2 week Update. . .

It's been a LONG two weeks and I'm so sorry for the lack of updates.  I've had a lot of things going on!!  Like kid/scout stuff and inventory stress at work.  Plus Jerry and I have had a lot of major decisions to make.  I've been wanting to update for days now, but my minds just not been into it.  Hopefully, I can get you caught up a little bit tonight.

Monday, July 18th
My littlest niece turned 4!!  Happy Birthday Emily!

Tuesday, July 19th
???  I have no idea what we did this day.

Wednesday, July 20th
I got to work and Jerry started spasing out my cell phone.  So when I got a chance to call him back, he had great news.  The Walmart Distribution Center called and they had a job position open and they needed my transfer request before 3pm.  I went straight to it and had my personnel office fax a copy of my transfer request to the DC.  However, according to my personnel manager, the fax wasn't going through.  {I feel she was sending to the wrong number on purpose because they got the first transfer request just fine.  But since that one was expired, I had to send another copy.  And since they had a position for me, all of a sudden the fax wouldn't work.  Very suspicious!!}

So after fighting the personnel office, I gave up, had them give me a copy of it and I drove it down to Harrisonville on my lunch break.  The personnel manager was very nice and took the time to talk to me.  It was a very positive meeting and she promised to call me by Monday.

Thursday, July 21st
After work, Jerry and I looked at a house that we wanted with a realtor.  We both really liked it and set things up for a meeting to make an offer.

Friday, July 22nd
It was a long day of shopping and packing for me!!  Chloe and I had Girl Scout Camp!!  I'm planning on sharing a bigger seperate post to this event so watch for it on another day!

Saturday, July 23rd
Girl Scout Camp ended at noon and when the parents arrived we had a short flag, awards, bridging ceremony!  The girls and I had a lot of fun; hopefully, next year will bring even better camping adventures!

After camp, we went to David's Bridal to pick up Joanna's wedding saches.  It was a long couple of days and I was happy to be home with my boys!!

Sunday, July 24th
Had a meeting with the Realtor to do house paperwork and make an offer.  We got a lot of good information from this meeting but also got a feeling that this house wasn't going to work out.

Jaxen learned to stand up in his crib!  And he decided to play instead of going to bed!!

Monday, July 25th
??? Besides going to work, I have no idea what we did this day.

Tuesday, July 26th
Jerry's 30th Birthday!!  It was a good day, we celebrated Daddy!!  He got spoiled with presents from the kids and ice cream cake.
 

But on his birthday, we got bad news from Realtor. . . the house that we made an offer to wasn't going to work. The seller actually decided not to sell at all. So back to square one on the house hunting. . . :-(

Wednesday, July 27th
Day before Inventory. . . worked 7am until 10pm {14 hours}.

I hadn't heard from the Walmart DC yet so I called them on the way to work.  The lady I needed to talk to wasn't in the office and they took a message for her to call me back.  14 minutes later, she called me back.  And the news was great. . . she was faxing me a job offer.  And let me tell you, it was a total shock because once my transfer request is sent and I job comes open, I am to be interviewed for the position and then offered a position.  I never got an interviewed, I skipped right to the job offer!  :-)

And truth be told, I was nevous about the job offer, ideally it is NOT what I want to be doing but it is a good raise and better hours/days off!  And the new position requires us to have a babysitter. . . because Jerry and I overlap by an hour and a half.  They offered me Frozen, Dairy, Deli Replisment Lift Driver working Saturday, Sunday, Monday from 4am until 3:30pm making $17.00 an hour (I only make $11.15 an hour now, working 7am - 4pm five days a week).  So roughly it's $340 more a paycheck working less days and hours!!

Jaxen's first taste of Chicken, too bad it was from a dog bone.  :-(

Jerry and I spent tons of time weighing the pros and cons of my job offer.  I hardly slept a wink. . . the stress of making the wrong choice was killing me.  I'm really good at supporting other when their plans don't go as planned but I'm not good at being the one to make those decisions!!

