part, while organizing I keep thinking of things I don't have that I should BUY!! It's a sickness.

Nearly done though, just all my paper and stickers to figure out where I should put them. There really isn't a convenient way to store stickers, do you organize by holiday, maker, color, there are just too many choices.. Not to mention my ridiculous amount of paper!

But I know I will get it done, I will finish it and I will scrap some tonight as a reward.. And perhaps I should start digi scrappin', not nearly as much storage issues.... And there are some really cute things out there... (Perhaps my X-mas gift to myself?)

11.25.2008

There's a reason it's called a Vacation..

It's my Thanksgiving vacation this week, which to me means I should be kicking back veg-ing out on my couch eating popcorn watching romantic movies. Somehow I pictured this week of ample time to strip and repaint my much needed home. I was imaging time to read through atleast 4 books with lots of time to prepare a home cooked meal and fresh baked cookies. The kind of vacation where time is an endless abundance and the bounty of time brings on a fire of creativity..

Boy was I wrong! I have homework like crazy just lurking in the corners, more paper-fun to do and that is not all... The laundry keeps piling up, and dishes haven't been washing themselves and the kids are all too happy to scatter toys in every direction with the all too familiar yells of, "I'm still playing with those!" (Really cause I thought you were watching a movie!!!)

The office is a disaster and my Christmas cards are not finished :( Thank goodness for this awesome cocoa curtesy of Coffee Lounge...

Speaking of.. Did you know they made Main Street into a TWO WAY!! I am happily making my way to Coffee Lounge by going down whatever road comes west of main then going down to Evergreen and proceeding to go North on main... When I find a HUGE SUV coming at me?!? And what do my wondering eyes see but a bright yellow line going down the middle of the road (where did that come from?) thinking the SUV has gone awry, I slow down and make enough space for it to barrel past only to find it followed by a number of cars and the parking spaces are all going the Wrong direction?? What a mass of confusion, only after I had made a evasive parking manuver did I realize that they had made Main into a two way over the weekend..

Crazy, really, I thought all of downtown vancouver had gone haywire! (Turns out it was just me who didn't know what I was doing). Keep your eyes peeled down there ladies, because it's quite a new idea.

I'm off to finish my paper-fun now, atleast I can cross that off my list WOO HOO! :)

11.24.2008

I'm just going to call it, "Paper-Fun"

How was your sunny November day? Ours was great, I got up to the girls already awake and playing happily (I'm glad they were playing contently together!) Then we made cinnamon rolls, no not the homemade kind because Martha Stewart doesn't live here... The kind from the refrigerator section. Just as delicious and so much more convenient. After a quick shower and a tub for the girls we were off to Alexa's second day at gymnastics.

It was a surprise to see one of the other MOMS there with her little girl too. Alexa did her usual "watching" the others, then kicked in towards the end. She really likes the gymnastics I just don't know how to get her more involved, or maybe she just needs to be more outgoing... Hopefully it will come with time. I'm always glad to see her trying :)

Adrianne was much better this week, and happily waited knowing that her turn is coming later tonight with Dad. The kids got to do the bars today, which Alexa has been asking me about for a while now. She was glad to have help from the teacher to swing on it.

Afterward we went to the bank where they entertained the tellers with their expressions of awe at the Christmas decorations, one teller even said, "They look really surprised to see holiday decorations!" (Is that a hint at bad parenting??) No we have not yet gotten out our X-mas deco and Julius and I are still debating on where to place the tree.. This weekend though we will put it into high gear.

I was going to take the kids to the park, but I have so much paper-fun to work on. I've been sitting her for about an hour and I am almost half way done so that is promising, and I told myself that I could work on the kids advent calendars once I got done with the paper-fun.

The sunset is really gorgeous, I can see it every night from our office window (and the kids room). Oh shoot I just remembered I am supposed to make meat-love.. Add that to the paper-fun and I don't think we will ever get out of the house! :) Hopefully tomorrow will be nice and we will be able to enjoy it.

P.S. Sorry no pics, I didn't have the camera this week.

11.21.2008

Chatterbox..

Why does Alexa have to constantly chatter? I swear she gives running commentary on everything that is happening or could happen or that she is thinking about. We cannot eat a meal without her counting how many bites she has remaining. We can't watch a movie without her telling me what will happen next, I cannot watch TV without her endless questions (try to explain last nights ER where a doctor had to open a mans eye area).

It does not end there.. in the car she tells me when to go, "The light is green now mommy." or "Lets go faster!!" Not to mention the endless repeating of, "Where are we going? What are we going to do? Then what... then what.. then what.." I must repeat the whole days worth of events over and over...

Oh and don't get me started about leaving the house after it gets dark... "But mommy it's dark outside, so it's bedtime." Heaven forbid we have to run to the movie store or pick up something from the grocery store. That results in an endless round of, "it's really dark... mom is it really dark...?"

And with the changing of the season comes even more questions, "Mom why is my mouth smokin'?" If the car is cold I even hear relentless rounds of, "My Mouth is SMOKIN in the CAR!!"

The chatter, chatter, chatter.... And ALL of her questions are directed at me, as if Julius cannot answer them. To which I tell myself that she must think I am wiser than dad.

Oh and the newest thing.. "Mom sissy isn't listening to me." I just want to say, "Mommy isn't listening either!!" Even Adrianne has picked up on it, often stating, "Sissy not answer me." and breaking into tears.

Good golly miss molly, will it ever end..

11.19.2008

Nastics, Day One

I took Alexa to her gymnastics on Monday morning. She was very excited. She did pretty good, although alot of the things were not as easy for her. Her class had only two boys in it, but they have been taking the class for a while now so they know what to do. At one point the instructor was asking her to run "rocket speed" well if you haven't already guessed, she doesn't really have a rocket speed.. Infact she doesn't have much speed at all. But she had fun and wants to go again.

Check out her pics!

Pre-class excitement

Watching the other kids

Big Summersalt

Adrianne and I watched from the bench, we were glad that we were the only class going on at that time so the gym was pretty empty. Adrianne spent her time running and jumping and repeatedly asked me, "is it my turn?"

Once Alexa was done Adrianne thought it was her turn and was gravely disappointed when I told her that she didn't get a turn. Then I felt bad, so I went and signed her up for the evening class of parent and tot to see how she would do.

Later that night we all went back and Julius took the class with Adrianne, she did really well although she is such a ball of energy that she had a hard time holding still to hear the directions. She had a blast jumping off the big platform into these big foam blocks. And once her turn was over she broke into tears, she wanted to go back on the trampoline. It didn't matter what I said to console her, she was still heartbroken that her turn was over.

I couldn't find a way to make her understand that she would have a turn again next week.. Hopefully it will go better at the end next time!

Here are a couple of the photos I took of her, she was kinda far away so they arn't great photos but I didn't want to distract her with the camera.

Listening for the instructions

The first backbend

Over the Mailbox

Trampoline Jumpin'

Fearless fall into the foam pit

11.13.2008

Two weeks til the turkey trots..

