Well, this is my sad attempt at blogging and being honest with my not so vast blogging audience. However, I am going to work a few things in because I have so much going on. I feel really bad that I have not kept up on the blog for the first few months of the year. This year has been so crazy and gone so quickly. I can't believe that it is almost April.
April is going to be a "fun" month for me. I don't know what it is about the numbers 3 and 0 and them being put together. Something about the age 30 has me a little uneasy about my birthday. I am really sure it is because at some point in my life I thought that 30 was just REALLY old. My sister every year for the past 5 years has called and said It's your almost old birthday. Last year it was my I'm really darned close to old. Well, this is the year. I'm turning OLD.
Now that I am here, 30 is not old by any means. When thinking about my life (when I was younger) I thought I'd be doing different things in my life. I always knew that by this time in my life I'd probably be a mom. So the fact that I have two kids doesn't really phase me. However, I did always think that I'd still be working. I thought I'd have a career and love going to work and doing that sort of thing. I never in a million years thought I'd be a mom for my job.
Let me take this moment to say how blessed I am that I can be mom for my job. I know that there are many people in the world that would love to stay home with their children, but for one reason or another are not able to. I just feel like it is not looked at as an accomplishment or anything. I remember how I was almost embarrassed to tell people at my 10 year reunion that I was just mom. It was like I didn't have anything to show for myself for the past 10 years. I'm sure most of this just has to do with my insecurity.
All this said, I am embracing the new decade of my life. I am going to enter the 30s with as much love, joy, and enthusiasm that I can. I will live each day the best I can, and love where my life has taken me so far and the road I am on now. (The fact I noticed a couple of gray hairs on my husband's head help a little.) Here is to a great time in my life. A time where my kids will age past toddler, preschoolers, children, and even into the tweens. How scary is that?!
On to something else major in life. I'm finally doing it. I coming home to the states for a bit. It was kind of last notice, and it is coming quickly. It's coming a little TOO quick. I have no time to worry, plan, worry, over plan some more, worry, call someone to help me plan, and worry some more. Instead I will have to resort to a lot of worry and praying in the next week and a half. I have already started to outline the number of bags, car seats, etc that I will take. I'm trying to think through everything I can. I think if I plan for it in my head, I might feel more prepared if something like it did happen.
I found a flight that stopped over in Dallas. DFW is a big airport, but it isn't too bad. I have been there a few times, and for the most part I am comfortable with the airport. I am worried about customs between that flight and my connection. I have a couple of hours, but I just want to make sure that everything goes good. If not, I might be calling my cousin to see if I can crash on her sofa. At least I know that there we have family to help out if something happens and I need help.
The biggest worry I have is the fear I have had since moving here. Going home with the two kids alone. If anyone knows me really well they know I travel a lot. I am always getting in the car and going. I will go anywhere with the kids no matter what. I just jump in the car and head on. A plane though with the kids scares me. I am very self consious about how my kids act. I hate the idea that someone might think my kids are acting up. I always find myself telling people sorry for even stupid things. I hate that I feel I have to do that, but I don't want people to look at my kids like they are heathens either.
So you can see my delima now. I am traveling with the two kids alone on a plane. I don't mind the short trips. The long leg of this flight is around 9 hours though. That is a LONG time in a plane for an adult much less a child. When we flew over here, I was blessed to have my husband helping me. The kids did great, and they slept 80% of the time. This time I have no adult help. I wonder about stupid things like how am I going to go to the bathroom with the two of them in that little bathroom? It's something that is really stupid to worry about, but it is on my list.
As I told my mom on the phone last night, I just need to do it. Once I do it once, it won't seem as bad to do it again. I need to feel like I can do this no matter what. I need to get that one back. I also remember all the planning and such my cousin did for the trip here. We stayed up for a long time talking about what we were going to do, planning this and that. Everything went great when we got there. There was no need for all that planning. In my mind though if you don't plan, it will go wrong.
Anyway, if you would, please pray for us. Pray for the poor people on our flights. We will be leaving in just about 1 1/2 weeks. I can't wait to see family and friends again. I also can't wait to eat some things that aren't over here. It's sad how quickly you start to miss small things like that.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Coupon Queen? I Think Not!
