Whew, What a Week

Wow. This week has been extremely taxing. I couldn't believe how long the days were and now that it's finally Friday I can't believe how fast it went. At work I felt all week that I was just not getting anything accomplished. Well, I really wasn't I guess. I had one project that was high priority; to write a Crystal Report, part of my new job. I have only written 2 reports and this one through me for a loop. It seemed that I was moving along smoothly and then BAM, ran right into a wall of, "what the hell do I do now and why can't I talk this damn computer language, I know what I want you to do, so just do it?" I kept trying to plug away at it and then continued to come up with the wrong results. My co-worker, who also writes reports was out of the office at training and he was checking in with me each day, but I really wanted to accomplish the task on my own if I could. I thought on Thursday morning I had finally figured my solution out and had completed my project (after spending 2 hours Wed. night scouring the Internet for answers that might help me), but nope. Friday morning I got an email that after some more verification the report was dropping data, damn it. So, Friday I left work with an incomplete assignment to haunt me for the weekend and all I can think is: I went to school to be a Travel Agent not a Computer Geek, what the hell am I doing?
Throughout the week I also kept wondering and thinking about the balance of being an employee, a wife, and a mom. How do I balance this? I told my husband thank you numerous times and how appreciative I am right now that he has settled into the routine of picking up the kids from daycare because I find myself struggling to leave work on time and then struggling at work to get home and be with the family. Again the husband has been left to the duties of cooking supper as well because I am spent when I get home and the kids are hungry by 6pm; he says he doesn't mind, but I do. I want to be able to be the good wife and have the clean house and supper in the oven and the well behaved children, will this ever happen?! At these times I really long for my cleaning lady to come back every 2 weeks and at least take care of my house, too bad I wanted another kiddo and a new car huh, bye-bye cleaning lady.
On a good note for the week, Katelynn had her second dentist appointment and passed with flying colors, no cavities! It actually worked out pretty cool for her because this week at preschool they were studying teeth and now she has really been into brushing, flossing and rinsing.
Ahh - I feel better getting this all down and off my chest for the night at 10:30pm. Now it's back to the laundry and damn it I'm enjoying a cold beer while I do it, what a way to spend a Friday night.

Our Vegas Vacation

Junior's 1st Birthday Party

All set up and ready for our guests to arrive.
Momma and Junior

So happy with his new Super Bouncy Ball !

1st Birthday Cake Video

Fiber One Yogurt and Safeway - Giveaway

Best-selling author and food expert Lisa Lillien, AKA Hungry Girl, has given her "seal of approval" to the new Fiber One yogurt, the only leading nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber (20 percent of the Recommended Daily Value). It is also a good source of calcium and vitamins A and D, making this a guilt-free and all-around great choice for dieters and those watching their weights. Each cup includes the creamy, delicious taste you expect from Yoplait, and you don´t have to feel guilty about enjoying it. Fiber One is available in a variety of flavors including, Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla and Key Lime Pie (see what Hungry Girl thinks about the new yogurt here:http://hungry-girl.com/news/newsdetails.php?isid=1772 !)

In addition, from January 13th through February 9th, the Safeway family of stores has a special deal where you can purchase two 4-packs of Fiber One yogurt for only $4! You can visit your local Safeway family of stores to take advantage of the great savings on Fiber One yogurt and more!

I received a VIP coupon to try a free 4-pack of the Fiber One Yogurt. This is a good way to get your fiber if you like yogurt. I thought that there was a little graininess to the yogurt, but the taste was not bad.

I also received a $50.00 gift certificate to Safeway! I love my Safeway store. Many of you know that I play thegrocergame.com in order to save money on groceries and Safeway has been my store for a little over a couple of years. Last summer I did switch to King Sooper's for awhile to see if I could save more, but ended up going back to Safeway. I like the layout of my store and now that they are doubling their manufacture coupons I am back to shopping with them full time. I am sad to see that they are ending their connection with United Airlines and giving shoppers the bonus of air miles for every $250 they spend. I also believe that they may be changing the way that shoppers receive their auto fuel discount awards. In the past you were able to stock up your fuel savings and use them all at once which really helped us out at the fuel pump. I noticed on a recent receipt that this may have changed and will follow what King Sooper's does of only letting you save 10 cents at each fill up. Both of this items really set them apart for me from King Sooper's maybe one day they will change it back!?

