Semper Gumby, Semi Organized...

A new venture....

2010-01-28T04:17:00.000-08:00

So my sister and I have always talked several times a week, maybe more than once a day...we're always swapping stories about crap our kids did or said that made us laugh, cry, and want to drink heavily all at the same time. Several times one of us would make the comment "We could write a book" which eventually turned into "Should we write a book?" Hence the birth of our new blog: The Daily Epidural

We've invited every mom we can think of to come and join us on this adventure of parenthood. Because if my sister and I have learned one thing in our story-swapping it's, thank GOD I'm not alone!!!

Resolutions, shmesolutions...

2010-01-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

I've never been one for resolutions. It always SEEMS like a good idea but I've just never jumped on that bandwagon. I mean, some people spend MONTHS figuring out what they want to change or improve in their lives....seriously? Has shit gotten THAT bad that you need to spend MONTHS figuring out how you're going to fix it? Now I know for some people it's minor things, but the way I see it I'm only setting myself up for disappointment if I purposefully TELL people what I plan to change in the new year. Sure I have things I'd like to change/fix/improve but if I don't specifically TELL anyone this, I won't look like an ass when it doesn't happen :) Kinda makes me sound like a resolutions scrooge (aka: BIG BITCH) but yay for people who make them and stick to them, I'm just not one of those people...

So here's to losing weight, saving money, getting organized, and learning a new skill...hats off to those of you who are successful...I'd say my loose version of a "resolution" would be to update this blog more frequently, but who are we kidding... :)

Happy 2010!

DONE, DONE, and DONE!

2009-12-02T14:05:00.001-08:00

Christmas shopping that is! :) I'm one of the crazies that heads out on Black Friday and got EVERYTHING checked off my list...that makes me happy, now to start wrapping it all!

AND my Santa got me my gift early, a JVC HD camcorder...I'm SO friggin excited! Our old one hasn't worked for a while so we've missed a few months of Ryan which makes me sad but now I'm going to be following that kid around like her own personal papparazzi! :)

YAHOOOOO!!!

2009-11-11T08:44:00.001-08:00

So I managed to bring over all of my "super duper ridiculously old" blog entries from one blog and dump them all here! YAY! So now all of my infrequently visited blog posts are in one home!

Ok, that is all...return to your lives...

RESURRECTED!!!!

2009-11-11T06:09:00.000-08:00

Can you hear the angels singing? The Hallelujah Chorus in stereo? Since I'm now a stay-at-home-mom/domestic goddess I have a bit more time and can hopefully keep up on this again...we'll see how long that lasts!

Lots has happened since I last visited blogger-land...quit my job, packed up our house, 3000 mile road trip and we're now happily ensconced in southern Maryland! Our neighborhood is amazing; there are kids everywhere, something we didn't have in California and Vince and I have been welcomed into the fold very quickly. We love it! I'm enjoying staying at home much more than I thought I would, but ask me again when it's February and I've been cooped up in the house for days on end unable to go outside :) But for now I love it and am enjoying the time I have with the kids.

Speaking of my little monsters...an updated picture!

Ok, so that's all from here...hopefully I'll be back tomorrow? Or maybe the next day...

JAMAICA BABY!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

I am soooooooooo excited, Vince and I finally booked our vacation! We will be spending a WHOLE WEEK in Jamaica, just the two of us! Of course after we booked it I had a mini panic attack over leaving the kids for a week (of course picturing Armageddon, earthquakes, fires, kidnappers...you name it...) but they'll be fine and have a blast with grandma and grandpa (although I'm not loving the idea of them in my house that long w/o me...lord knows what my mil will do to it while I'm gone)

SO with a week long vacation on the beach comes the dire need to get myself "bathing suit ready" I WILL be wearing a two piece bathing suit on this trip...now to get myself looking decent enough to pull that off....anyone wanna motivate me?

What is ONE thing...

2009-02-19T09:55:00.001-08:00

You've always wanted to do and STILL hope to do before you die? Morbid, right? Yeah, a little bit but I deal with 12 year olds all day so I sometimes have to fight off the horrible, random thoughts that pop into my head (keeps me sane...or something...)I think everyone should have their own "Bucket List"....