Thursday, July 28th
Walmart Inventory. . . worked 6:45am until 6:10pm {10.5 hours}.  And for my Walmart friends, our Inventory was .72 which was up from last years .57.  However, this year we were only a 9 month Inventory so it was going to happen.  The Toy department and Furniture department did better than years past, so that's all I'm worried about!!  In fact, it's the only numbers I can control!  So, Go me!

My sister-in-law called around 9pm and said she would help us out and watch the kids for us, so that I could accept  the job offer at the Distribution Center.  I didn't sleep at all!!  Still tossed and turned about my pending decision. . . didn't even eat dinner because I was stressing!

Friday, July 29th
Day after Inventory. . . worked 7am until 5:30pm {9.5 hours}.

After a lot of thinking and talking to friends and family, I accepted the job offer at DC.  I felt a thousand times better once the fax was sent. . . I am going to miss my friends and job now but I think in the long term I will be successful and happier at the Distribution Center. . . sure my weekends are gone, but I get to spend 4 whole days off with my husband and kids!!  Jerry and I get NO days off together unless I take a day off during the week.

Saturday, July 30th
Today, I've relaxed and watched "Bring It On" movies with Chloe.  She's really into cheerleading, tomorrow's the day we go register her for cheerleading.  I'm nervous as to what her schedule and my new working schedule will bring us, but like all things we will take it all one step at a time!

Girl Scout Camp Part #1

I survived part #1 of Girl Scout Camp!!  Chloe and I had a blast!!  Okay, EVERYONE had a blast.  The girls were not ready to clean up and go home once 3pm rolled around.  They are all super excited to return in two weeks to actually stay the night!  I'm sure that will be a whole other experience but one that I am excited for.  I took as many pictures as I could.  There are several things I missed, like the flag ceremony, because I was part of it. . . not a bystander.  Since I have so many, I'll tell you the highlights in pictures!

Chloe making her very first sit-upon.

Making the sit-upon was the activity that most of the girls were excited about.  Every girl scout must have a sit-upon!!  They all turned out great. See, here's the girls using them. . . :o)

We had 5 out of 7 girls show up to camp, and in all reality Miss Cynthia and I had to get them all there.  Most parents had to work on Friday, which is understandable, but two days before I was calling parents to find out how many girls I would have and majority couldn't come unless they had a ride.  So Miss Cynthia and I squeezed and tugged and got all the equipment and girls into 2 vehicles.  I was a little annoyed with the situation but it was all worth it. . . these girls had fun!!!

Cali, Chloe, Ty, Samara, and Kiarra.

It was interesting, but I FINALLY got the rope in the tree to have a flag ceremony.  Couldn't do it perfectly because we didn't have enough hands but we made it work and the girls enjoyed honoring the flag with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Girl Scout Promise.



This is one of my favorite photos of camp.  So simple and beautiful.

The campsite was awesome.  The weather was suppose to be 88 degrees with a heat index of 94 degrees.  Add in the Missouri humidity and it was suppose to be miserable.  I packed tons of water and ice, I figured I would have a hard time keeping the girls cool.

The campsite was so shaded that none of us broke a sweat.  The only time I got extra warm was when Chloe and I walked all the girls down the hill to meet parents and then back up the monstrous hill.  I got pretty lucky with our campsite.  Check it out. . .

Fire ring

Our camp site. . . :o)

View after walking up the hill, the campsite is behind my car.
Chloe is tired and waiting for me... I was a little slower than her.

For lunch we had hot dogs and chips.  Each girl at 2 hot dogs and a least one bag of chips - if not two!  I used a cool way to start a chemical-free fire with a bag of Doritos and some charcoal.  Lunch was delicious.
 

And if our campsite wasn't already amazing, it came with a tree house. . .

The girls were ecstatic when they came across the tree house meeting place.  I totally knew it was there the entire time. . . **wink, wink**

After making Sit-Upons, First Aid Kits, and Bandanna's, learning a flag ceremony, the buddy system, rules of camp, and all kinds of FUN. . . the girls DID NOT want to go home.  But alas, it was time to clean up and pack the car.

Another lesson learned. . . A Girl Scout always leaves a place better than the found it!

Overall, me and my girl had an amazing time.

We even had to stop for a train on the way home!!  The train was going a million miles an hour, I was surprised I got this shot!!