Well it's finally Thursday, which is my Friday. I have my tax class tonight which I am finding that tax and I do not make a very good combination (not that I ever thought we would). Julius really enjoys taxes and finds it all interesting, while I cannot believe what a huge system has been made with so many rules and regulations which are constantly changing. It's like a huge spider web and once you start to understand one section then a law is passed and it all changes.

I would much rather keep to bookkeeping, it's much easier and although you have to know some general tax things it's not as detailed as actually preparing taxes.

So far I think I am receiving B's in all my classes. To me that is mediocre but I don't have a will to put any more time/effort into it. Perhaps next semester I will have something that keeps me entertained.

I don't think we have anything planned for this weekend, which is a first. We have really made an effort to cut back on our volunteering. It's made the last couple weekends much easier. We still have a full December, but that is always full no matter what you do.

My mom is coming to town on Dec. 17th, so we should be keeping busy. Maybe she will help me to redo my house :) *hint, hint, mom*

Oh, speaking of my house, I have had a lot of requests for photos of various things around here and especially our hideous wallpaper. So I stopped at my Aunts house to borrow her camera and I will take some photos today while the sun is out (perhaps the natural light will make it seem less atrocious). Still asking Julius to PLEASE PICK UP MY DESK *Julius!* I would love to have some space for scrappin' even if I have to fight for square footage around here.

OMG I just realized that my scrappin' is the same time as MNO this week.. dang myself, I cannot get my schedule to have some sort of order. Will have to look into the times, maybe I can pull off both.

Okay it's 4pm and I still have to do my homework for tonight... Hope everyone is enjoying this nice fall day. We went to SWWMC and while we were there we got to see one of the Life Flight helechopters land, it was pretty awesome. :)

11.12.2008

A Big Day at the House of 'A'

We got up really early today, just after 8am.. It was nice, we were all in bed before 10:30pm last night so I guess early to bed, early to rise.

With getting up early comes more time for those daunting responsibilities.. (which I will start right after I blog, I mean some things are just more important!)

Alexa and I have been looking for a class for her to take (some kind of dance or gymnastics), I want her to have some time with other kids - AKA not her sister - before she heads off to kindergarten in the fall. I remember when I was little and I first went to kindergarten it was horrible. What a nightmare experience. I don't want that for her, I feel she should atleast have some adjustment time before I throw her to the wolves.

I chose not to put her in preschool this year. At the time of sign-ups she was a very shy and timid little lady, not speaking to people who addressed her and not wanting to make eye contact with new people.

However, in the last 4-5 months since she turned 4, she has turned into a different girl. I see alot of new interests and the desire to learn really emerging in her. Which I love! She is really interested in computer games, trying to do things for herself, playing with other kids, being more athletic, and she even spends time entertaining herself. What a different little girl.

How did she suddenly change so quickly? She is talking like crazy, making up stories, and pretending like never before!

So we have agreed that she will take gymnastics, which she calls 'nastics'. She has been asking me if nastics is 'tomorrow' for the last week, ever since we went to sign her up and she saw the other girls tumbling and swinging from the bars. (It's actually gotten quite annoying.. haha)

Today I called and officially put her in a Monday class, this being a day when we usually don't have anything else going on so hopefully if she gets anxious we will develop a good routine to calm her. Although she says she really wants to go and I told her that sissy and I will only be watching.

She has came up with some interesting questions, such as, "I can't hang from the bars, I'm too small." and "I don't know how to do tumbling.." I just keep telling her that she will need to listen to the teacher and she will learn how to do all the fun nastics.. (I hope I am answering her in a way she understands).

In addition to this, she has done really awesome at Sunday school (no doubt thanks to MC!). Last week she didn't even stop to give me a hug, she saw playdough and immediatly found a seat amongst the other girls, never looking back or even giving me a moment to let her grow into the little lady she is becoming.

Then after her 'school' she came to me and said, "mom, you forgot my hug." (something I can imagine me saying to my own mom.) And I said, "no, you forgot mommies hug because you wanted to play with the playdough.. did you cry?" and she said, "nope, I had fun." to which I mumbled, "well, you almost made mommy cry!" Little stinker.

So in these times of big change I just try to watch and guide her from afar. She is somewhat of a late bloomer in the personality department, so I will enjoy watching her truely immerge as a little lady.

Alexa - September 2008

11.10.2008

When life gives you lemons..

Today is one of those days.. It seems that these days I am having more and more of 'those days'.

I won't bore you too much with my problems which have been taking over my blog as of recently, infact I don't blog very often because I don't have anything nice to say..

However, we did go to the mall on Saturday and the 'big guy' was there waving and having a grand ol' time in his large red chair. Along with him were lights and an assortment of other holiday related items. The stores have completely bypassed Thanksgiving and headed straight into Christmas. I don't blame them, what better way to get people to spend money then to load their senses with holiday paraphernalia. It worked for me! I bought the kids 6 pairs of heavy knit tights, and their matching holiday dresses. Plus ofcourse who could go to the mall and pass up Cinnabon.. So about $100 spent in one day, oh and we also went to Home Depot to get a new hinge when I saw none other then MORE Christmas stuff, so we bought some icicle lights for the front of our house.

But that is the end of our buying, as I know we are living way beyond our means. And we don't really even buy much stuff. We just don't make much money, and with my student loans it looks like we have money that we don't really have.

I called the Vanc. Clinic, the lady said she could get our payments down to $329.40 a month. Which I guess we could make, if we did nothing else during the rest of the month and we completly ignored our other bills. It's really getting down to the nitty and the gritty here.

Plus we went to church yesterday and the pastor guy (we are still trying to find the 'right' church) is talking about how in order to be part of Jesus family you have to conform to the ways taught in the bible of a man and woman union.. WTF?? What kind of thing is that to say? I'm sorry but if you believe that to be true, then that is your thing.. But I don't believe that for a second!! I was furious, next he might say "And you have to have white skin and blond hair to be welcomed into this church." HOLY MOLEY, that was really hard hitting.

So then I told Julius that I thought that pastor was remakably bold to say something like that. And he said he didn't think it was that bad. That he wouldn't like it if one of the girls grew up to like girls.. I was then more infuriated, that is their choice and I will give them the right to choose who they like and who makes them happy.

Then he says, "Well what if drugs make them happy." WHAT? That is so not the same thing, that's not even related, as drugs are a mental stimulant and totally used by choice. Where I feel that being gay or a lesbian is not something you "choose" you are born with it and you can either fight it for your life and never be happy or you can do that your heart tells you. That has nothing, nothing to do with being happy on drugs..

Rediculous. Really before you get married, you should talk about these things. I feel this is a core value that we have really missed during our union discussion.

Now I am going to take a shower because just writing about all this has made me mad again.. That and I don't have any place to put my scrappin stuff, and I am just plain grouchy.

10.28.2008

A Vacation from my Problems

If you have never seen What About Bob, you totally need to see it. In it he is prescribed a vacation from his problems, which is exactly what I could use. Not that I have problems necessarily but definitely stress.

