Random Stuff

Have you seen these Slipper Genies? I spied them at Wal-Mart the other day and totally almost bought them. Just for the hilarity of it all. And also because I'm so completely lazy I thought for a moment they might actually work. Supposedly you just walk around in them and they sweep the floor for you! Sure. I thought I should buy them because I'm a horrible housekeeper... my floors rarely get swept. And all I ever do all day is walk around in my robe and slippers. Now if they made a robe that could clean clutter, I would so be the best housewife in the world ;)
Now, if they would also make some kind of magic hat that would make my two little ones take their naps simultaneously, I would be in heaven :)

So what did I do this week besides not post anything new? And not do any return blog visiting?

1. Was all happy about the teaching thing because it means that the hubby will be watching the two little ones for 4 hours every M and W all by himself! Thought that he would surely gain new understanding as to how hard it is to get anything done... Backfire bigtime. Big fight lasting a couple of days about how I can't even take care of a dog... they don't know how to play because I haven't shown them how to play with their toys... Puh-leese! Baby girl has always been good about playing by herself. She takes little encouragement - and will sit and play with her little people and houses or cars or whatever for a decent length of time. I've spent tons of time with little man trying to get him to play with one thing for more than 5 seconds... He would just rather throw all his toys all over the living room floor and climb into the toybox. Hubby worries about little man's development because his daughter was doing so much more at the same age. And his lack of development is all my fault because I don't work with him on anything and don't spend any time on him.... according to hubby, changing diapers and feeding kids are not taking care of them. I don't discipline them either... mmmm kkkkk. The thing is, I do things with them. I do spend time with them. Just when everyone else is home... hubby does absolutely nothing with the children. If I'm getting dinner or whatever, he tells tweenie to take care of them. he can't be bothered with it. And if I make a big deal about doing things with either/both of the two little ones tweenie feels left out and starts acting up.
Regardless, I do feel like I need to spend more time with the two little ones and work with them on things they should be learning etc... I feel guilty about that anyway, even though I absolutely do things with them when no one else is around to document it... I'd be willing to bet that most moms feel like they should be doing more. Anyway... it was just a lovely argument. And I just adore being told what an awful mother I am.

And apparently, if I was any kind of decent mother, I would have dinner on the table at 5pm sharp. Because the kids are hungry at 5pm every day.

Of course there was much more to the argument, as it lasted about a whole 2 days, but I gave you the jist of it... and none of it was all too pretty.

2. We went to get our taxes done this week. Turns out we're a little too complicated this year for the 1 hour appointment... we have to go back on monday. grrr. They have to research a couple of things having to do with residency, since we moved, but then moved back a few months later - never established residency in the other state - and kept our house and everything in this state... of course it was a whole afternoon ordeal anyway.. then I spent the entire next day trying to locate and add up all of our moving receipts and expenses to get a more "exact" amount to claim...

3. Naps were almost impossible to come by this week. And simultaneous napping was completely out of the question. As soon as little man was finally falling asleep, baby girl was waking up... and of course it just doesn't work with one of them awake, they feel the need to try to wake the other.

4. I spent most of my time mon, tues and wed doing things for the classes I'm teaching. Sometimes I think its more work to teach a class than it is to take a class :) and that just doesn't seem fair ;)

5. Thurs and Fri my husband had off work due to sewer issues there... at least we had gotten over our fight by thursday.

And ugh. Next week is probably going to be busier than this week. Appointments up the wazoo. Taxes again on Monday, then dr apts on wed and thurs... it just sucks that the apts are 30 mins away, so they seem to take up the whole afternoon...

Maybe someday I will have the time to blog for real ;)

Busy, Busy

Had a busy week. Busy trying to finish the 4th Twilight book so I can concentrate on the classes I'm teaching this semester! Three quarters of the way through. It was a struggle to get my syllabi prepared... I took on a second class at the last minute. I'm excited about teaching of course and can't wait to devote myself to that instead of the obsession of Twilight...

Had to take little man to the Dr yesterday. He had this red patch under his eye which wasn't getting any better. He kept rubbing it and making it worse. Turns out its eczema. They gave us a prescription for an ointment, but it has steroids in it and I'm a little afraid to use it on him. Anyone have any more natural remedies?

I had originally made an appointment for Tuesday. Our regular Dr is always scheduled out for a month or two, so any spur of the moment appointments we have to see someone else in her office. And every single time I've had to make an appointment for something the first Dr they try to make an appointment with is the one who offended me with a few off comments. Particularly a comment about my miscarriage being "practice."

I always refuse to see him and ask if we can see someone else. They probably wonder why I refuse to see that Dr. Anyway, we made the appointment with a physician's assistant there. But then I realized that I would have to get the kids up and dressed in time to take my husband to work so we could have the car... and that idea just didn't appeal to me. Especially when the next day would be more convenient to do that - I teach in the mornings then come home and then the hubby goes to work... Anyway, so I called and rescheduled for Wednesday, assuming they would reschedule with the PA that I was going to see on Tuesday. Nope. And of course they did not mention that when I rescheduled. I was none the wiser until after the Nurse took all of Little Man's vitals and said that Dr so and so would be right in.