July 22nd is our first official overnight trip. . . Be sure to check out all the pictures from camp on my Picasa Web Album.

What a week it's been.

It's Sunday, May 1st!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone.  Next weekend is Mother's Day - and hopefully, sometime between now and then, Amanda has that baby of hers!  I think it's time she started sharing her lil' ninja with the rest of us!  Lol.  I can't wait to get the call that she's having the baby, I have a bag packed for her and the new baby.  It ready to go - just waiting for that phone to ring.  Keeping my fingers crossed that when she does go into labor, I am able to leave right away.  (Hopefully, Jerry's not at work with the car or I'm not on a field trip with Chloe's class!)

This past week I have gotten all the training that I've needed to take my Girl Scouts Camping!  After work on Monday, I went to Camping 101 (6pm-9pm), Thursday I went to Camping 102 (9am-4pm), and Saturday I went to CPR-[2 years certified] (8am-12pm) and First Aid Training-[2 years certified] (1pm-3pm).  Yay!!  Only training I have left is my Brownie Training and I can take it at anytime before the end of the year!

Other than working and training not much has been going on around here.  The weather cooperated a couple of days and we were able to get the garage cleaned out and some of our flowers and vegetables planted.  We really need to get the house with property that we have been looking at, because Chloe picked Corn as her veggie this year.  :o)  Of course, we are giving it a good try out front in our flower bed, but she knows the chances are slim.  We are so close to being able to place a bid for the other house and if we get it, I can't wait for next spring when we will be able to plant a real garden full of veggies!!!  Fingers crossed!!!  When it warms up outside I'll take some pictures of what we planted on Friday.  We still have a couple more things to plant, but it got dark outside and now it's not warm enough to go play in the moist dirt and water.

I added about 9 more pictures in the April Album. . . my camera is cleaned out and now we are on to the month of May!!

Updating

Not much is going on around here, hence the lack of updates.  Last week's Blizzard had us all cooped up inside the house and I am looking forward to Monday - just so Chloe goes back to school and our lives fall back into our boring routine!  (Not to mention, Monday is also a certain little girl's birthday!!)  :o)

By Thursday, the county had gotten our roads cleaned off enough that we were able to venture out to Walmart.  We needed milk and we needed to get a money order for the car dealership.  We left the house mid-morning because I needed to be back home when my Girl Scouts started dropping off their cookie money.  (I will be so happy when these cookie sales are done, I am so frustrated with council and the lack of communication!) 

Anyways while we were out it seemed like a fantastic time to go and get our eyes tested.  The vision center wasn't busy and Jerry, Chloe and I were able to see the eye doctor.  Chloe went first and did perfectly, she was a little shy at first but quickly came out of her shell when she realized that it was easy and didn't hurt.  I am happy to announce that  her vision is near perfect and she wasn't prescribed glasses.  But because children's eyes change so rapidly, she will need to be retested in the fall before she starts 2nd grade.  However, Jerry and I were not as lucky.  But this is something we knew, it was getting harder and harder to see.  The last time I had my eyes tested it was before I have Jacob. . . and I only got contacts at that time.  I never replaced my glasses which were a few years before that!  So my glasses were at least 5 years old!  And Jerry has never had his eyes tested since we have been married.  (It's so true, we let ourselves go when we have children!)  And let me tell you, even with 20% employee discount, we spent a lot of money!  But once you add up 4 eye exams (Mine counted as 2 because I got both contacts and glasses), top of the line glasses for Jerry (I mean his bend and twist without breaking. . . a must have when he wrestles with the kids), middle of the road glasses for me, and a year supply of contacts for me - it's sure to get quite expensive!  As sad as it was to spend that mush money, it was definitely something we had to do!  I walked out of the Vision Center a whole new person, everything was clean and bright! 

Jerry worked overtime on Friday, we went in at 5am and didn't get home until around 4pm.  Which is awesome money at $40 per hour!  And we really could use the extra money since I am not working yet and my short term disability ran out.  So the kids and I played around the house and I tried to tackle Mt. Laundry.  (Still had some to do today, but most was done yesterday)  And actually since he can't get the time off next weekend to go to Iowa with us, he's going to work overtime again next Friday, too.  I know he'd rather go with us, but overtime isn't a bad deal if he has to stay home anyways!