I am able to do a give away for one of my reader's. The winner will receive a $50.00 gift card to Safeway.

My VIP coupon, gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Safeway and Fiber One through MyBlogSpark."

If you would like to be considered for the drawing please comment on my blog:
Comment on which flavor of Fiber One yogurt they would like to try OR
Share recommended tips on how to maintain a healthy and frugal lifestyle.

Davids Family Visit & Oh The Sickness

The business continued at our house. We were excited for Dan's parents to arrive last Friday for their visit. Dan and Grandma picked up the kids from daycare and I brought home some KFC for everyone and a few bottles of wine. The kids were having fun and we did Christmas with them that night. Dan's parents decided to wait on their gifts since they were coming here, less shipping costs and then they got to enjoy seeing the kids open their presents. Junior got a huge Tonka truck that he loved and Katelynn got the DVD The Wizard Of Oz with a figurine of Dorothy and some ruby red shoes to wear.
Saturday -
Saturday morning Dan cooked us up a big breakfast. I then had to run off to deal with some HOA business. The town is still battling over the manufactured homes issue and trying to pass it. They set up a tour of the company in town here that builds manufactured homes and then had a Planning Commission Board meeting that I again voiced my opinion on them not approving them until the town can show that they will enforce the codes that are in place. We did win the vote 4 -3 this time so we will see what the Town Board does this time; I am really over dealing with some of this stuff! Dan hung out with his Dad and some neighbors and they grilled up some dear meat they brought while Grandma watched the kiddos. We just bummed around the rest of the day and didn't do much of anything. Junior started to not feel very well on Saturday as well, we figured that one or both of the kids would eventually catch our colds.
Sunday -
The men went off to do some work in the morning and the women (plus Junior) went shopping for birthday decorations and groceries to get out of the house. Junior was still not feeling really up to par and really started going down hill by the end of the day.
Monday -
Katelynn went to preschool and Junior stayed home with Grandma. I went to work in the morning to get a few appointments out of the way and meet with some developers on one of my projects because I knew it would be another month before I would be able to reschedule the meeting and my boss was also at home with a sick child and wasn't able to attend. I headed home after the meeting and picked up Katelynn and swapped the kids. Junior and I went to Urgent Care and Katelynn stayed with Grandma to make a few batches of Chili for Dan to freeze (she does this at each visit, Dan loves his mamma's Chili, I never try to make it because of that!). I had already figured that Junior was getting RSV again and had decided on Monday morning that I would take him to Urgent Care instead of to his regular doctor after the nightmare that happened last time of taking him in 3 days in a row until he was finally admitted to the hospital. We got to Urgent Care in Loveland and it wasn't busy and got in right away and sure enough they listened to him and then tested him for both RSV and the flu and he tested positive for RSV, again. They gave him some nebulizer treatments and we ended up being there for about 4 1/2 hours just hanging out to see if they could get his temperature down and if the treatments would help. His temp did eventually go down and we finally got a glimpse of my happy little boy. They sent us home with strict instructions on suctioning out his nose and some drugs for his ears. The men went hunting on Monday and got home later that night with a ton of birds, chucker or chuggers and whatever else they were hunting ? They had a great time and it was good for Dan to have that time with his Dad.
Tuesday -
I stayed home from work on Tuesday with Dan's mom and Junior and Katelynn was off to daycare and preschool. Junior wasn't getting better, but wasn't getting worse and was able to sleep well. We had a follow-up appointment that morning with his regular doctor. The receptionist asked me right away how we ended up at Urgent Care instead of their office, I just said I came home from work and took him right to Urgent Care - I didn't lie, just didn't tell them that it was because I didn't want to take him there. We did get seen by the head doctor that morning which made me happy and he said to just keep watching him and that his ears were getting better. What a way to spend your very first birthday:( Doug and Jeannie were able to go do some shopping that day and go out for breakfast since it was Jeannie's birthday too. Dan made a great supper that night of halibut and tuna and then we had cake and opened presents. Junior was in good spirits during this and we did let him indulge himself in chocolate cake (don't tell the doctor!). He was so funny about it all, he loved it.
Wednesday -
That night of course Katelynn started to not look so great and in the morning was coughing something fierce. Dan's parents were leaving for home which left just Dan and I. I really needed to get to work because I will be in training on Thursday and Friday and then we leave for vacation and I have some presentations I needed to prep that are on my first morning back to work so Dan stayed home with the kids. Junior is doing better today and started taking in more fluids; however, now Katelynn is coughing and coughing, the poor thing. I guess it was only a matter of time that she would catch it.