I just about jumped off the chair and took off. But of course, I remained adult about it. And I started feeling a little guilty... especially after he looked at little man and made his diagnosis and explained the treatment and everything. He is a really nice Dr. But still, the words he spoke to me months and months ago were just so completely insensitive. They still burn. I was just glad that my husband couldn't go to the appointment with us. He would have insisted we leave when he found out we were seeing that Dr.

I almost feel like I'm harboring an unfair grudge. But then again... what kind of a Dr says such a thing? And every time I see him I am reminded of things I don't want to be reminded of. Things that I can't seem to forget anyway, but made ever so present when I see him. Its like a slap in the face.

I don't want to dwell there.

So let's move on...

I think the nausea is finally subsiding. I still feel a little pukey a few times a day, but not 24/7. So that's quite an improvement. Time is flying by so fast. I can't believe I'm already a little past 17 weeks! Of course the first 12 weeks went by so slow!! I felt like I would never get through to that 12 week mark. Now I'm just waiting for my ultrasound in the middle of February. And hoping and praying that everything will turn out good!

Goodbye 2008!

I won't really miss you ;)

No, I won't be that negative. It wasn't all bad. But we did have one rough year in 2008. I'm just glad its over and looking to a fresh start in 2009!

Its quarter till midnight and I'm trying really hard to stay awake. Tweenie is reading book 2 of the Twilight series. We got her the first one for Christmas and she totally devoured it in a day and a half! I'm just thrilled to see her so interested in reading. We went out today and got her the next two books, and she's 3/4 of the way through #2. I'm totally going to have to read them when she's done.

Anyway, that's what we're doing right now. Everyone else is sleeping. It wasn't our traditional New Year's Eve around here. My husband has been sick and its not really been a fun holiday break. Without getting too specific, I just really wish he would go in to the Dr! It could be/get serious. Or it could be nothing to worry about, but I wish he would just go in and find out for sure!! Men are serious babies when it comes to going to the Dr! And I don't know how much to push. We've fought about it several times now and I'm not getting anywhere. If he starts getting worse I'm just going to totally insist that he goes.

Ten minutes left till midnight.

I'm not going to harp on all the negatives of 2008 like I thought I might. I'm just going to try to get past it all and look forward to all we have to look forward to in 2009! :) Of course the best thing being that we will be having a new baby in June! I feel so blessed. And so very fortunate. My worry is under control. Everything is looking good and I'm sooo glad and relieved. Of course I won't be totally worry free and relieved until I deliver a healthy baby. And then I'll have new worries ;) A mother's worrying is never done.

Five minutes left... I better go make some bubbly juice for me and tweenie.

Happy New Year everyone!!

PS: Sorry for being such a bad blog buddy as of late :( I won't be able to sneak any blog visiting in until next week :( I can't wait to catch up with everyone and see how all your holidays went!!

From the North Pole

It's freezing here. No, really it is. Way below freezing. This morning the temp was -25. And that's without the wind chill. It finally warmed up to -10. Feels like a sauna ;)

We got hit with a big snow storm this weekend. Not too bad, maybe 5 or so inches (I may be exaggerating, as I don't remember seeing any numbers). Schools were delayed on Monday. And today with the amazingly cold temps? No delay. I'm sorry, but there are tons of kids around here who have to wait outside for the bus.

And of course my daughter just doesn't realize how freaking cold it is out there. She puts on a scarf, but does not wrap it around her face. Of course she has her coat on, but its not buttoned all the way up... It seems like everyday we are having to explain frostbite to her. This morning, as we had her wait inside for the bus, my husband wrapped her scarf around her face and tied it in the back ;)

I watch her skip off the bus, no hat, no gloves, no scarf and coat completely unbuttoned... "Do you know how cold it is out there?"

And she just gives me that stupid look like I am the most restrictive and lame parent in the world.

Ugh.

Anyway, that's my ramble for today.

And anyone interested in a super sweet giveaway, I'm hosting one on my other blog here. Just do not say that you came from here!

And Christmas gift progress? Finished the last niece hat and 2 nephew hats! Only 4 more to go!

Why Must I Confuse? ;)

Just to clarify a few things and give y'all some more info (as I wrote my last post in about 5 minutes while I let the car warm up to go pick the Mr. up from work) :)

I am currently teaching part time - 1 class at the local community college. I am teaching a business communications type of course, but I am an English person (for whatever reason they like to use English people to teach this course). I will be teaching a composition course next semester. My ideal job would be a full time instructor in English/writing/literature at a community college (this is the only level I am qualified to teach). Of which there is all of 1 within driving distance. There is one about an hour and a half away, but that's just too far - especially during the winter months. Anyway, this community college is very small and its very unlikely that they will be hiring another full time English person... so the job I've been waiting for is an English tutoring job (when I first started teaching this semester the dean told me this person may be leaving). Which I would still be able to teach at least one course a semester, but have a full time position in an academic/education field.