The window people are here redoing some of our windows. So it's pretty noisy and there are windows sitting in every room so I keep asking the girls to be careful.

OMG it's almost 4pm!! We were out playing in the garden since we got home from playgroup, I had no idea it was that late.. I guess I better do my homework instead of blog, haha..

10.23.2008

All the things you don't really want to do...

I hate it when it comes to a time when everywhere I look there are things to do.. For example, my scrappin stuff is still in boxes due to not having my scrappin desk at our new house.. My Halloween decorations are half way up and the other half is just sitting on my coffee table (taunting me), the darn dishes at lingering in the sink every night, and my bed is always in shambles.

I just want to stay awake and do what needs to be done so tomorrow I can focus on other things. But it's already 11:30, Julius is snoring up in the girls' room and I just don't have the energy to focus...

"So much time, and so little to do.. Strike that... Reverse it." (If you don't know the quote, it's from Willy Wonka, the original.)

10.20.2008

My Wild Weekend!

Today is Monday, and a day of resting plus homework :) We have had a crazy weekend so let me just start from the beginning.

Julius took the day off on Friday. I told him I wanted to go to the Pumpkin Patch, and I also needed to buy a dress for the Ms. PI Coronation Ball. He however wanted to go to the Fish Hatchery.. So we went up the Wa side of the gorge and stopped at a few places on the way, then crossed the Bridge of the Gods and went to the dam. The kids had fun and we had a great time seeing Herman, the 10 ft. long Sturgeon. WOW!

On the trip back we decided we were hungry so I suggested we go to the outlet mall in Troutdale, and we could eat and I could look for a dress. We had subway and I was unsuccessful at finding a dress :(

Afterwards, we drove to the Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch which was quite a ways with traffic. It was already 5pm and we had to be somewhere at 6pm. So I was worried we wouldn't have time to play at the patch. But we had a great time, and thank goodness they are open until 11pm. We petted all the animals and spent some time in the hay maze, then Julius put the girls in a big wagon and pulled them through the patch until we found the perfect pumpkins, five of them. And we bought some corn, apples, cabbage, and indian corn.. and $22 later we were happily on our way.

Our next stop was the Fil-Am building in Portland. I have been selling Ms. Philippines tickets for 5 months now, and got third place (called Mrs. Visayas). So we had rehearsal, and although we were an hour late we still had time to do what needed to be done and eat their food. We finally got home and went to bed around 11pm.

Saturday morning we got up and went to a dress shop that the #1 Ms. Philippines told me about. It was on Sandy Blvd. and we all met up and I picked out my dress. They were all paniced that I waited until the day of the ball. But the lady who worked there assured me in her extreamly broken english that she could make it big enough to fit me and would have it done by 3 pm. (Thank goodness).

We then drove back to Vanc. and got Julius' hair cut, then out of 192nd to buy some shoes to go with the dress (I totally forgot shoes..) found some on clearance that were super comfy, and it was BOGO so Alexa got a new pair of flats too.

Once we had the shoes all picked out it was on to get my hair cut and styled. That went well and while I was in there Julius went to my Aunts and picked up my wedding dress with my extreamly amazing undergarmets. When he picked me up it was just after 3pm, so we raced to the dress shop where I put on the gravity defying, sinch you up like a barbie unmentionables and tried on my dress.. Then the lady said, "oh, you so skinny now.. beautiful.." then she had to take the dress in. But I came out with a nice dress that fit good and I liked it.

By now it was about 5pm, (we were supposed to be at the hotel by now..) so we bought Burgerville and took the girls to my Aunts house and came back to our house where Julius and I ate. Then he ironed his clothes and took a shower, while I put my face on and squeezed my hiney into my dress.

We walked out of the house at 6pm and drove like lightening back to Airport Way where the dinner was being held. We got there in time to eat, but we had just ate so we weren't really hungry.

By the time the night was over I couldn't wait to get my unmentionabled off and breathe again. So we picked up the girls around 11:30 and came home and went to bed.

Sunday I took the girls to return the dress (I had just rented it because I knew I would never wear it again.) Then we went to my Aunts house and picked up their winter clothes, and their bicycles. Once we got home I was going to go to the Fred's but I was tired so I took a nap instead. By the time I got up, it was time to eat and go to bed again..

So I am glad it's Monday and that whole thing is done with :) Now it's on to our next big adventure..

Here are some photos from the Ms. Philippines Ball, I cannot find the camera adapter to get the photos from the fish hatchery and pumpkin patch (I tried to put the memory card in the reader but it was too small and I then had to dig it out because it was stuck..) So next time I will post some photos of that.

I hope you all had a great weekend as well, the weather sure was awesome :)

10.15.2008

When you want to have a mental breakdown..

I've come to terms that I am in desperate need of a mental breakdown.. the body wants it, the mind wants it.. I just need a time to shut down and reboot my mental system..

But I don't have that time. I'm starting to feel like a computer that is never shut down and has so much in it's processor that it's hard to work on anything new.

Called the Vanc Clinic today, to ask for an adjustment on my $3,200 bill.. After many rounds of questioning she said, "Well I can get it down to $600 a month." (Like I have an EXTRA $600 a month). I wanted to cry.. Then she said reluctantly that I can possibly get 10% off due to my low income, but my income isn't low enough so I might not qualify. So her next suggestion *this is great* "Why don't you put it on a credit card." WTF?!?! How does that help me? Then I have the $3200 PLUS 19.99% interest?!?

I am really at the end of my rope.. Plus my old apartment is still insisting that I pay the $850 for October rent.. It's a financial crisis here people... and I need a mental breakdown!!

10.14.2008

Something a little more interesting...

It has came to my attention that my blog is making people 'tired'. I don't blame you, it makes me tired too!

So I thought I would spice things up for tonight, since the kids and Julius are asleep and I don't have to get up in the morning :)

Here is a link to a guy name named Stephen Lynch. Please go there and enjoy his songs, one is called Special Fred, and the other is You Caught Me Spankin' It (not for the faint of heart, and definitely not for my brother..) So ENTER at your own risk :) Have fun.

Note: I have searched and searched and I cannot find the Spankin it song anywhere online!! If anyone comes across it in their journey into Stephen Lynch land, please post it in a reply box, it is a super funny song. However not politically or morally correct...

10.13.2008

October 13!! The month is half way gone?!?!

I don't know where all my time has been going but the days are just flying by. I have only 2 more months of school and I couldn't be gladder (I don't think that is a word). I absolutely detest my English class/teacher. It's so tedious and she has so many assignments, it's like she thinks we have nothing better to do than to write memos and letters and proposals all for her to grade with a vengeance. So far I have 30/50 and 39/50... it's not looking good for me. The lady who sits next to me is awesome, she is the only reason I even attend that class. She is so down to earth and she writes really well and creatively but even her best grade is 47/50, so we laugh about how our work would be top-dollar in any corporation but the possessed teacher doesn't think so. Plus she doesn't believe in paying for parking either so that gives us something else to rant about. We even sit in the front row, whatever happened to preferential grading for those who sit up front?!?!