One thing I've always wanted to do and would really really really like to do in the near future is write a book....I'm not talking Nora Roberts smut-style or create an uber-literary empire a la JK Rowling (although how f-ing awesome would THAT be???) But Vince and I have actually talked about writing a children's book together, we've even kind of come up with a little series. AND recently my sister and I are talking about delving into the world of writing together....I sure hope it can happen, but like anything BIG, how the hell do you start??? We're not even sure WHERE to start, WHAT to do first, WHO to talk to, etc...but I hope that doesn't stop us!

So, what is on YOUR bucket list that you honestly think you will accomplish? (and if you know anyone in the publishing world let me know...lol)

Super fun!

2009-02-19T09:48:00.001-08:00

A friend on babycenter directed me to this super fun site where you can customize a cutesy background for your blog....I may be changing it damn near every day now, cuz I've got so much free time on my hands!!! If you've got a blog, go check it out: The Cutest Blog on the Block

So is it a BAD thing???

2009-02-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

That we had a cleaning lady come today? I mean, I do a pretty decent job of keeping things relatively-semi-kind of-partially-for the most part cleaned up so paying someone who is WILLING to scrub my toilets and vacuum Goldfish crackers out of my couch is acceptable RIGHT? I mean, honestly...who can manage to keep their house "welcome to my spotless-eat off of my toilet seat-take your f-ing shoes off or I'll kick your ass" kind of clean ALL THE TIME??? Shit ain't happenin' at my house. Dishes are done, everyone has clean clothes, everything has it's place...that's MORE than acceptable as far as I'm concerned...ok, so the fact that everything has it's place doesn't mean it always FINDS it's way there but I'm not perfect dammit...

So come on over to my house, you can keep your shoes on and I won't kick your ass (Vince might though) and you may trip over a pair of shoes or a stray toy but I'll keep you entertained and I may even feed you (although I don't recommend eating off of my toilet seats...)

System went to crap....

2009-02-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

So Vince is out of town for the next two weeks and that means I'm 100% on my own with the three kids (and everything else I normally do) Well, last night's dinner consisted of cereal, yesterday's laundry is in a pile (an UNFOLDED pile) in the middle of the loft, beds were left unmade, Lord knows what shitstorm hit my kitchen this morning in my rush to get all 3 out the door by 6:15....so I'm off to a stellar start at attempting to do everything on my own for the next 2 weeks....

Hopefully I'll have a better report tomorrow, I'm just so tired that I know I'm going to want to ignore it all when I get home tonight but all that will do is create MORE work for the next day and the next day...etc...anyone have any good tips for motivating oneself at the end of an exhausting day to do your "other" job????

General "pick up"

2009-01-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Most households are like mine, when you're FINALLY ready to call it a night and collapse into bed, you look around and realize there is still crap EVERYWHERE. I try very hard to maintain it throughout the day but it doesn't always work out that way. So what I've done is purchased some cute little wicker baskets from Walmart that are under my console table in my family room. They aren't as tacky looking as plastic bins (which I USED to have out but prefer to have something cuter out in plain sight) and serve the same purpose.

SO under this table I have lined up 3 baskets, one for each child. And as I sweep through the house at night (mainly the downstairs as I get the upstairs picked up as kids are getting into jammies and brushing teeth) I pick up what belongs to each child and put it in the appropriate basket. So it's not all "technically" put away but it's at least not laying on the floor (ever stepped on a lego or Matchbox car before???) or cluttering up the couch. Then the next day when we get home from school the kids are responsible for putting those things away if they're not going to be used.

Most days I try to avoid having anything in the basket and as long as I'm on the kids about bringing toys upstairs before bed, it works out...but some nights Alex can only carry so many Star Wars guys and cars in his little arms :) Hence...the baskets, the lazy moms way of keeping the house "clutter free"

Bathrooms....

2009-01-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

YUCK...especially if you have boys...even bigger YUCK. Some odd laws of physics dictate that they CANNOT hit the bowl...it's huge, how can they miss? But somehow they do...YUCK.

I have a can of lysol wipes under the sink in all four of my bathrooms. My kids have now made it a habit to wipe down the counter at night after they have brushed their teeth; they each get a wipe for their sink then they do the counter and it's not spotless but at least cleaner than before they started! Then I use one to go around the toilet...YUCK

I also use those "self cleaning" tablets in my toilet tanks. It's not a substitute for the scrubbing that does take place eventually but it keeps them relatively clean in the mean time!

But I like my lysol wipes...it's becoming a habit to swipe one across the counter when I'm done in there in the morning...lysol wipes make my bathroom a happy place...