Now we anxiously await my mom coming out to visit on Friday, Junior's birthday party on Saturday (as long as everyone is healthy by then) and Vegas for us on Monday. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have a few days off. I actually am the most excited for Dan and I to get some time together alone and have no responsibilities than anything we end up doing on our trip. Does every marriage have these ups and downs and everyone just hides them or is it just mine?!

First Day of Preschool

Katelynn did awesome on her first day of preschool. She was excited and I took the morning off of work to hang out with her and Junior and take her the first day to meet the teachers. She was a little nervous the night before saying that she only knew one kiddo that was going to be there and what if another kid hit or kicked her? After answering her always 1 billion questions about everything she was ready.

So Much to Do; So Little Time

Wow! There is so much coming in the next 2 - 3 weeks I am starting to feel a little stressed out. I have list after list after list that I have created and left here and there and everywhere so I don't forget. I will try to break this down and maybe thoughts will stop floating through my head when I should be sleeping at night!

Katelynn
Katelynn was one lucky little girl last week. One night she received a call from Makayla and was asked to be the flower girl in her and Josh's wedding! I don't really know at first if she knew what that was or that it was a big deal, but I think after she saw my excitement she knew it was something pretty big and pretty special. I am so excited for her. The wedding date is set for August 28th, 2010 - so off to MN we go! The very next night I received a call around 8:30 / 9:00pm at night and it happened to be the preschool that Katelynn has been on a wait list with for awhile now. Well, it seems they ended up kicking out a kiddo in the 3 year old class because he needed too much one on one time and there are only two teachers. Yeah, for us because Katelynn got to start the following week and she couldn't have been more excited to go shopping.

Junior
Junior has started taking his first steps. He is now motoring ever so slowly around the house. He is still crawling and has gotten fast now that he is up on all fours and not army crawling, but is really trying to do whichever pleases him at the time. We are transitioning him to sippy cups which now he is doing fairly well at except for in the morning and at bedtime (which happen to be daddy times?! hmmm...). We have taken him completely off of formula and he is doing well with milk. We are anxiously awaiting his first birthday - wow, January is going by fast.

The List of Things to Come and Plan for:
(So here is where I was last week on my list)
1. Buy a Backpack for Katelynn for preschool.
2. Fill out paperwork with signatures and Doctor signatures before Tuesday.
3. 4th Quarter Taxes are due at the end of the month.
4. W-2's need to be done by the end of the month.
5. 2009 Taxes need to be done for the accountant to pick up.
6. Accountant appointment set for Monday.
7. Junior's Birthday list and invites
8. In-Laws are coming for about a week to celebrate Junior's birthday and Grandma's birthday (they are on the same day). Need to make plans.
9. Need decorations for Junior's party - do I buy two cakes ? One for the b-day w/ Grandma and one for the party?
10. My mom comes 2 days after Dan's parents leave.
11. Super Bowl Party - (obviously this can now be taken off the list, still licking wounds here)
12. ViVa Las Vegas - Dan and I are leaving for Vegas on Feb. 8th for a few days without the kids.
13. HOA meetings - Annual Meeting is coming up; still fighting the town on Manufactured homes; meeting with the Town Administrator; and our January meeting
14. I need to get my hair done ?!
15. Junior's 1 year check-up
16. Katelynn's 6 month dentist cleaning
17. New JOB !?