Well I better get off of here, I have about 2 dozen Hello Kitty Birthday cupcakes for school.  :o)  Hopefully, Jaxen will cooperate long enough for me to at least get them baked tonight.  Frosting can be done tomorrow. . .

Been a while. . .

This week has been a little hectic, but it looks like things are starting to get back to our everyday routines.  Not sure how much of the past week I can remember, but I'll try.

Monday, January 24th 
For the life of me, I cannot remember what we did!  I do know that I went to the bank because I couldn't get the Girl Scout Debit Card activated because they were saying my phone number didn't match what was on file.  And while there I complained that I wasn't getting any of the bank statements for that account and I had them order me some more checks.  The lady wasn't very helpful with any of it and I left with no answers to the Bank Statements and Debit Card still not activated, but the checks were ordered.

Tuesday, January 25th

First thing in the morning we called the insurance company because I got notice from the hospital that Blue Cross/Blue Shield denied Jaxen's claim.  After arguing with them for a while, they finally added Jaxen to the policy for December.  They denied it the first time because Jaxen wasn't put on the policy until January 2011. . . which was true because I have 30 days after a change of status to update mu insurance.  Plus to update the insurance Jaxen needed a SSN and you don't get that until 2-3 weeks after birth!  After talking to the insurance company they said that they would re-issue the claim as approved.  So we also called and let the hospital know so that they wouldn't keep billing me.  And just in case the insurance company forgot to re-issue the claim, the hospital was going to re-submit Jaxen's denied claim.  So hopefully, they get it figured out.  But it looks like 6 days in the NICU costs about $16,000! 

After taking care of the phone calls, the boys and I went to my Walmart to deliver Girl Scout Cookies while Chloe was at school.  And we dropped by the bank (a different branch from the previous day) to deposit cookie money.  The girl that I got this time helped me out with everything.  She got the Debit Card activated and she found out that the statements were getting sent but they were getting returned to them.  She sent an email to re-send them to me and I promised to talk to the post office and find out why they were returning them without giving them to me.  The Post Office didn't have any answers, they said it was the mail carrier and in the same breath they asked me to change the name on the account so that the mail would come in my name, not Girl Scouts.  Of course, I refused to change the account and told them that anything with my address needs to be delivered to me, and I would decide what to return to sender.  I also had them leave a message for the mail carrier to make sure ALL my mail was being delivered to my house.

Wednesday, January 26th
We delivered more cookies to Walmart (and I still have about 4 more people to catch!).  While we were gone UPS tried to deliver one of Chloe's birthday packaged to the house and since no one was home they gave it to the local post office.  Grr!  So I had to go deal with them again, only this time the lady was really nice and helpful.  She had me fill out a new card and write down all the names of people who were allowed to get mail at my address and I included Girl Scouts.  She promised to look more closely at the mail getting returned to make sure the bank statements weren't getting sent back. 

Chloe and I had Girl Scouts that evening and Mom and Dad stopped by to get the keys to the Explorer.

Thursday, January 27th
After getting Chloe on the school bus, we loaded up the boys and headed into town to test drive the Ford Freestyle that we had been eyeing for a few months.  The dealership was really nice, and I really liked our Sales guy.  He was very honest - even told us where we could take the car to get a few things cheaper than what the dealership would give us.  So after test driving it, we headed to the bank to see about getting a car loan.  It took all day bouncing between the dealership and the bank to get everything accomplished, but by the time we had to head home to get Chloe off the bus, everything was in full swing.  While we were at home, we got insurance on the new car.  That way after we picked up the check from the bank, we could go straight to the dealership and finalize everything.  We finally got home at about 6pm, with our "new" 2007 Ford Freestyle.