I have been blessed recently in the coupon world. A couple of people I know had some coupons that were about to expire. These women are obsessed with them (at least I think they are for how many I got). A real quick explanation on the coupon expiring thing. We can use them here at our store for 6 moths after they I asked a few people how they go about organizing these things, and all thing coupons. After all my questions and all the people, I came up with something I think will be easy, organized, and ready to go at all times.
Pretty much my method consists of putting coupons in baseball card holder sleeves. I put each coupon in a slot. If it is a different amount, then it goes in a new slot. It took a lot of work to get them all done, but they are now in their slots, and they are organized by isle in the store. It is very easy to see them all, and it is easy to see what I have.
Last night was my first run at the coupon game. I needed a lot of things for dinner. We didn't really have anything dinner wise at the house, and we usually only buy a few meals at a time. It means we are making more frequent trips to the store, but it also cuts down a lot on our waste. We know what meals we have ready to make, and we know what we need for each.
Anyway, I took off down the isles and searched for coupons of things I needed. I got a couple of looks from a guy, and finally he said while looking at my binder, "That's a REALLY big shopping list." I let him know what it was, and by the time I had explained that it was my coupons, he was calling his wife over to look. Another lady told me that I am the most organized person she knows. I laughed because I am very much NOT organized. I guess with a typed up grocery list and a binder of coupons, anyone can look organized :)
Now for the grand total saved. Keep in mind that we cannot double coupons, use two for the same item (unless they are running that deal), etc. So just with the coupons I used I saved 10 dollars. I came in very excited and told my husband what I had saved. He just looked at me and said, "Yeah, that's not a lot." I then told him because of the ten I saved, we had some extra money for our date night. If you applied that 10 dollars to the fee for our childcare, it only cost us 30 dollars for a full night of childcare for both children. I then went on to tell him it would buy a 12 pack of his favorite German beer. That got him :p So, I think with a few more coupons, perfecting my art, and some luck, I can save like a pro in no time!
I'm going to use now to shamelessly say if you have any coupons you don't use, are about to expire, or just don't want, please send them to me. We don't get much in the way of coupons over here, so my best luck is finding ones that people don't need. My new forming habit will thank you!
Pretty much my method consists of putting coupons in baseball card holder sleeves. I put each coupon in a slot. If it is a different amount, then it goes in a new slot. It took a lot of work to get them all done, but they are now in their slots, and they are organized by isle in the store. It is very easy to see them all, and it is easy to see what I have.
Last night was my first run at the coupon game. I needed a lot of things for dinner. We didn't really have anything dinner wise at the house, and we usually only buy a few meals at a time. It means we are making more frequent trips to the store, but it also cuts down a lot on our waste. We know what meals we have ready to make, and we know what we need for each.
Anyway, I took off down the isles and searched for coupons of things I needed. I got a couple of looks from a guy, and finally he said while looking at my binder, "That's a REALLY big shopping list." I let him know what it was, and by the time I had explained that it was my coupons, he was calling his wife over to look. Another lady told me that I am the most organized person she knows. I laughed because I am very much NOT organized. I guess with a typed up grocery list and a binder of coupons, anyone can look organized :)
Now for the grand total saved. Keep in mind that we cannot double coupons, use two for the same item (unless they are running that deal), etc. So just with the coupons I used I saved 10 dollars. I came in very excited and told my husband what I had saved. He just looked at me and said, "Yeah, that's not a lot." I then told him because of the ten I saved, we had some extra money for our date night. If you applied that 10 dollars to the fee for our childcare, it only cost us 30 dollars for a full night of childcare for both children. I then went on to tell him it would buy a 12 pack of his favorite German beer. That got him :p So, I think with a few more coupons, perfecting my art, and some luck, I can save like a pro in no time!
I'm going to use now to shamelessly say if you have any coupons you don't use, are about to expire, or just don't want, please send them to me. We don't get much in the way of coupons over here, so my best luck is finding ones that people don't need. My new forming habit will thank you!
A page from my new coupon book
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Bad Mom Day
So yesterday was one of those days that I just felt like the worst mom in the world. Every now and then I think that I could have done something better or different, but not too many times do I feel like I just blew it. I know that most people have those days, and yesterday was mine.
It was a "normal" morning for us. We were up and moving around because I had taken my husband to work. I wanted the van, so we were up and about. We had taken him to work, grabbed a few things while we were out, and we had made it back home. I was thinking I'd be productive and do a few things around the house in the morning and get some extra stuff done. All of a sudden Samuel was screaming. He had hit his head.