I will stop there; the stress is starting to come back I think. So appointments for this and that and the other thing. I get this new job and I feel like I have been asking for time here and time there and a week for a vacation. Good thing my boss has the same age kids as I do and I think he gets it. So my additional stress is I need to get in and get my hair done, especially before the birthday party and before our trip. I finally broke down this week and am taking a long lunch and with either use another hour of leave or just work an extra hour because I have no weekend time to get it done with company coming.

We have all of these things going on and what happens this week: Dan gets sick and then I get sick. We both have horrible cold sores on our mouths - don't we make the beautiful sick couple together and are exhausted. We continue to plug along.

We could also use a couple of extra prayers for my grandma who is in the hospital and having some ups and downs this week.

Engagements, Engagements, Engagements

Congratulations to Courtney and Chris and McKayla and Josh. 2 of my wonderful cousins got engaged over the holiday season. We will have one busy family this summer and a lot to celebrate. Our family is so happy for them all!

General Mills Cereal

Time for a healthy breakfast?! Yes, it is - read the info below and start a new healthy trend in your household with General Mills Cereal.

Some important health information:

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children´s diets. Other cereal benefits:
Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets.
Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s diet today.
More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures. Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office. For more information about kids and cereals, please visit Cereal Health and Wellness.

Right now if you visit the link below you will find a $1 off coupon for one of four General Mills cereals to help your family come together at the breakfast table every morning.

Link to a coupon for General Mills Cereal - Enjoy!

http://bricks.coupons.com/bstart.asp?o=60627&ci=1&c=GM&p=NY8LmWB2

I received 4 VIP Coupons from General Mills for free boxes. We just used 2 of them about 2 weeks ago and I chose the always mom favored Kix and a box of Golden Grahams. Both of the cereals so far have been a hit in our house. My four year old has enjoyed both for her morning breakfast and my 11 1/2 month old loves them for snack times while mommy is busy getting supper ready at night. I have used them as a snack for them during football games to keep healthy munchies in check and have even grabbed some in a baggy for a snack for me at work.

I would like to thank both General Mills and BlogSpark.

Katelynn and the months of the year

Junior Video

Katelynn Funny

We had a joke going this Christmas because my mom had gone to China a few months ago that we had a China Christmas, our presents were either from China or made in China. Katelynn has heard this joked about a few times. The other day we were all four in Juniors bedroom and for some reason Katelynn was talking about her "private parts". Dan always gets uneasy around mention of this and tells Katelynn that it is her "Front Butt". I of course just shake my head at him, the poor girl is going to think she has two butts. I tell her that it is called her crotch. Dan scoffs at that word and so I tell her it is her vagina. Katelynns response: It was made in China?

We laughed so hard.

Christmas Even Pictures

Here are a few pictures that I took Christmas Eve when we opened our presents.

Katelynns new Do

Katelynn had been asking for a little while if she could have bangs. I really went back and forth over this issue and wasn't sure what I thought. On one side I was scared of cutting in bangs and then after a few additional hair cuts half her head turns into bangs and they start so far back (I've seen this happen to kids!?). On the other side, I wanted her to try new things and make decisions and this was one that I thought she could make. I did make her wait until after our Christmas pictures were done (and again was reminded by my friends that I am a picture snob). So the weekend after we were off to cost cutters. She wanted to look like Strawberry Shortcake. I really think she looks cute now with her bangs and it is nice to not have to pull her hair up in a pony every single morning/day. I wasn't so sure after we got her hair cut that I liked them and neither was she. Once we got home she thought it was cool for about an hour and then decided that she didn't want them cut anymore and thought that after she went to bed that night her hair would grow quick enough while she slept and be long again the next morning. Sorry sweetheart, but it doesn't work that way.