Friday, January 28th
Jaxen is 6 weeks old!!  Jerry got up and got Chloe off to school, letting me sleep in.  And once I got up, I switched him places. . . I took care of the boys while he got some more sleep.  We were both in desperate need of more sleep!  When we were both up and refreshed, we left the house around noon to pick-up Girl Scout Cookies from Jerry's sister, return overdue library books, and to Walmart to get milk!  It was a fast trip into town because once Chloe got off the bus we were on the way to Cole Camp to return Mom's car.  Only borrowed it a week.  Not too bad!  Now we are going to work on getting the Explorer up and running.  Hopefully, next week we will have some of the parts we need to fix it up enough to get it home.  Should be easier to work on it if it's here in our driveway.

Saturday, January 29th
So far today we have done nothing!  LOL.  The kids and I are still in our PJ's.  Definitely a lazy day, but we needed it very badly.  Currently, the kids are destroying my living room!  Most of Jacob's toys have ended up out here instead of in his room but that's okay, they are actually playing nicely together!

I think I'll deep clean the house after they go to bed tonight because tomorrow I have plans to meet up with a few of my friends in Belton, so we will have to get up and get moving!

Sunday Update

Mommy time is getting to be pretty scarce around here. . . which is why the updates have been short and sweet.  Most of the time, I just have enough free moment to post a picture or two.  Plus it's not been easy with a computer that only powers on when it wants to. . . and shuts down whenever it feels like it.  I get so aggravated at it and Jerry gets tired of messing with it (something about the heat syncs not cooling off, so it over heats and quits working for me).  So I definitely see a new computer in our near future. . . I'm just trying to decide if I want a desktop or another laptop.  I love the mobility of the laptop, but they are only lasting us a couple years.  I'm really contemplating on getting a desktop. . . my desktop is still the one mom and dad got me for my high school graduation!!  So it's 11 years old. . . it still works but it's extremely outdated and slow.

After almost a week of "Snow Days", Chloe finally went back to school Thursday and Friday - Only to be off for another 3-day weekend!  Ay-Ay-Ay!  It's really difficult to handle all 3 kids at one time!!  And I know what you are thinking, Did I really think it was going to be easy?!?!  And the answer to that is no, I knew what I was getting into.  But looking ahead, you don't see or anticipate everything.  For example, Jacob.  My middle child.  Wants to be the baby (although don't call him that!  He gets mad.) - he only seems to want attention or act out when my hands are busy with Jaxen.  I can spend a the time in the world with Jacob, playing and laughing, but the second I pick up Jaxen to feed him, Jacob needs something!  And it normally ends with Jacob crying in his room because he has to wait. . . And just so you know, I don't send him to his room, he goes there himself to pout when he gets upset.  But the one thing that really makes me mad is when Jacob pees his pants for attention.  From the beginning, Jacob has been a complete nightmare to potty train.  And now it seems like we have taken a HUGE step backwards.  I am at a loss, I have no idea what to try next.  We've rewarded good behavior, ignored bad behavior, talk to, yelled at, potty danced, and cheered him on.  He could care less.  Very aggravating!!

And when Jacob's not fighting for attention with Jaxen, he is just plan fighting with Chloe.  Those two are like fire and ice.  One second they are playing, laughing, sharing nicely with each other, then BAM! They are literally at each other's throats!  Which normally ends up with them each in their own rooms crying because they want to play with each other.  Ahh!  Can you see why I'm ready to pull my hair out?  I really love being at home and not having to go to work every day. . . but sadly, I miss the normalcy of adult conversation and routines.  I like being the one to cause trouble, not the one breaking it up!! 

Besides the kids, the other thing that has now taken over my life - and my house!! - is Girl Scout Cookies!!  They got delivered to Harrisonville last Thursday and I've been knee high in them ever since.  My little Freeman troop of 7 Daisy Girl Scouts sold 849 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies during our pre-orders.  Plus with the extra 132 boxes we have for our booth sales!  So if you need more Girl Scout Cookies, Please let me know!!  Girl Scouts start back up on Wednesday night - I took a month off because of Jaxen.  I'm ready to get back in the swing of things. . . back to normal.  We have to start getting ready for Thinking Day.  I have exactly 3 meetings to get the display, swaps, and everything else Thinking Day related made and ready to go.  Cookie booth sales start next weekend for me.  I have two weekends in a row where we are selling cookies on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.  I hope we have a good turn out and can sell the remaining cookies.  I really want my first cookie sale as the leader in charge to be a successful one.


