whatafunk

I guess I've been in a bit of a funk lately. Not a major funk, but once I emerged even a bit the other day, a funk none the less.

I was cranky, irritable, and genuinely disinterested in just about everything.... bored, waiting for something, but who knows what. I awoke over Thanksgiving I guess. I realized that I am extremely grateful for my family - the man I married and the little girl who we get to raise. I must have realized that really she needs a lot more of my attention and when she gets it, she's a great kid..... go figure. And that man of mine, too. When he gets more of my attention, he's a much more loving person to me, too.

Amazing how a change in attitude can really impact your relationships.

Mommy Burnout

I am experiencing major mommy burn out today. and yesterday. and probably tomorrow. I am tired. my daughter isn't napping. I can do nothing except play with a 2 year old. Not that it's bad, but my brain begins turning to jello around 11 a.m. And then normally, naptime comes and I can do something like a big girl and refresh and be ok for the rest of the day. And then normally, around 6:30 daddy comes in and gives me a big person to talk to and my brain begins to re-calcify and I become an adult again. And then normally, daddy will do bath time. And that gives mommy another moment to be an adult.

October sucks for us in terms of daddy being gone. He's gone all but 7 days. Have I mentioned that he was supposed to only travel about 50% of the time? Well.... 50% turned to 75% and 75% is turning into 90%. Did I mention that this sucks? Not to be a debbi downer, but if I wanted to be a single parent, I probably could have been. And it will get better for a little bit and then we'll probably have another deployment..... and be in a foreign country where no one will be visiting us........ yeah, I guess that probably wasn't the best idea as a first choice - and there's always the fact the Army does what the Army wants with your life...... so we could end up at Ft. Riley.....

Anyway.... burned out. Need something. Just not sure what it is.

personal responsibility..... a tirade....

Ok..... so apparently people who try to do the right thing are in the minority these days. I am getting a little fed up with people who EXPECT things for FREE - like healthcare, expensive cars, nice houses, decent clothing, high paying jobs, and not have to work for them like the rest of us. Now, I agree that some things could be cheaper (like having babies is kind of expensive) BUT, if anyone thinks they NEED a 5,000 square foot house, or an Escalade or a Lexus or whatever....... I mean please.

I am only thinking about this right now because our former tenants (who until we settle in court will remain nameless and for the time being will be referred to as the "Inconsiderates") are refusing to pay for damages they made on our property. We have receipts, photos, etc. and they are trying to say that because they failed to give our property manager the correct address, that our property manager acted in poor faith because they didn't receive their deposit letter within 30 days of vacating the property. absolute BS. I know it was sent on August 14. They obviously destroyed our house and now are refusing to pay..... well..... we will go to court and we will assess a judgement against them..... and we can wait it out patiently.

But I am so sick of people who try to take advantage of others. And this guy is an Army Officer - certainly not conduct becoming an officer if you ask me.....

Missing my hubby

So.... 2 weeks ago I had to go to North Carolina to check on the rental house. Went overnight with MCR. Happened to be gone one of the nights PJR was actually home. Then, he left again. He came home on Saturday and all three of us overnighted to NC to work on the house. Then.... I left for Florida with MCR. He was gone Thursday, we all got home on Friday for a blissful 36 hours together and he's off again until late Friday. His parents come on Friday to celebrate little miss MCR's 2nd birthday and then he'll be home for a couple days. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? It's almost like having him deployed.... we were both a little sad that he had to go away again this morning as he was walking out the door..... 5 more years and maybe he'll retire and become a civilian!

On a happy note - he did make the "cut" for O6 (Lt. Colonel) and we are currently making our choices in location for a battalion command. I told him my top 3 - Italy, Hawaii and back to ft. Bragg. I don't think his top 3 are the same - probably Ft. Stewart (Savannah, GA), Ft. Bragg (North Carolina) or Ft. Lewis (Tacoma, WA). I won't know until this weekend what he's thinking since he's off on the other side of the world right now - being my hero. :)

Holy Cow....

so....toddlerhood is a busy busy time in my life. We spend our days making water balloons, going to the grocery store or Target or gymboree for play or music or Mother's Day out or on a play date or something almost every day. I wonder sometimes if we should just stay home and do nothing and enjoy it. sometimes I feel guilty because we are always on the go..... I can't even imagine how busy we'll be when she's a little older and doing more organized activities.....