I hope I never have to take another English course like this one. I've never been good at English in the first place, but this lady is out of control! She even down graded me because I put two spaces after each period. Get a grip lady!

My other classes are not so bad, not that I am getting A's, which I totally wish I was. I just don't have the extra time to put the needed effort into each class. It literally takes A TON of time to do everything up to perfect standards and prepare for tests and such. And to be honest, it's just not on the top of my "to-do" list. I love my kids more than school and I want to be there for them, not shouting about my homework or "be quiet" or "mommy's busy" type of thing.

So maybe I shouldn't have went to school yet, I know there are people out there who want it more than I do at this point in time. But Julius said I needed to go, so here I am. I told him that next semester I only want two classes. I am sure I will end up with three, but it's just so taxing on your mind and patience. And I feel I could get better grades if I just have two courses, even if they are harder.

Which brings me to my advising appointment, I have two holds on my classes. One is the required timed writing that every student has to do (god, more writing.. someone shoot me). The other is my needed transcript from my CC in Hawaii.. which would not release my transcript until I payed my library fine. So I called to find out how much I owe... TWO DOLLARS, they are so stingy that they wouldn't let two dollars slide from back in 2003!!! My gosh, as if I didn't give that school my time and sweat, volunteering and tutoring..

So then, I have to pay the two dollars plus the transcript request of $15 (no it's not free..) to which I have only two checks left. One check went to the rent payment, and the other went to the utility bill from our apartment. So no more checks to pay for the transcript. Yes, I ordered checks online, but they have not arrived yet. The clock is ticking and I have no access to money.

I cannot believe how this month is crumbling. I forget half of the MC things I am supposed to do, I do my assignments at the last minute, I can't remember what my group responsibilities are for my management class, and I can barely get to sleep at night. PLUS my house is still not set up the way I want!!

Will this nightmare never end. I know, I just have to do one thing at a time... so I better stop ranting and get things done. :) I feel better.

10.10.2008

I will get it done!

This is the saying of encouragement that I keep repeating to myself as I tip-toe past boxes and piles of stray clutter, "I will get it done!" We have now officially been in the new house for nearly 2 weeks. (it will forever be called "new house") It seems that the more I put things away, the more I decide to move them... again, and again.. So now I try to think about where I am putting my things before I actually put them.

It doesn't help that I refuse to put items in un-wiped drawers and shelves. Another words I have to clean the drawer/shelf before I will put my things in it. So the bathroom counter is loaded with misc. stuff that needs to be put away, but I must first wipe out the drawers and cabinets. Somewhat strange, I know. But I just need to feel that it's clean before I start piling my things in it.

It also doesn't help that my lovely Aunt Flo has decided to visit this weekend. Making bending, stair climbing, and pretty much any movement very uncomfortable. Plus I missed my monthly doughnut and coffee with the MC :( I completely forgot about it. I should really just take this day and start over. If I could just rewind everything and have a new beginning..

Oh and we overdrew our bank account. So that's an additional $35 fee. *sigh* I don't think I can afford to stay awake any longer, this day seems to be costing me money and patience. If only I had time to take a nap :) Instead I will take a super dose of Tylenol and get to work because "I will get it done!"

10.09.2008

A whole lotta BS

So I just finished my tax assignment, and I hate to say it... But I just wrote a bunch of BS. I have no clue what the chapter is talking about or what the questions are asking. Isn't that sad. It makes me laugh though because it's so much BS that my creative answers actually cause me to giggle. Oh well, atleast its done and the teacher doesn't grade on right and wrong answers so I should still get the full points (even funnier!)

I have a proposal I am supposed to do for English, I have no idea what to write about or what to propose. Then I have two meetings this weekend and Julius is working Saturday. Add on my management group project that I can't remember what my responsibilities were for this week and woo hoo another super busy weekend. Hopefully it will rain and I can just bury myself in books and not feel the anxiousness to go out and play in the garden.

Julius has yet to get my new scrappin desk from my Aunts house, so all my scrappin is still in boxes. Plus I have MK stuff that is still in boxes as well. Oh well, it's pretty livable the way it is and we don't expect company any time soon. Accept my Aunts are coming over for dinner on Sunday, but they don't really count.

Well I guess I better use my time wisely and unload the dishwasher, see if our rental contact is finished, check the mail, and maybe I'll even go out and pluck some flowers for myself :) It is afterall my Friday..

10.07.2008

Going Nowhere

Today was crazy hectic... I got up about 8:30 am but the girls didn't get up so I thought perhaps we would skip MC, but Alexa woke up at 9:15 and said she wanted to go so we all rushed and got there in time. Then we had to leave immediately after because I had two papers to write for English (I was bad and skipped last week during the moving). So I did the papers and then realized I had a meeting in Portland for my group project at 3pm, so I had to find a last minute baby sitter (Thank you Auntie!) So I went to Portland, which I never do, down to near the Colosseum and there was tons of traffic.. The meeting lasted over an hour, which put me at 4:30pm for coming home... More traffic, in fact it was quite a standstill for the longest time... I made it back to Vanc. just after 5pm. at which time I had to finish my last paper and print the required memo to accompany it, I didn't even have time to pick up the kids so Julius had to get them after work. Once I printed the papers, I raced to class, at which time I was 10 minutes late (because I had to walk the mile just to get to class). After 2 1/2 hours of listening to the teacher droan on and on, I am finally back home where we are trying to whip up dinner.. It's only 8:45pm and I am just exhausted. Great googly-moogly..

10.05.2008

Our Busy Week

So we've been super busy trying to get everything unpacked and into it's new home. Not as easy as I would have hoped. But it's finally coming together. The living room and office are the two final rooms to be dealt with. The office only because there is a huge old dresser that we have to take to my aunt which is clogging up my scrappin' space. And the living room because all my scrapping stuff is in there for now.

I love our bedroom (not the wallpaper) but the spaciousness. In our apartment we could barely walk around the bed, but now we have room to dance and a huge closet. It's awesome.

The kids room has all their toys in it (not sure if we are keeping them all or not). It's a little cramped but it's livable for them. I just went through their closet last night and took out all the shorts (I suspect we are done with them for this year), that made alot of space but I know they have three huge tubs of winter clothes..

I even went through Julius and I's clothes and purged the things that A: no longer fit, or B: we haven't worn in forever. Only came away with one grocery sack full, but I figure that's a little more space for something else.

Okay well, Alexa is super moody, I think she is entering the terrible fours.. while Adrianne is more whiny and needy (hello twos!) I guess I should get them some lunch, we are supposed to go to my aunts and replace her chimney pipe, and put her gutters on.. but it's kinda rainy, so probably won't get finished today.

10.01.2008

Where did she learn that?

Well it's just a few minutes until I am off to school, Julius and I have a tight schedule so I am usually pacing by the door waiting for him to come so I can leave. I got more unpacking done today, most of the kitchen is finished and I even worked some in the living room. I also got most of the kids closet done and their gazillion clothes put away.