I started my Wii Fit workouts last night.  And the Wii board said I was 135 pounds, which was 14 pounds heavier than the last time I was on it. . . which was pre-Jaxen.  So I have set myself up with a workout plan, and the Wii Board is going to help me loose 14 pounds in 4 weeks.  Plus it's going to help me tone my abdominal muscles.  I made a deal with myself that if I can work out for 30 minutes at least 5 nights a week, then I will spoil myself with a new work out game. . . I'm thinking The Biggest Loser.  I would love to workout more than that, but I know just getting 30 minutes to myself is asking a lot, and I'm probably going to be working out at night after all the kids are asleep.  So 30 minutes is a lot when I'm probably going to be doing it around midnight!  But with a new game, it will give me something different, I have the Wii Fit game all memorized.  Plus I want something more invigorating.  I don't just want stretches and toning, I really want aerobics and heart pumping work outs!!  But I will add as a note-to-self, do not work out after eating jalapeno poppers for dinner!!  Talk about heartburn, burning reflux. . . not cool!  The hardest part of loosing the weight is the fact that I am home all day long and the food is looking at me.  I'm hungry all the time!  I think if I was working, there wouldn't be time in my day for "snacking".  Plus, did I mention that there are about 800 Girl Scout Cookies in my house!!


Well, I think that's about all I have for now.  I'm sure more will pop into my head later, but until then - Have a wonderful football watching Sunday!  LOL


Go Steelers!!

Bowling with Girl Scouts

Today our Girl Scout Service Unit celebrated Juliette Gordon Low's Birthday by bowling with Daisies!  Chloe had an absolute blast!  And Jacob was the perfect tag-a-long, he sat and played with Mommy while Chloe did her Girl Scout thing!  I was so proud of her, she wasn't attached to me at all, she joined a group of girls that she didn't know and had a lot of fun. . . I guess that means she's growing up.  :o( 

Here are some pictures of my little Daisy Scout. . .

Chloe (wearing purple) with her little group!

Enjoying some fries with Mom

She's got skills!



Our tagalong, Jacob



GS Cookies!

If anyone is interested in buying Girl Scout Cookies from Chloe, let me know!!  We are taking orders, cookies will be here the first week in January (hopefully, not the exact day that I am delivery this baby)!!  They are only $3.50 a box. Chloe's goal is 150 boxes!  Please help her!!

A weeks worth of updates.

Where has the week gone!  I'm sure I've said this before, but October has turned out to be one of the busiest months ever!!  Let's see if I can remember what's happened during the last week. . .

October 23rd - Saturday - I got to sleep in a little but not much because I had some Girl Scout errands and phone calls to make.  After making all the phone calls, the family and I headed out to Walmart.  Jerry wandered Walmart for an hour while I got my Girl Scout Checking Account started and all the registrations turned in to the registrar.  Afterwards, I picked up a few groceries, like milk and bread and we headed home to eat lunch and let Jerry get some sleep before work.  I don't remember anything else, until that night when my Mom and Dad came to visit for a few hours.  Kids were acting crazy and excited to show Grandma and Grandpa their Halloween costumes.

October 24th - Sunday - I have no idea what we did this day, must not have been very exciting!  :o)

October 25th - Monday - This was a busy day!  I worked all day, when I got off work at 4pm I had to race to Harrisonville to pick up the Girl Scout Cookie Cards & Permission Slips from the Cookie Manager's Husband.  Then I had to race home to take Jerry to work by 5pm - everyone was waiting outside ready to go when I pulled into the driveway!  Kids and I put gas in the car, got McDonald's for dinner, and took Chloe to school for her Music Open House.  It was after 7pm before, I ever got home and sat down!

October 26th - Tuesday - The kids and I had to be up at 5am to get Jerry from work.  So the day started early!  I worked all day and looking back my facebook status said: "Ugh! It's been a long and stressful day. Two more months and it won't matter anymore. . ."  I was beat when I got home and I can't remember doing anything special. . . I'm pretty sure we hung out at home.