On a happy note - we are officially trying for baby #2! I broke down and purchased an ovulation kit last month. Why? Well..... let's just say until this month I had no idea about my "mucus cycle" and thought I was ovulated 48 hours before I am..... anyway, with a small window of opportunity - and my husband's travel schedule.... yes, I'll be disappointed if we aren't pregnant next month - but I at least feel sort of empowered to time it correctly. As in with the little bambina - ultimately it is up to God. If he feels that we are ready for another, He'll give us one. If not, I adore the one I have and will continue to spoil the heck out of her! :)

MAJOR Inspiration

So, I've spent inordinate amounts of time recently "catching up" with my friends on Facebook. Can I just say that reading about them, seeing pictures, etc. makes me wonder where the time has gone.....

Someone posted a picture of me from I guess middle school, I was making faces at the camera with another girl who I probably haven't seen since.

More to come, I think I can find a picture of elementary school to scan in and upload....

Trying to sell our house....

So yesterday I got an email from our tenant stating that she is suddenly now uncomfortable with showing our house. I assured her in December, January and February that we didn't expect it to be a model home or staged in any way and she was perfectly fine with it. Now, I guess her husband is deployed, she has 5 kids and it's overwhelming......

You know, I understand the overwhelmed feeling of having your husband deploy. Everything around you is magnified and blown up almost out of proportion. But she didn't mention any of this to me when we talked.... AND he just asked to have a ham radio tower mounted on the house about a month ago. Weird......

I just wish she had been honest with me about her feelings up front. It would have prevented me and the hubby from signing all those papers with our realtor.

Why won't my car stay clean?

So, I used to be what I thought was very efficient at things. My car was always relatively clean, minus a few papers or whatever work happened to be in there. I could make or at least find time to clean the darn thing. Now I have Teddy Grahams, Cheerios, dried milk and juice plus goodness knows what all over the back seat. Plus, the console has coupons, snacks, nutrigrain bars, old sippy cups full of some liquid, maybe a day old diet coke or cup of coffee, my handsfree (yes, I still have the wire...) device, an ipod and it's plug in dock thingy..... and of course, my 3 ring coupon binder plus all the ads from all the stores so I leave no free item behind!

The back of the car has all those reusable shopping bags, a crate with diapers, wipes, a bucket, seashells, a stuffed horse, a beach bag, a stroller, a gallon of water and a couple of those reusable shopping bags full of toys! Plus layers and layers of dog hair for when our neighbor isn't home to watch MCR when I have to take the dogs poop in the rain.....

Let's not forget to mention the layer of grime on the outside, plus all the goobers on the glass on the inside. Now, I took the car to the carwash for the first time in at least 12 months back in January. Surprisingly, it wasn't near as dirty as it seems to be now. It hadn't snowed or anything then - so maybe all this nastiness is leftover salt and sludge from our winter snow a couple weeks ago.

That's not the only thing I can't get to anymore. I seriously lack motivation to pick up toys. I take a couple days off and then I feel motivated to clean, organize, etc. Yes, I try to get her to do it herself, but she's still learning.... and it's a long process. I also seem to accumulate piles of dishes because I can't unload the dishwasher without someone "helping" me or wanting me to "pick you up" while I'm doing anything in the kitchen.

And here I am, partaking in one of my biggest distractions - being online..... Maybe I should take a couple days off from my online life and just do some of these things I can't otherwise get to..... but that doesn't sound like as much fun, does it?

Why I love facebook....

You know, I'm kind of addicted to Facebook. Ok, if you ask my husband, I am obsessed with it. (Honestly, my relationship with facebook might be slightly dysfunctional, but I get as much as I give, right?)

As I have travelled and moved all over the country, I used to think the world was small. But with Facebook, the world has shrunk yet again. Ebay kind of has the same effect. I sell something to Turkey or the U.K. or places I've never been - and it's like you can reach out and touch people.

The cool thing with facebook and myspace and stuff like that is that you realize that every person you know or have ever met, or have gone to school with, or worked with or whatever will eventually pop back into your conscious mind and you'll go, "hey, I wonder if so and so is on Facebook". Then you look for them and either find them or not. And when you do find them, whether or not its a cousin you haven't spoken with voice to voice since 3/4 of your life ago, or a friend you had a falling out with, you still have a connection to them. Maybe it's safer to communicate via email/internet after separations. I know I feel that way. But at the same time, it's still a risk that they either won't respond, or will be nasty to you again.