So I was just coming out of the shower when I went upstairs to see what the girls were doing. I went into their room and said, "What are you two doing??" and Alexa said, "Mom, you look really pretty."

I totally know she was up to no good!!

That's all for now, more later :)

9.26.2008

R U KIDDING ME?!

Okay I don't mean to be rude, or unhelpful... but really!?

My brothers girlfriend just called me.. yes to see if I could watch the kids today. That's not the best part... She asked if I can watch the kids because someone bought her a spa package and she wants to redeem it today..

Not that I've been working my booty off packing and transporting and doing everything else I have going on, no... she has a SPA PACKAGE... Holey guacamole - what has the world come to??

Needless to say, I just had to decline.

9.25.2008

Another Day, Another Dollar

It's almost 3pm and I don't think I have accomplished much on todays 'to-do' list, I did however finish the list from Tuesday.. so that is pretty good :)

I am thinking of taking the kids to the sears to have their photos taken, just trying to figure out how to get Alexa out of her dress and into something more appropriate (if you saw her today, she was kinda risk-ay) Alexa is currently rushing Adrianne to finish her lunch, yes 3pm and they are just having lunch. I know, it's kinda late..

So that leads me to our schedule, I have been trying to shift it back a bit because they really have a hard time waking up in the morning. Even this morning, I got them up at 8am, just so they could pass the grouchy period before heading to playgroup. Alexa however was still somewhat clingy/moody at playgroup, but she did say that Ella talked to her, and she was her friend. I have also found that by going to bed between 10pm and 10:30pm really reduces my next day groggy-ness. So I am aming for more of those nights.

Last night I didn't make it, ofcourse, because it was the 24th and that means I have to do the bookkeeping for the Coffee Lounge. So I stayed up late to do that, got it done though and went downtown after playgroup today to give it to them to send (has to be postmarked by the 25th). Then we came back home and I am trying to clean up and pack a little bit before heading off to the mall for an oil change (and hopefully photos).

So what is new.. I have switched my kids to the big kid tooth paste (monumental for us). They now have to brush, rinse, and spit. Pretty good so far, although the spitting is not very well aimed... still working on that directional issue. Other than that they are doing well, before we had the bear toothpaste and they literally would just eat it off the brush.

Okay well that is enough blabbering, it's been a nice slower day. And the girls have been relitivly good to eachother. :)

9.24.2008

Where is my day of rest?

It seems there was a time when I often wrote about 'a day of rest', on these days I would just stay home and do the required house work, kick back, read a book... those fun sort of no brain needed days.

Now, I can't even remember the last time I had one, I guess you could count the vacation day, but that's not really the same because I wasn't exactly kicked back at home doing virtually nothing. Hmm.. so tomorrow all I have on the docket is playgroup, which really isn't a challenge and I find it quite calming to be around the other kids (instead of just my own, who sometimes drive me crazy).

Tonight I have a group meeting and I am delivering some Mary Kay products, and then I have a management test. So it's not really an easy night. Although tomorrow is no class so I am super duper glad for that (only I've noticed on days when there is 'no class' there is 'more homework').

Well I guess I better get the kiddo's off to my aunts house so I can leave early for the meeting. They didn't take a rest, so they are grouchy and bickering at eachother.. Lovely.

9.22.2008

And the pack begins...

Last Wednesday Julius' boss said that Julius needed to take Friday off and take a break, so I thought that would be a wonderful time to repaint our new place... but then Thursday morning Julius called and said that his boss was going to pay for our hotel, where did we want to go?? Wow! So some of the other MOMS Club members had said Great Wolf Lodge was good, so Julius booked a room and his boss paid the bill :) So we drove up Friday morning, with the kids being highly bored in the back seat (Julius did a good job of entertaining them). It's about an hour and a half drive, but on the way up Julius and I were looking at some of the other towns for possibly buying a house there instead of Vancouver. When we got there it was a little chilly and the kids were grouchy from the car ride.. but then they realized we were going to stay there and they saw all neat things in the lobby. So we unloaded the car and went up to our room where the kids had there own little 'den'. It was so cute because their room had little wolf cubs on the wall and a pretend rock wall partition. Plus bunk beds and their own TV. It was really a neat place to stay.

After getting settled we went and ate lunch, then donned our bathing suits and headed to the water park. It was great fun, most of it is geared towards kids so the girls had a blast, Adrianne even went down the big kid slide twice (despite her terrified look at the bottom when she went under water). The girls both had little life jackets, but I'm not sure if they really helped. Adrianne went underwater on her back and couldn't get back upright so she was just kinda bobbing under water. Then another time she tripped and fell so she was bobbing on her stomach and she couldn't get her head up high enough to be above water. But we were close enough that we snatched her out of the water quickly. So don't think that a life jacket will save your child from drowning, it could actually hold them under water (especially at a small age when the jacket is stronger then they are).

Alexa on the other hand, said 'no way' to all the slides, so I went down with her on one of the kiddy ones and at the bottom I accidently landed on her ankle, so that made her cry.. Luckily the kids love water so they bucked up and continued to play. There was an awesome wave section that Alexa liked to play in, it reminded me of the ocean.

Julius and I took turns going on the big people slides. I screamed bloody murder, but admit that they were very fun. Julius had a good time too. After all the water fun we went back and got some real clothes and headed to the craft area where the kids made pirate hats (but we forgot to get them before we left.. oops!) then it was onto the arcade where Julius went crazy with the tickets, we had over 500 by the time we finished. And poor nieve us, I saw a sign that said "Scan your wrist band and recieve $5 in tokens" We thought we would recieve a complimentary $5 of tokens for each wrist band, so we scanned once each. Then to see what would happen we each scanned again... it was then that I re-read the sign.... and noticed that I had misinterpreted the meaning. It meant that we could get $5 of tokens to be BILLED to our room.. Oops. Obviously we have never stayed in anything quite so fancy before.

After we redeemed our tickets for prizes we went to the lobby where there was a puppet show and a bedtime story (this is where I realized that most of the kids were already in their pajamas). After the story we went to eat dinner :) It was buffet style so the kids had a good time picking what they wanted, Julius let Alexa get a slice of pizza and when she got back to our table a man came over and said "she dropped it." I thought he meant she dropped something on the floor, then I realized she dropped her pizza and picked it back up... Yum.. After that little mishap we had a nice long dinner, finished off with some ice cream.

The next morning we got up and went to the Childrens Museum in Olympia, it was fun. It is a small space, but they really have alot of things in it. The girls had a good time, and they think that the capitol building is a "castle" with princesses in it.

On the way home I tried to get Julius to stop at the outlet mall in Centralia.. The conversation went like this:

Julius: "Here comes the outlet mall."
Me: "ooh, lets stop for a minute."
Julius: "We don't have time."
Me: "But I have to go potty."
Julius: "haha, good try."