October 27th - Wednesday - I worked all day and hurried home as soon as I could!  Thankfully, I remembered to buy a hot glue gun and wiggly eyes before I left.  Jerry had dinner cooking when I walked in the door. . . I love when I don't have to worry about dinner!  We were on a limited time frame because I had my first Girl Scout Meeting in a few hours and I still had to print out my newsletters and gather all the supplies I needed for the meeting.

The meeting went great.  I only have 4 girls but it's awesome, they LOVED doing crafts and talking about Girl Scouting.  Jerry sat off to the side entertaining Jacob, just laughing at the things these little 5 and 6 year olds come up with.  We talked about selling cookies and what they wanted to do with their money.  Last year, they didn't get to sell cookies and didn't get to have a big activity.  So they were excited and came up with a lot of good ideas, most of which I think we could do - minus the trip to Disney World and the Cruise Ship of course! 

October 28th - Thursday - I took a personal day from work because Jerry and I had to be in Urbana for court that afternoon.  Nothing major, we got a ticket because of our weeds being to high.  We called the prosecutor and he said that if we took care of them in a certain time frame then he would have the ticket thrown out and dismissed.  We held up our end of the deal; however, that was suppose to happen last month and instead they gave us a continuance until this month.  So basically, we just had to show our faces in court to make it go away.  But in order to make it to Urbana on time, we had to be on the road as soon as Chloe got off the school bus.  So instead of begging for a half day it was just easier to take the entire day off with pay. 

After Chloe got on the school bus that morning, the boys and I went out and grabbed a few groceries at Walmart, put gas in the Explorer and had Taco Bell for lunch.  I had a bag of toys and snacks packed and car loaded when Chloe's bus dropped her off.  We got to Urbana in good time and got to visit with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Daily before court.  After court, we grabbed some dinner at Sonic and stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Dodds' house to eat and raid my mom's Girl Scout room!  And of course, we couldn't stay too long because Chloe had school and I had to work the next morning.

October 29th - Friday - I worked a couple more hours at work than I had to, but Monday is going to be a total bear no matter what, so what little I could get done ahead of time should help me out a lot!  Monday starts the whole Christmas Season at Walmart, and Toys is a BIG part of that picture.  (Doesn't help that Toy Story 3 is releasing at the same time!)  When I got home, Jerry cooked chicken patties and fries for dinner while I loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen.  Then we just hung out while the kids played before bed.  They needed the down day after yesterday!



Chloe was very proud to bring this home Friday.  Thought we'd share with you!  Good job, Chloe!



October 30th - Today - So far today, the only thing I've done is sleep in and cleaned up the living room.  There are a ton of things that need to be done but quite frankly, I have no energy to get them done right now.  I only feel like laying around and napping.  :o)

Today starts Girl Scout Cookie orders also!  Chloe is so excited, let us know if you want to order any Girl Scout Cookies!!

27 week appointment

Whew, there is lots of things happening around here.  All week has been crazy busy!  But here I am taking a moment for myself - at 11:30pm. . . Both kids are sounds asleep in their beds and Jerry is 'napping' before going to work tonight for a few hours.  He doesn't really want to work tonight but doing this for a co-worker tonight will get him off a couple hours on Halloween to go trick-or-treating with the kids.  So it's good for the big picture. 

I used a vacation day on Monday and only worked half a day on Tuesday because Jacob and I had a WIC appointment.  No big deal, all the normal things were done and we were on our way.  Jacob weighed in at exactly 31 pounds and his iron was absolutely awesome at a 13.

Wednesday -  I worked all day and then went to a Girl Scout Service Unit Meeting.  I really wanted to skip it, but I had to go to find out if I was getting a troop here in town or not.  And the great news is that I am!  The only problem is that there were lots of issues last year with a troop leader here in town named 'Heidi' and missing money, parents paid for uniforms and things that there kids never received.  So council is working with me to get the things they were promised and make it right.  So I have a huge up hill battle to get last years girls to re-register.  Next Wednesday night I have a parent / registration meeting to meet and talk face-to-face with these parents so that they know I am not the same 'Heidi' that messed things up last year.  Wish me luck!