Oh well. Maybe this just means that I am passive and/or less assertive than I should be since I don't plan to bring it up. Maybe it means that our memories (or at least mine) have a hard time holding onto negative outcomes - or just really want to be friends with people. I don't know. Maybe I just think it's a really cool way to let people know that they have impacted your life, whether good or bad - and that by including them as a friend - they know you care. Even if you haven't spoken to them since grade school.

Just Admit it already....

I am going gray. There, I said it. My hair is turning gray. I've been in denial about it so long. Plucking them out, being too vain to actually color my hair when in reality vanity should be encouraing me to color my hair. But instead, I pluck them out. And now, I can't keep up with them anymore - they have taken over!

I haven't colored my hair because I am afraid if I do it, at some point, when I am mostly gray I guess, I will want it to be natural and will have to grow the color out (which can take months -and who wants dramatic 2 toned hair?) or cut it off really short. And knowing me, I don't want that short of hair every again! Maybe I should just stop plucking them out and let them be natural now. Am I too vain for that? I think I might be. But, if I continue to pluck, I will eventually be 1/2 bald. I am definitely too vain for that. But if I color my hair, then I will be going against my rule of being cheap - which is spending entirely too much money on things like haircuts, maintenence, beauty and the like.

What a conundrum I have found myself in today....... someday I'll get the nerve to write about "the hair on my chinny chin chin". But I am WAY too vain for that!

Old Blog link www.familyraymond.blogspot.com

well, I went down memory lane with our neighbor Stephanie and looked at the old blogspot AND looked at my old email account praymond@nc.rr.com and saw an email from Tina about her daily read..... I honestly don't know if I have lacked ingenuity or just have been too busy to write, but I love writing my blog and need to get back to it. Having children really stifles some creativity, while invoking other areas of creativity. For instance, I never knew how much fun it was to play. I love playing. Whether singing songs or just goofing around, I love playing with my daughter. I don't have a yard anymore and so no more snake stories...... but I do have plenty of parenting issues that come up every day.

For instance, I should really, really, really be more consistent in applying the "stay in the kitchen with that" rule. Normally it applies to grape juice, grape soda, strawberries, raspberries and anything that can stain. But, somedays it doesn't apply to anything because I know whatever it is will come out with OXY.

on that note, need to head to sleepy.... can't wait to see cousin tina in DC in a couple weeks.....

Ok, so not great at this blogging stuff anymore.

I must have used to have LOTS of time on my hands to sit down and contemplate the world. Right now, I can't even get my floor vaccumed - I don't even know if I can spell anymore.... Anyway, MCR has strep again! I think she never got rid of it the first time and I am just praying that she gets over it this time because she won't take all of her medicine. She's been spitting it out because it has a nasty after taste. Poor baby.

Anyway, we've been babysitting this week. Fun for mommy, huh? :) I'm down with OPK - that's what I say. (I'm down with OPP yeah u know me....) Anyway, have a gfk mystery shop today after I substitute at Mother's Day Out..... then the hubby is gone out of town to DC again I think. Just over night. Not like the next couple weeks where we won't really see him at all. The house should get pretty clean those weeks.

Ok, no more stalling. Time to go and do some Yoga.... ah, oxygen. Ah, Inhale. whee!

TGIF..... I think

Well, hubby was supposed to come home before baby's bedtime tonight and THAT didn't happen. We'll see if he makes it by tomorrow a.m. Happy Un-valentine's day is right! :) Got some awesome photos to upload tomorrow.

BTW - do you know how to print photos from your phonbe?

Darn that Murphy!

Ok, so Murphy's law of the hubby being out of town, as I've mentioned before, is this: Usually, it rains or is really cold outside so I have to manage taking the dogs to pee and poop while the baby sleeps. Typically, the little black dog will run out the front door and off to the golf course or around the neighborhood at least once, eat grass and then poop or puke all over the house. Not to mention get into something like the pantry or steal the bread off the counter.