I noticed right away that he had a nice sized bump on his head. It was already swollen and bruised. It looked awful. My first reaction was to rush in to the Urgent Care here on post and prepare to be there for a few hours while they checked him out. I took a deep breath, and I called the Nurse Advice Line. I really like that line because you can call 24 hours a day to ask them questions and get the advice of an RN. So I called there first. The lady that answered was great. She calmed me down and gave me a list of things to do with him. Best of all, it kept me from waiting for many hours at the Urgent Care. I will make my disclaimer now...If I would have for one second thought he was getting worse or needed to be taken in, I would have gone.
Last night was rough. I was still having to wake him every 4 hours to check on him. I didn't have to wake him up except the first time at night. After that, he was up anyway. It was a LONG night. Today it is every 6 hours. He is doing great, but I sure hope that sleeping goes much better tonight than last night. My hubby is joking that Samuel is just growing a horn.
It was a "normal" morning for us. We were up and moving around because I had taken my husband to work. I wanted the van, so we were up and about. We had taken him to work, grabbed a few things while we were out, and we had made it back home. I was thinking I'd be productive and do a few things around the house in the morning and get some extra stuff done. All of a sudden Samuel was screaming. He had hit his head.
I noticed right away that he had a nice sized bump on his head. It was already swollen and bruised. It looked awful. My first reaction was to rush in to the Urgent Care here on post and prepare to be there for a few hours while they checked him out. I took a deep breath, and I called the Nurse Advice Line. I really like that line because you can call 24 hours a day to ask them questions and get the advice of an RN. So I called there first. The lady that answered was great. She calmed me down and gave me a list of things to do with him. Best of all, it kept me from waiting for many hours at the Urgent Care. I will make my disclaimer now...If I would have for one second thought he was getting worse or needed to be taken in, I would have gone.
Last night was rough. I was still having to wake him every 4 hours to check on him. I didn't have to wake him up except the first time at night. After that, he was up anyway. It was a LONG night. Today it is every 6 hours. He is doing great, but I sure hope that sleeping goes much better tonight than last night. My hubby is joking that Samuel is just growing a horn.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
On Disney Princesses and Judge Judy
You might wonder from my title how these two things have anything in common. No one would even really think of putting the two together. Judge Judy doesn't look like a Disney Princess. She doesn't even look like a princess really. However, in our home the two go hand in hand.
A few weeks ago while my husband was away at school, I took the kids over to Mannheim. I wanted to go to the PX there to get a few things. It seems at times they have a better selection on some of the things I am looking for. They tend to have much more clothing choices, baby items, etc. Also their stores (electronics, house wears, and general items are all in different buildings here) are all together. It's a one stop shot.
Anyway, while we were there, Genevieve went nuts over a Disney Princess purse. I was going to get it for her, but when I looked at the price tag, I couldn't bring myself to paying 12 dollars for a purse. We were walking around though, and I found Princess panties. I picked them up, and she loves them. There is one pair that has a big picture of Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. She loves that pair.
Once she was talking about her princess panties and this is how the conversation went.
G: Momma, I have princess panties. This is Cinderelly, who is this?
M: Belle
G: Oh Tinkerbelle! Who's this?
M: Sleeping Beauty
G: OHHH!! I have Tinkerbelle, Cinderelly, and Judge Judy on my panties!
Judge Judy as recently become Sleeping Judy. She might get it someday :p
A few weeks ago while my husband was away at school, I took the kids over to Mannheim. I wanted to go to the PX there to get a few things. It seems at times they have a better selection on some of the things I am looking for. They tend to have much more clothing choices, baby items, etc. Also their stores (electronics, house wears, and general items are all in different buildings here) are all together. It's a one stop shot.
Anyway, while we were there, Genevieve went nuts over a Disney Princess purse. I was going to get it for her, but when I looked at the price tag, I couldn't bring myself to paying 12 dollars for a purse. We were walking around though, and I found Princess panties. I picked them up, and she loves them. There is one pair that has a big picture of Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. She loves that pair.
Once she was talking about her princess panties and this is how the conversation went.
G: Momma, I have princess panties. This is Cinderelly, who is this?
M: Belle
G: Oh Tinkerbelle! Who's this?
M: Sleeping Beauty
G: OHHH!! I have Tinkerbelle, Cinderelly, and Judge Judy on my panties!
Judge Judy as recently become Sleeping Judy. She might get it someday :p
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