So about 20 minutes later I again asked if we could stop so I could go potty, and he said, "Ohh, I thought you just wanted to go shopping!"

(Which ofcourse I did, but I still had to go potty too!)

Sunday we went to grandma's house, then it was off to Lowes to get some wallpaper remover. Then we had my Aunts over for dinner. At which time I started packing. So today Julius took the car to work and here I am packing some more. It's really not as easy as I thought. We have so much stuff, I just want to toss it. The kids too, I packed two suitcases and two boxes, of just their CLOTHES!! And I still have two loads in the washer - to get us through to the end of the month. I asked Julius, "How did we accumulate so much stuff?!" To which he said, "Well stop shopping." - HA, that is not an option!! There has to be some sort of happy medium.

So wish me luck on the packing, I still have my homework to do too.. And shutterfly offered me a free book so I am trying to finish that up before the cut off.. Here's to a day of progress :)

9.16.2008

When BBQ Catches Fire...

What NOT to do:
  • Shout at wife in a excited "look what I've accomplished" voice
  • Open lid/shut lid saying, "it's really hot"
  • Watch flames in amazement
  • Try to blow flames with breath/fan with hand
  • PANIC
Yes, the lessons we have learned from a now slightly charred BBQ. I did however come to the rescue and offered the container of salt, which did not extinguish the entire flame.. so in came baking soda to finish off the job. But I'm telling you, those wire racks never looked so clean and free from debris.

*sigh* my life, always filled with excitement.

9.10.2008

12:31 a.m. and still ticking..

Just a few minutes before I head off to la-la-land. I think I am the only person awake at this time, but hey my house is so nice and quiet :) Plus I had the dishwasher wash the dishes and the washing machine washing towels, so I feel pretty darn accomplished. I have emailed a lot of people and I have even figured out how to accept the grants that I got for school - bonus! Although there ofcourse is a down side... another ticket :( Parking ticket this time for parking without a pass, I swear that WSU will pinch you for every dime you have, it's sad really.. I am thinking of going to the student government with a complaint. It's $35 but Julius says I can contest it and they will waive it. When did everything become so expensive? It's only 50cents to park down town for a whole hour! And I have to pay $3 to park for one hour at WSU? Ridiculous.

I think that is all for tonight, I just had to get that off my chest. Julius is going in for his biometrics tomorrow, so no car until the afternoon.. Just as well, I need the rest. Then my class has a group project which we are working on before class tomorrow so the kids are headed off to my Aunts while I go to school an hour early. We have a meeting on Saturday and a Quarterly Outreach on Sunday.. I can't remember if we have anything else - still don't dare to look at the calendar that I meticulously printed out... I am thinking of looking for a time management/organizational class, I really could use some kind of stress free schedule.

Goodnight.

9.08.2008

Mostly for my own sanity..

Baby Christopher - 5 months old

It's been a while since I posted anything, which seems odd because we have been doing so much.

Friday we went down to Coffee Lounge and picked up some files, then ofcourse we can't go down there without a trip to the park to play in the water and the play structure that the kids think is a castle.

Saturday I went scrappin' with some friends, I got quite a few pages done of the little man so I felt good and accomplished. We scrapped in a scrappin' store which I thought would be complicated due to customers coming in and out, but it was not that busy and it was super convenient to just wonder around until you found the right paper, stickers, ribbon, or other supply to fit your page. I loved it and hope to do it again very soon.

While I was scrappin' Julius and the girls took a load of stuff to our soon to be new house. I am glad the girls got to go and see their new room and play a little while before the big day. We are planning to move a little at a time so hopefully the adjustment will be gradual - for all of us. Once we all arrived back home; Julius took a nap while I mopped the kitchen floor (decided not to wait so long between moppin's). Afterwards we rousted the kiddos up and went to The Sausage Fest. It's was fun and really calm, I consider the fair to be somewhat stressful, but the Fest is very relaxed. I even paid for the kids to ride the marry-go-round, which they loved. We bought a bag of kettle corn, Julius' favorite, and I got an elephant ear. We parked a little ways away, (I said it was 1/2 a mile... but Julius said it wasn't even close) but the walking time gave us time to talk while the girls held hands and walked in front of us. It was a rare moment, but worth it.

Sunday we went to the MOMS Club family picnic which was a great time. The kids had fun and we got to hang out with some of the other families. Plus the weather was awesome and the girls went all the way to the play stucture on their own while Julius and I just watched them (more freedom!). When we got home it was time to rest so I put the kids down and I proceeded to sleep in the living room while Julius watched football. But when I awoke he was sleeping with the kids, so I had time to read half a chapter of homework before they got up (YAY me!). When they got up we were still kinda stuffed from the picnic, so we decided to wait and get pizza and movies.

While we were waiting Julius and I were discussing vacation options because we still haven't used his one week vacation time, it's gotten a little complex to plan now that I have classes and everything. We still haven't decided, but while we were looking at the calendar it was fun to see the pictures of the kids (I made one of those photo calendars for Julius last Christmas). We had a good time guessing who was who, we finally had to rely on who had the most hair since Alexa always had hair and Adrianne was bald until 1 year old. Their faces look almost exactly alike. Here's a look...
PhotobucketPhotobucket

Today we went down to Coffee Lounge again to deliver the bill, and ofcourse pick up more work for me. Then we went to the park which was completely deserted, there was maybe 3 kids on the play structure and one little boy in the water area, quite refreshing :) Well I guess that's all for me, I have apples that need to be peeled and homework that needs to be read, and a meeting tonight.. :)

9.03.2008

Back to School Time

I know alot of the other MOMS are writing about their kids going back to school, or starting school.. But here it's me who is going back to school. It's sort of a different feeling, sometimes when I get home from class (which is only 3 hours) my girls are just ecstatic with joy, screaming and jumping, tugging on my arms/clothes, they both want to tell me everything at the same time. They really just swarm me. Alexa even gets the sniffles and says, "huggies momma." And although I know that going to school isn't the end of the world and I still have quite a few hours with them, it's still a big change for all three of us. (Julius doesn't seem to have feelings either way.)

I missed MOMS Club on Tuesday because I was just so exhausted, I litereally crashed on my living room floor for three hours while the kids watched movies (thank goodness for holesome Disney). In addition, I have homework.. and it's not even alot of homework, it's not hard either. But it's finding the time to read 50 pages of bland text without the continual banter of the girls. I suppose I am intended to actually absorb some of what I am reading. So today we went to the park. We all needed a break and mommy needed some sun time to re-energize after yesterdays groggy-ness. It was nice, the kids played and I read about 15 pages. Then we had lunch there, so no clean up involved.

I made a calendar with everything on it that I have to do.. but now whenever I look at it, I get so stressed out because there is SO much on it!! Literally every day and weekend has atleast two things on it, and none of those are daily tasks like dishes, laundry, or cleaning. My head swims just thinking about it. So I am really trying hard to just get done what needs to be done in some sort of a timly manner, plus it doesn't help that I am quite the procrastinator. A guy in my class today asked me if I had completed the homework for this other class which is tomorrow, I told him, "Honestly, I am just trying to make it through tonight.."