Thursday - I worked but around 3:20 I get a phone call from Chloe's school saying that the bus tried to drop her off but there wasn't anyone standing outside to get her.  So she was on her way back to the school to wait until a parent came and got her.  Which totally freaked me out!  I immediately called home and talked with Jerry. . . the Insurance Company called about me and he was in the process of getting them all squared away when the bus arrived to drop off Chloe.  He totally lost track of time talking to the Insurance Company and it wasn't until the bus was pulling away that he seen it outside.  So needless to say, I immediately left work to go pick Chloe up from school.  I dang near beat her back to school too!  The bus driver had just dropped her off at the office when I was pulling in the parking lot.  I was expecting a crazy upset 5-year-old when I walked around the corner, but what I got was the total opposite!  She had fun driving all over Freeman on the school bus and she KNEW that someone was on their way to get her.  Thank goodness we talked to her about what would happen if Daddy wasn't outside waiting, so she was okay with the whole thing. . . Daddy was more upset about missing her bus than Chloe was!  That afternoon, we ran to Walmart for a few things that we needed since I didn't get to pick them up after work.  We grabbed Sonic for dinner because I had to attend the Freeman Community Club Meeting to ask the board permission to use the Community Building for my Girl Scout Troop Meetings.  (Which they said YES!)

Friday was my doctor's appointment.  Jerry's sister, Susan watched Jacob for us.  It is so much easier to go without him.  This appointment was the one I dread. . . the horrible Glucose Screening.  I drank the nasty drink, then the world spun, my balance was way off, and I felt yucky but an hour later they drew my blood and hopefully I'll get a phone call telling me that everything was good so I don't have to take the 3 hour test.  Other than the glucose screening, I think it was a very informative appointment.  I got to ask all my questions and state all my worries.  Here's the scoop:  my blood pressure was 120 / 70 which is good.  I weighed in at 137.5 pounds, which means I had no weight gain this month but the baby is still measuring perfectly so there isn't any worries, the weight will come.  Once again we couldn't get an accurate heart rate on the little guy because he wouldn't stay still.  He actually kicked the microphone the whole time we tried to get a reading, even though I don't have a 'beats per minute' average the doctor said that it's a good thing that he's so active and we can tell he has a good and strong heartbeat. 

And now the scary part, okay at least to me, is the pain I've been experiencing is actually because of braxton hicks contractions.  Apparently my uterus finally knows what it's doing!  My doctor says I have an active uterus (kinda a theme this time around -active baby and active uterus!) and that the braxton hicks are normal this early but not to ignore them.  I have to pay closer attention to them and head to the Hospital when they A.) become rhymetic or closer together and frequently B.) become intense, gradually getting stronger or doubling over in pain C.) cause a bloody show or my water breaks.  Most likely the contractions are because I actively work all week long and once I get home and relax for the weekend they start up, practicing for labor.  So no worries yet, but it's something I have to watch. . . the doctor wants to see me every two weeks now, so I'm in good hands.  My next doctor's appointment is in 3 weeks - 11/10/10 @ 10am!!

Girl Scouts

Tonight was the registration night in Harrisonville, so went as a family and registered Chloe for Daisy Girl Scouts.  At least, that was my plan. . . to register Chloe for Daisy Girl Scouts.  But before we left the building, Chloe was a registered Daisy, Mommy was a registered Daisy Leader, and the Girl Scout Council was making plans to recruit a few more girls from the town we live in - Freeman, so that we could start a troop here in our town.  If not, the plans in place would make me a Daisy Leader in Harrisonville on Wednesday nights.

I got to talk with the Service Unit Manager, Council Membership Director and a bunch of other people.  They seem really excited and hurting for leaders for troops.  I have training that I have to attend on Wednesday and then council is going to help me find a location and time for the meetings.  They talked about just having the meetings at my house, and I turned it down imediately!  Wednesday nights are going to be all about Chloe and Mommy, the boys are going to stay home and get quality time together!!  Lol, I should be set to go next week.  Anyone know of any good scouting websites I can use for Daisy's?!?!  It's been a while since I was a leader.  :o)  I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew!!  This is going to be a busy year for me!!