Surviving Life and Motherhood...

The journey has begun! Here's to the new year!

2012-02-06T10:21:00.000-06:00

My journey is to lose weight and become the person I want to be. I have never been a thin person. I have always been curvy. Even when I went through Basic Training, I only lost 10# after 9 weeks of torture. Exercise has never been fun for me. I prefer to workout with a group. In AIT I discovered that I can run, and I was actually pretty good at it. However, at 15 weeks of total training (BT and

Thanks to all...!

2011-11-25T13:30:00.001-06:00

I am so thankful to my family and friends that helped me yesterday to paint the downstairs and help move my desk to the other corner. I have a bad case of tennis elbow so today I am so sore I shouldn't even be typing this. While the men were watching football and occupying Ella, the rest of us women were downstairs (all three of us) painting. With their help I was able to finish the one corner

Progress

2011-10-25T22:23:00.001-05:00

I am making progress on getting the downstairs cleaned and organized and fit for living in. The downstairs was J's domain and her responsibility to keep it clean. Let's just say it was anything but clean. I am so thankful that we have a steam carpet cleaner. It makes me willing and able to walk on the floors without shoes. We plan to repaint the living area and the bathroom. They both need major

I feel loved...

2011-09-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

It has been an interesting couple of days. It's all been building for the last 3 years or so. Finally everyone is seeing how hard it has been for me to live in a household with a teenager that refuses to listen to anything I say and to obey the household rules. She operates to her own agenda. If it doesn't benefit her, then she wants no part of it. Basically all started when I went downstairs

Garage Sale Success!

2011-08-29T09:44:00.000-05:00

While I still have a bunch of little girls clothing and women's clothing left, ultimately the sale was a success. We made just over $1,000! Crazy!!! I need to look into consigning the remaining clothing. I would like to have it gone. I would have to say the absolute highlight of the weekend was when a Vietnam veteran came by and bought up any and all military gear/clothing we had. Absolutely

Garage Sale

2011-08-23T08:45:00.000-05:00

Heaven help me, what have I gotten myself into? We decided to do a garage sale this coming weekend. Thought about it the last couple weeks, and there is so much to do yet and I only have 3 more days. I started pricing the baby clothes last night and got through bibs/burp cloths, bath towels, shoes, and some winter accessories. Haven't even touched the huge stack of baby clothes or the rest of the

Back To School!

2011-08-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

How the time flies. J starts back to school, 10th grade, in three weeks. School clothes, school supplies, bus fee - All very expensive. If only J was more like me as a teen. I was aware of money and where it comes from and where it goes. I would get the most I could for a set dollar amount. She doesn't plan her clothing into the winter months - she is only concerned about her current wants and

Follow Up - Credit Card Fraud

2011-08-17T08:32:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note that Bremer Bank has found in our favor and reimbursed us the $400 that was stolen from our account. (See previous post for more details). All I can say is thank God! I am happy that this worked out. I am happy that we are at a place in life where we had a little money in savings so it wasn't a complete nightmare being short the money. Still makes me mad that there are people

FRAUD

2011-07-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Credit Card Fraud Sucks!!! Thankfully it was only $400 and thankfully we have enough money in savings to cover it until we get refunded, but it sucks. And it takes up to 10 days for everything to process and people to get back to you with the final result. Easy to get the credit card cancelled, but now I have no check card and actually have to go to the bank if I want to get money out of my

Growing Up!

2011-07-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

First Official Raincoat! "I have sand for you." Me and E July 4th Weekend Candy - Serious Business!

Starting Tomorrow...

2011-06-02T14:43:00.000-05:00

The next 6 weeks are freedom for me! J is going to visit her mother and 3 sisters in Virginia for her summer visitation. Last year it took E two weeks- 2 full weeks - before she asked where sissy was. Shows exactly how much time J spends with her little sister who lives in the same house as her. I can't think of any more than 5 minutes in the last month where J has spent any quality time with E

Evening Cook Out

2011-05-20T08:26:00.000-05:00

We went to a military friend's house last night for a cook out and had a great time. Hubby and I took E with us. We knew ahead of time that there were going to be a few other kids there her age so it worked out very well. The kids had a great time playing in the sand volleyball court or checking out the river which was right there as well. Within two minutes of arriving E was a grubby little girl

Daycare Infractions

2011-05-17T08:49:00.000-05:00

I'm so thankful for the great daycare center that I have. E loves it there. Has a really good time and has learned so much. A neighbor mom and I were out last night so the kids could play before supper. She asked me what I thought of a punishment that her home daycare had implemented on her 2yo daughter. Apparently little girl had two seperate incidences on two seperate days. The first incident

The Sun Is Back!!!