Here is what has happened so far on this trip (thankfully, over tomorrow!): The baby has strep throat. Yeah, and I missed it. I've got a horrible head cold. The little black dog puked this morning and then while we went to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather, the door blew open and the other dog ran out. I guess I've learned that if it's not one thing (crappy weather vs. strep throat) (black dog running off or orange dog) then it's another...... I wonder what would happen if these things didn't happen while he was gone?

Flip Flops en Fevrier

It is a crisp 62 degrees this morning and I love it! I woke up around 3:30 a.m. with the little one and decided it was too hot so I opened the window. I'm a little congested, so I didn't think I would be able to smell the fresh air, but boy do I!

Waking up to this beautiful morning reminded me of a lazy Sunday back in Kansas City. Peaceful, serene, no agendas, no work, just a day of rest and maybe a little exploration...... I want to grab my coffee and head to the back patio and just sit and soak up the beautiful air and sunshine with a good book - and follow it with a road trip to a funky, unique shop or area - and in my heart that is what I'll do today.

But in reality, my daughter is starting to stir, reminding me that yes, I have some very important things I need to take care of today.......

Strep Throat....

So the bambina had strep throat last summer like 3 times. I kept thinking she had it over the fall and winter only to find out that she didn't and maybe I was being paranoid. The past couple days she's had quite a runny nose and since I'm kind of feeling under the weather and nasaly, I figured the lack of appetite was due to the drainage and the slight headache (maybe she doesn't have these same symptoms...)

Anyway, her half birthday is today - she's 18 months old and had to see the Dr. for shots and general health. (She's 31 inches long and 22 lbs. 10 oz.) So the Dr. sees the little rash developing on her shoulders and tummy. She says she thinks it looks like a sweat rash/heat rash, but she's going to swab her for strep anyway.

Of course, my daughter has strep throat because I didn't even think she was that sick. No fever, no other symptoms. It's just crazy. I feel like the worst mother in the world. And of course we had all the friends and their kids over for dinner last night and a playdate yesterday morning......

I guess this is a new one in the Murphy's Law of hubby leaving town. Sick kid. :(

Multiplication - kid style!

So here's one for you.... how is it that one child can breed so many toys? Somehow, must be while we are sleeping, they are going off in pairs and coming back in families of 3 and 4 and 5. How does this happen? Where do they come from? Do I have someone's permission to give them away so the next kid (God willing) gets a few new things, too?

While I'm not sure where they come from (aside from Santa and a few weak moments in the toy section at Target) I get to pick them up. I pick up behind her while she's playing, I pick up during nap time, I pick up when she's in bed at night. I sing the clean up song, "Clean up, Clean up, everybody everywhere. Clean up, Clean up, everybody do your share" in an attempt to motivate her to do it herself - and yet I still pick up 90% of them on average 5 times a day.

I know I have to keep this in perspective. Not too long ago, I was complaining to my sister MLM about how she (the little one, not my sister) likes to dump her plate on the floor when she's done with her meal. She is especially fond of this practice when she's eating something like blackberries or avocados or cottage cheese - you know, stuff even the dogs can't clean up entirely. MLM kindly reminded me to be glad that she's just dumping her plate. "Just" dumping her plate????? Of course. Just dumping her plate when she could be 17 and smoking pot. (Well, she is kind of a wine-o but that's a story for another day....)

There will be a day when I miss picking up toys, right? Like when I have to start picking up school books and car keys and i-pods or whatever other expensive little electronic gadget she HAS TO HAVE RIGHT NOW!!!!!

I guess I can wait a little longer for that while I pick up "Tomas the Choo Choo" and "Burt and Oiney, Elmo and Cookie Moster" a few more times.....today.

Facebook Fanatic!

Well..... I have to thank K.S. for her encouragement to play around with Facebook. I spent 2 1/2 hours on there last night finding long lost friends and family members. It was wild! I have to say.... much cooler than myspace - and surprisingly I've had my facebook account longer! Ha!