So here's hoping for a new, more organized me!

9.02.2008

OMSI Day



Well we decided to go to the OMSI and see the Reptile show, I really liked it. The kids' uncle Sid came with us and we all spent much of the day there. Enjoy the show, I am off to school now. After a day of not feeling so well, hopefully tomorrow will be better. I think the stress just got me over the long weekend and starting week 2 of school.. Atleast it's sunny today :)

8.31.2008

Zoo Day!

Today we went to the zoo and saw the new baby elephant. We had a blast! The zoo was totally full, we had to take the shuttle bus, which even there was hard to find a place to park. When we got to the zoo it was easy entry because we are members, then zoo mobile thing came and asked if we were headed to the elephant and I said Yes! So she drove us all the way down to the Elephants... isn't that awesome! We stood in line for about 30 minutes, but while we were in line they did the bird of prey show so we got to see that. Then we got in to see the little tyker, he's bigger than I thought. It was a quick loop through and then off to play on those cement animals and eat lunch, at which time it poured rain like crazy, but hey we were under a canopy so it was kinda cool. I told the girls we would have to leave because it was raining to hard, so we went to wait for the zoo mobile and suddenly Alexa said, "mommy, it's stopped raining.." I hadn't even noticed, so ofcourse we took a stroll through the zoo! In the end we even stopped at the gift shop so the girls could get the butterfly shaped umbrellas that they wanted. Check out the slide show, I tried to make it enternaining. :)

8.30.2008

Our weekend.. so far

Well our weekend has been crazy.. Friday I got us all up early and went to my Aunts to babysit my nephew, got some cute photos of him - he is growing so quickly. Afterwards we picked up Julius and counted our dough for the Mrs. Philippines contest.. We drove to the first canvassing and turned in $325, only two other contestants turned in any money and I had the most by about $50. The kids had a good time and there was a puppy there when we got there.. no one knew who's it was and they were saying just to put it outside and shut the door.... not very nice. So I picked him up and he was super lovable, he didn't try to nip my face or even lick me, just sat in my arms like he belonged... I really love dogs and I wish I could have kept him but I told everyone I was going to walk around the neighborhood and look for an owner (leave him outside, are you kidding me?!?!) So I found the owner who was sitting on his porch waiting for him to come back.. That's my good deed for the month..

When it was finally over we came home and decided to run the dishwasher (which we rarely do), while we watched tv. This morning we got up early and made waffles, they were very good, I even made an apple topping with whipped cream, YUM! Then I decided the floor was disgusting and swept it. Julius said "there's enough food on the floor to feed a family.." to which I replied, "more reason to get a dog who can clean it all up!" But it didn't stop there, I decided to mop too because it was somewhat sticky in some places, and when I mop I have to mop the entry way too because it always gets dirty where we remove our shoes. Then we had a birthday party to go to, in Beaverton.. by the time we came back the kids were asleep so we went house hunting, looking at neighborhoods and trying to decide what we want. We finally came home and I felt our livingroom was being taken over by half naked barbies, cracker crumbs, and I swear every single play kitchen item we have... the food, the utensils, pots, pans, the works... scattered all over. When I was done returning things to their proper homes I decided to vaccume and then you see the stains (don't even get me started on the nail polish one.) so I got out the folex and sprayed, and sprayed, and sprayed... now I feel it's pretty darn clean in here. Although I still need to unload the dishwasher, maybe we can just use the dishes straight from there.. it's like a steril little room without the chance of dust.

Not sure yet what is in store for tomorrow, but I am sure it will be just as eventful as today. :)

8.29.2008

Fresh, and week one complete!

So here I am, it's just past midnight and guess what I am doing? Baking! I am making apple and blackberry turnovers for a fresh breakfast tomorrow. How domestic. I am so glad to have completed the first week of my first semester back to school. I have really learned alot, not in book sense, but more on the common sense side.. Yes, I have grown wiser in common sense.

First I have found that although the teachers seem tough with their syllabus' that say "assignment due on Day ONE" they don't really mean it, infact all three of my teachers postponed the first due date to next week.. yay for me, because another thing I learned is how to work the schools online message board where the assignments are listed (good thing to learn early on).

Second I have come to the conclusion that I do not have to pay for parking, wonderful! Atleast I feel I have gotten my monies worth from those previous incidents. Also I can park in the closer lot (designated for parking passes only) and not be ticketed. Woo hoo! No more hiking for 15 mintues to get to class.

Third I have had a very enlightening journey which has led me to see why it is important to find out what building your class is in, because although you have the room number you may just be in the wrong building all together... hmm, not my most impressive moment.

And fouth what you do during the orientation will come back to haunt you, as I posted previously about being the only one wearing jeans... turns out that many of those whom sat at my very table are actually in my classes, and guess what they remember: The girl who was TOO casual... Great, although I am sure that this "label" will wear off soon. I hope.

So what an interesting week. It really doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought it would be, but I'll make an official decision about that at the end of the semester when I hopefully pass with flying A's.

Well, the turnovers are finished and I should go to bed since I need to get up early and go to my aunts house to babysit for my nephew.. Fun. Happy labor day weekend.

8.27.2008

Early Riser

This morning when Julius was getting ready for work Alexa woke up. Now on days when I use the car then we get up and take Julius to work, but today isn't one of those days. It was a day when we could have slept in and rested up, but no. So Alexa gets up and says she is hungry and begins her early morning whine routine until I get up... all before 8am. This is really early for us. So we go and eat breakfast and Alexa is chatting to much that even Adrianne crawls out from her hibernation state to find out what is going on.

With the early start came alot of free time. Infact we had done two loads of laundry, picked up the living room and kitchen, moved the newly painted dresser to my room, and watched Lion King 2, all before 11am. So what to do with the rest of our day, up early, no car.... so we do laundry. I meticulasly refold all of our clothes to fit perfectly in the dresser, all while washing everyones bedding. Quite a day and it's only 2:30 p.m. Dispite all that I have yet to take a shower, mostly because I go to my class tonight and if I shower first thing then do all that cleaning... I can get messy, actually yesterday I went to class with paint on me from the dresser. Thankfully I was late and no one really noticed for the whole 20 minutes that we were there. And yet again I was robbed by the parking fee of $3, I think that $3 is a bit extream for the 20.. okay 30 minutes (including trecking my out of shape self to and from the classroom). I think I should get to use the rest of my time tonight at class, technically it's $3 for the whole day, so I should be able to use it for like nearly a week.

I decided that today I would make ham. So I guess I should put it in the oven, it's one of those round ones that is pressed into a shape with no bone and it's supposedly fully cooked, I just need to heat it up. And I even got ambitious and bought a sweet potato because it sounded good, and if I play my cards right I can even make fresh apple sauce to go with the ham... What a feast!