2011-05-16T11:23:00.000-05:00

The sun is back for a few days and I am happy. Time to air the house again and spend plenty of time outside soaking up some vitamin D! That's all I have to say for now! Enjoy!

Rainy Day Thoughts

2011-05-05T09:13:00.000-05:00

Its raining again, and I'm tired. At least there's no wind. I want the sunshine back! It's Thursday and Hubby will be home tonight. I can relax a little and get somethings done. He's planning supper. I think it will be steak. E requested a Dora or Princess cupcake from Walmart. We'll see what Daddy brings home. We need to get to bed earlier tonight. E doesn't want to wake up in the mornings

Strep, a Croupy Cough, and Crashed Bike!

2011-05-02T15:01:00.002-05:00

What a way to end our weekend at the Minnesota Horse Expo. Thankfully the cough is only once in a while and not all the time. Sounds absolutely horrid! Definitely a barking cough. We stayed home yesterday and then went to work/daycare late today (24 hours of meds). E did not want to go. She wanted to stay home again with mom. I didn't want to go to work either, but sometimes we have to do things

New Carseat Cover!

2011-04-28T11:16:00.000-05:00

E is getting a new cover for her carseat in my vehcile! I can't wait to get it. I found it for sale on the car-seat.org swap forum. I would have ordered it long ago from Graco but the print is a Walmart exclusive so Graco can't guarantee that print will be shipped; it even said substitutions may happen. I didn't want any other print. I wanted this specific one! And now I am getting it! So excited

Fed Up and Irritated!

2011-04-15T09:54:00.001-05:00

***DISCLAIMER: This is a vent, a long one, so whoever wants to comiserate with me, please read.*** I am just fed up and irritated with so many things in my life. Sadly they are just minor petty things but they have been adding up and going on for so long that it is driving me crazy. I can't wait for summer to be here and school to be out. J will be going to Virginia (Yes, she moved again!) to

Giveaway Time!

2011-04-11T10:28:00.001-05:00

Free Set of Kristen’s Raw Ebooks: http://kristensraw.com/blog/2011/04/11/free-set-of-kristens-raw-ebooks-giveaway-time/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KristensRaw+%28Kristen%27s+Raw%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail# I am spreading the word on this wonderful giveaway for an additional entry to win the set of Kristen's Raw Ebooks. I am looking into all ways to eat better

AT&T Don't Text While Driving Documentary

2010-12-27T10:53:00.000-06:00

My Baby is 3!

2010-12-06T09:40:00.001-06:00

Where has the time gone? E is now officially a 3 year old with all the attitude and energy that go with it. I still remember her being this teeny tiny little thing when we brought her home from the hospital.... We had her party on Saturday and everything turned out very well. I procrastinated getting invitations out to everybody but the ones that showed were the ones that mattered anyway. It

Stellan's Rebirthday

2010-11-09T14:42:00.001-06:00

This is an amazing blog written by an amazing woman that I have been following for a while. Miracles do happen! rebirthday from Jennifer McKinney on Vimeo.

Facing Backward: Keeping Kids Safe In Cars

2010-11-01T09:59:00.000-05:00

http://video.consumerreports.org/services/player/bcpid21495733001?bctid=3735899001

Riding Rear Facing Is Safer

2010-10-29T09:45:00.001-05:00

If I had known about this before E was almost 2yo, I would have kept her rear facing for alot longer. She didn't hit 20# until she was 15mo so she was rear faced a little longer than usual, only because she was a lightweight. The law states that an infant must be rear faced until they are 1yo AND 20#. The is the bare minimum. AAP now recommends rear facing to the limits of your convertible seat

How To Dress Your Child Safely For Winter In The Carseat...

2010-10-29T09:29:00.000-05:00