So anyway, its not that I'm in a big hurry to get back to work or anything... I do enjoy being a stay at home mommy. And especially with a new one on the way -due this summer, and have no desire to take a 6 week old to daycare... if this tutoring job had come open it would probably have been one of the only opportunities to come around for a long time. For this reason, I do miss living in a city that had at least 3 community colleges within driving distance...

And really, if I had it to do all over again, I would have made much different choices in my degrees... I would have done either my BA or MA in Secondary English Education and got certification to teach High School or Jr High... That way I could widen my opportunities for teaching. But as it is now, I would essentially have to do another MA degree to be able to teach HS or JrH. So I have one option for teaching. I have considered doing online schooling for a PhD, that way I could teach at the college level, but then again, there are no 4 year colleges within driving distance... so it would almost be pointless.

Honestly, I never imagined myself a stay at home mom. I always planned on working. But then when I had my son, I just wanted to stay home with him. I just couldn't imagine sending him to daycare. He was very needy, and colicky. My husband could barely handle him when I would go to the store or anywhere by myself. I would never in a million years have taken him to an in-home daycare. I just wouldn't have trusted that kind of situation with him. I knew how frustrated I got with him and how much the crying and screaming (from colic) wore on me. But back then my husband had a fellowship from the college he was attending, which would be running out at the end of that year. So one of us had to get a full time job asap.

I ended up getting one first. I got an administrative job at the college that my husband was attending. He had already passed his comps, so he only had a seminar class to attend that was in the evenings. He was also working on his dissertation. He was watching the boy while I worked. Day one he called and said he couldn't handle it and I needed to find a daycare.

It was a very stressful time. And the hubby got the boy on a routine which helped out a little. But he still was having issues and really did not want to be the stay at home parent. I wasn't making a whole lot, so daycare was kind of out of the question. Plus, the only place in town didn't have any part time openings...

Long story short, hubby began his job search asap ;) and ended up finding a full time job up in Northern Wisconsin, where his family is from. And luckily it was making just enough so that I could stay at home. (really the job I had wouldn't have cut it once his fellowship ran out). It was a good thing that he was making enough because the jobs around here are few and far between, even in the service industry. So I've been a stay at home mom ever since. He is now working a different job and makes about $8000 less than he did before. But is a more fulfilling job (and less stressful) and one that he actually went to school for.

But we are totally living paycheck to paycheck. And if it wasn't for my part time teaching income we probably wouldn't be making it. It would be nice to actually have some extra money once in a while. It would be nice to get a full time teaching or tutoring job for that reason. But in reality, the house would be even more neglected, and I just really would rather not send my kids to daycare. I don't want to miss any of their milestones. Anyway, as the job will not be open, I guess the decision has been taken out of my hands anyway. I am glad in a way, but I am also pretty bummed. I can just hope that within a couple of years they will decide to hire another English teacher :)

Good News Bad New Edition

So the good news is that hubby gets a x-mas bonus! Yippee!! :) We weren't expecting it, so its awesome. Its not a lot, but better than the 0 we were expecting!

The bad news is that all semester I've been waiting for this lady to leave her job because I want it! She finally announced that she was leaving a couple of weeks ago and I had been anxiously checking the website daily for the job posting. Hubby found out today that they decided to do away with her position. I'm seriously bummed. While I really love being a stay at home mommy, I plan on going back to work someday. There are seriously limited jobs in my field around here. We talked about it and decided that I should go ahead and apply for it because who knows when another job like that would come up. It was all for naught. I'm so disappointed. Oh well, I guess I wasn't meant to go back to work yet. So I guess I will have enough time for bloggy stuff ;)

Still madly crocheting ;) almost done with that last girl hat - got sidetracked with laundry yesterday, so didn't work on it as much as I'd hoped. And I forgot I have one more niece hat to do - oops. So 7 total left. At least the boy hats will be really quick and easy... ugh.. ;) next year I will be starting so much earlier!

Right Around the Corner

I can't believe how quickly Christmas is closing in on me! In a week and a couple of days we will be making the 4 hour trek once again to pick up my step-daughter for xmas! Time is going by unbelievably fast! And I haven't even started my xmas shopping yet! I think the hubby and I are going to go out on Monday as he has Monday's off. And who wants to go shopping on the weekends so close to xmas?? You couldn't drag me.

The worst thing is that I'm very behind on my xmas crocheting! I usually start in October and still am madly crocheting up till the last minute... but most of the time that's additional gifts that I decide to make... This year I am making hats for all the neices and nephews (we have 20!!). I have one girl hat left to make, and I've only made one boy hat (6 more to go!). Then of course there are 3 additional hats I wanted to make for various other people... but that may not get done this year.

All this is to say that if I'm not around, just know that I'm sitting around crocheting my butt off! ;) Or playing catchup with the dishes and laundry... I'm just finally finishing Sunday's laundry today! At least this Sunday there won't be as many loads! ;)

And also, next week is finals week for the college I'm teaching at. So next week I will probably be grading makeup work like a madwoman! I need to enforce my late work policy! ;) I was slammed with makeup work at mid-terms, and I know I will be slammed again with makeup work on Monday! I'm too much of a pushover. But I really like all my students, and want to see them succeed.