8.26.2008

My New Romance

I have just fallen in LOVE!! My goodness, I love Oreo Cakesters, the vanilla ones, they are delicious and I think I could eat the whole box.. I won't, but gosh they are good. If you haven't tried them you need to! They are just like cake, really delicious.. mmm.

In other news, it was MOMS Club today (most of you reading this know already, but some don't.) We went to a park and Alexa made her first 'friend'. It was so cute, her and another little girl (forgot her name) ran around and played together. That was the first time she's ever done that. I was kinda sad that Adrianne didn't have anyone to hang out with but she isn't as friendly right now. I got to sit and feed the twins, and the other kids who came over and snuck little handfuls of Cheerios. It was really fun. The girls have gotten much more outgoing at parks and such, I am glad they are becoming more independent, I was always really shy so I sort of want them to branch out a little bit.

When we got home we had lunch and then they were supposed to take a nap but they just played together and read books to eachother in their room. Which is why I had time to update my blog (finally.) I also had time to do the mountain of dishes, and paint my dresser some more. It's nearly finished, one more coat of blue on the top and that's it.

Tonigh is my first class... Technical English.. yay, not. I am not a big English fan, it's just too strict with what to write and how many words you can use. I prefer free writing like this where I can just clear my mind, not rack my brain for the perfect describing word. I can't believe it's back to school for me. It makes me wonder if I will ever finish. Julius is even talking about getting his Masters... I can't even imagine spending that much time in school.

And some sad news, Julius didn't pass his first section of his CPA exam :( He got 74, and he needed 75. That is wrong on so many levels. So he's bummed out now. Hopefully his mood does not dampin the rest of us.

Okay, I am off to do my last coat of paint. I can finally cross something off my "to-do" list. Next I will return to those thank you cards which I have yet to finish... *sigh*

8.23.2008

Today is a Day of Change...

Do you ever have those days when you think to yourself, "The decisions I make today, will change my life forever." Well I have those, many of them. And today just happens to be one. It's kinda scary, but nice to be embarking on a new journey.

Today I went to the school and found that:

a. I was the only person wearing jeans (everyone else was in business casual..) hmm, not good.

b. I was the only person at my table with kids. Grrrreat.. Young mom beats them all again!

c. I should not have paid the $3 parking, seemingly it slipped my mind that its SATURDAY!

But despite all that I am going to throw myself into school, juggle my life, kids, and future all at one time! Mean while my little Adrianne has picked up a new saying.. "Oh goodness." As in "I dropped it, oh goodness." and "You didn't eat all, oh goodness.." It's cute, but I wonder if perhaps I don't say that phrase one too many times.

Oh and remember way back many moons ago I posted that I was stripping the paint off my dresser? Well procrastinator me is FINALLY putting the paint back on... haha, only took me about 4 months to decide to repaint it. It's coming along nicely and I only have one more coat of blue before my creation is complete and we will no longer keep our socks and unmentionables in shoe boxes. YAY!

We also signed the girls up for a music and movement class, it was the only one where they could be together (due to their ages). I think I am more excited than them. I know they will love it. Okay well, that's all I can post for now because it's time to eat. What a day of change.

8.18.2008

My Child

Well I haven't really had alot of time to post photos, but I feel today really needs a recap to be fully understood...


THE CULPRIT


THE CRIME

THE PUNISHMENT


THE FAILED CLEAN UP PROCESS

So about a month ago my little darling wanted me to paint her nails.. and I said "yes, just a minute." Well apparently she felt that I took too long and decided to 'get started' on her own...

Not pretty.. Infact the nice pink streaks where she dumped the nail polish in somewhat of a striped pattern are still there... on my carpet.... haunting me... every.. single... day!!!

I have tried everything, today I even went to the drastic and dowsed the area with nail polish remover then went over it with the steam cleaner.... No luck.

Stain wins again.

I just want to say "F-it!!" and leave it there. But tomorrow I will see it and will come up with some other brilliant plan to enact. What have I done to be punished like this.... :(

8.17.2008

Ahh.. Rain ;)

So it was really hot again yesterday and I was in the pool with the kids when adventerous Alexa decided to go off the deep end! I saw her and grabbed her pretty quickly but she was definitly scared, now she doesn't want to get back into the pool. I might have to make her or else she may be scared for a long time. I know she loves the water, may just have to pay for those lessons after all :)

Today we spent the day up at Great Grandma's house, it was nice and cool and the kids were good. On the way out there was two small deer right near the door but my chatty kids spooked them before I could get a photo! After we got home we decided it was too muggy inside so I took the girls to their favorite shady park where they played with some other kids until it suddenly was thunder and lightening followed by quite a shower. So we came home and I took to putting away all of our newly acquired kids clothes, yay! Ofcourse I had to purge the closet and dresser to make some room, in the process I organized all their shirts into nice little color piles, very cute, now their drawers look like little rainbows.

Now it's off to bed for us, another day, another dollar... goodnight.

8.15.2008

Ahh.. Park Days..

To think that one year ago I dreaded driving is CRAZY!! We are all over the place these days. We spent Thursday at the park where we met some new kids who my girls enjoyed playing with (wow MOMS Club has really made them outgoing!) Then it was off to Coffee Lounge and then I took my brother to the Health Department where we waited and waited and waited almost 3 hours while drug addicts sat too near and stoners stared off into space, great for kids huh.. Yea I know, I tried to avert there eyes and kept them distracted for the most part but when the lady started cussing like a sailor I had to flee. So we braved the 100 degree weather outside in a tiny patch of grass with thank goodness some shade! Where I drilled the kids from a Pre-K workbook we got at Costco. At five we picked up Julius and came home to our haven of an apartment which was nice and cool (thanks to me closing it down early in the morning).

Today we went off to the library to get some much needed new books, then over to Coffee Lounge for some cookies and ofcourse coffee, then off to Esther Short again where we spent about an hour playing in the water, it was nice, there wasn't very many kids. The girls splashed around a little while I had an iced mocha and thumbed through a 'decorate you kids room' book. We made it back to the car with only 2 minutes left! (perfect) Then we came home for the dreaded 'N.A.P.' time. Only Alexa took a nap, Adrianne was happy as a clam to eat and watch Aladdin while I cleaned up out disaster of a house because Julius had a client coming over. Then tonight after Julius' client came we went to my Aunts house for pizza and pool!! My brother came with his kids too and we all played in the pool. It was great fun, Adrianne is so calm in the pool, we put her in a fish shaped ring and she will just sit and float around, she never moves of wiggles or tries to get out, it's very cute. All she needs is her sunglasses, a book, and a coffee and she'll be in heaven. Alexa on the other hand loves to walk around in the pool, she can touch the ground but she chatters away until her mouth gets filled with water and I get scared she will dround. She gets me so agitated because she won't just stay near to the edge and hold on... She needs swim lessons, she is just too brave in the water, it scares me. Afterwards we all had pizza and hung out and now we're back home and ready for bed. I couldn't make it through the gymnists last night and I know I will not make it through whatever is on tonight.. So goodnight all, tomorrow is another hot hot hot day. I will enjoy it while I can. :)