Today is Monday and I had to get up at 4:32 to register the little bambina for Parent's Night Out at the YMCA. They open up online registration about that time of day for Saturday night. Kind of cool that this week is Valentine's day - even though we won't be celebrating that holiday. (Here's a funny story: When my spouse and I were dating, I was working as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. He went to Japan for a couple weeks and came back with all these cute, romantic little gifts.... before he could give them to me, I opened my big fat mouth and told him how, since I had worked at the AHA, everyone thought I would appreciate all the heart shaped stuff - I meant paper weights and candle holders and the like - which I just had so much at that point, I certainly didn't need more. I also told him how I could really give 2 craps about Valentine's Day and how I think it's a "Hallmark" holiday. This conversation took place on February 4th; and my husband, not even missing a beat - hands me a daintly little heart shaped pendant with a beautiful Mikimoto pearl in it and says, "Well, Happy UN-Valentine's Day" and we've been celebrating UN-Valentine's Day ever since.....Can you believe he still asked me to marry him????? :))

In a jam! hee hee

So this morning I jammed my toe on the damn door jam. Before that happened, I was planning to go to the gym today and run because I am apparently trying to get in shape to run a St. Patrick's Day 8K with my friend K.S. I just got to the point where I can run 2.2 miles in 30 minutes (I know, it's a slow pace for some, but I have such a short stride and such chunky legs, it's pretty good for me) without stopping for air or water or even slowing down for that matter. I'm really hoping it's not broken.

Yesterday we hit all the stops - Target, TJ Maxx, Harris Teeter and did some shopping. I got a few things to send to family and a few good finds to sell on Ebay (Ralph Lauren polo shirts size 2T for $3!!!!! Those should make me a couple bucks.) plus a few staples for little to no money because of triple coupons (we are currently swimming in paper plates and Snyder's veggie crisps and Eat Smart multigrain cheetos - the child loves them and there really is fiber in them.). Now, we just need some milk and our household will run fine while the hubby is in our Nation's Capitol this week.

Meanwhile, I will figure out how to walk the dogs without killing myself. Hopefully the weather will be nice and it won't rain, but we've got the Murphy's Law of hubby leaving town..... It's cold, it rains and at least one dog pukes all over downstairs when he's gone. :)

Frugal Friday

Ok, well..... I guess how I was frugal today is that I substituted in the child's class today and earned $25 instead of spending anythign at Harris Teeter...... I'm amazed at how inexpensive a stay at home mom's time is considered when people pay you to do things. I mean, shoot, I used to make about $25 AN HOUR - not $25 for 4..... Ah, well..... what can one do? I guess when you have more time it becomes less valuable in terms of dollars? I am still as educated as I was.

I realize, too that when I spend time on my ebay business, I may end up earning $1 - $2 on each item I post to sell online. That is IF it sells. It takes approximately an hour to put 7 - 10 things online, depending on how similar the items are. After spending time packaging and shipping stuff, I think I make about $5 for each hour I spend. I know there have to be higher return items, but so far, I haven't found them. Any suggestions?

Deal Scoping Day

So, I just read yesterday that a regional grocery store Harris Teeter is having triple coupons this weekend. I am so stocked up, that I really don't feel the need to take advantage of this - they will do it again in a couple months. I am going to look and see what is really on sale and compare with my coupons..... but only in their ad. I'm not going to make a trip unless I find a really good deal.

Today is Wednesday, so part of my routine is to check the grocery ads and see what I can find on sale with my coupons. Farm Fresh - a local grocery store - doubles up to $1 today - so I need to check. But again.... not really too worried about missing some deals, as our pantry is really full!

Instead, I am going to scope out some other deals..... did you know you can sell Lucky Charms to the U.K. on Ebay? Well, I thought I'd give that a try in addition to some other recommendations from Ebay Selling Coach..... Plus, I need to get to the gym and run a little bit or I'll never be ready to run an 8K in March......

Back to it after all this time

Well, the other blog is lost in cyberspace..... they keep emailing us at the old email..... oh well... what can one do? First, let's start with a recent photo of the babe..... Isn't she something? Talking up a storm, too!

So, not a lot going on here these days except for some money saving madness. I've been couponing like crazy this past month - you should see our pantry and the deep freeze in the garage. The hubby keeps telling me that if Armageddon should happen, we'll be able to feed any remaining souls for a month while they repent! :) Seriously, we are blessed to be in a recession proof (for the most part) career and I am really honing this money saving skill of stockpiling. We've done so well, I've been able to share food and clothing with MANY! I'm sure they don't laugh when a box of free stuff ends up at their doorstep. They do think I'm a little obsessive about it, but you have to keep up on stuff to take full advantage!