Laundry...

2009-01-06T10:43:00.001-08:00

Everyone has it and most people I know DREAD it...if you don't dread at least one aspect of laundry, I'm pretty sure something is wrong with you, please go get checked out...

Ok, so of the many "2 dimensional" (aka online) friends I have who have wandered over to my probably relatively useless blog...the majority of them want to know my "tips" on laundry...

I didn't used to do these things, I used to be that mom who geared up every weekend with stretching exercises, hydration, and warm-ups just to climb "Mount Laundry" I'd drag it out by the armload, dump it into a pile, and dive in...it sucked, I hated it, it took forever and then I had the even more daunting task of putting it away. I hate putting laundry away, detest it, loathe it with the white-hot intensity of a thousand burning suns. It would take forever to put away and I'd get so sick of it, I could have cared less if Vince's boxers ended up in Sam's dresser...she could totally wear them to school, it could be a new fashion statement!

So now that we are a family of five and the amount of laundry seems to multiply daily (I swear dirty clothes somehow mate and reproduce while in the hamper) I HAD to figure out a way to make it easier on myself. The separating is a given...so I don't need to go there, especially since it's counter-productive to my whole "time saving" thing...

1. FOLDING...I fold EVERY load as it's coming out of the dryer, no more dragging piles out of the laundry room. Nary a bit of clothing leaves my laundry room unfolded (try using the word "nary" in conversation today...)

2. SOCKS...I hate the damn things, I never wear them myself but for whatever reason my family does, therefore some poor sucker has to wash and fold them. Since I fold each load as it comes out of the dryer, folding socks has become much easier...their "mate" was already in the wash with them. So the socks get folded last and DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT get thrown in a basket to be "folded later" while you're watching Grey's Anatomy on DVR. Remember, NOTHING leaves the room unfolded! A girlfriend puts her family's socks into a lingerie bag so they get washed and dried together, making it much easier when it comes time to fold...I may try that, especially since I still have so many little socks to deal with.

3. PUTTING AWAY....again, it happens IMMEDIATELY upon departure from the laundry room. For hanging clothes, I keep a stockpile of hangers in my laundry room. Things that need to be hung are put on hangers right away, no need to fold them only to unfold them and hang them upon getting them to their destination.

4. CHILD LABOR....one thing I love about kids is that they get older...as they get older, they become useful :) My oldest is 7 and PUTS HER OWN LAUNDRY AWAY. You read that right people, I only fold her clothes, she is fully responsible for putting them away. My son isn't that great at it yet, but if I hand him one stack at a time (ie: shirts, then jammies) they make it into the right drawer relatively unscathed and semi-folded. This is a HUGE time saver for me, of my 3 kids I really only have to put laundry away for 1 of them!

Now, again you may be thinking "duh, does she think I'm stupid?" Why does she keep posting these "tips" as if I didn't already know them...But seriously this saves me SO MUCH TIME I can't even believe it. An entire load of laundry takes me 15 minutes, from folding to putting away. It used to take me 2-3 hours on a Sunday to rotate everything from washer to dryer to folding to putting away. 15 minutes a day vs. 3 hours in one day? You do the math...and the laundry... :)

SGSO Tip #1

2009-01-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, so even though most of these are probably basic and a no-brainer for most, I thought I'd start to share the things I'm doing/going to be doing and maybe they'll help someone...or they'll just encourage conversation about what a moron I am for not doing this stuff sooner :)

SGSO (semper gumby semi-organized) Tip #1: pack bags the night before

DUH right? Something so simple and so very basic, but something that saves me a huge headache in the morning and eliminates rushing around looking for whatever is missing....

Again, DUH... :)

And so it begins...

2009-01-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

Heading back to school tomorrow, back to reality, back to the chaos that is our everyday life...but HOPEFULLY with some of the new "efficiency tricks" I am trying out our mornings will run much more smoothly...

*Backpacks are by the front door, just waiting for Sam's snack and lunch box

*My lunch and Sam's lunch are both ready to go in the fridge

*Clothes for everyone are laid out for tomorrow morning

*My Wii Fit disc is in the Wii ready for me to fire it up in the am (that's IF I manage to drag my butt out of bed)

*dinner is pretty much set for tomorrow night, just need to make the gravy, boil and mash the potatoes and that's it!

Some of these may sound pretty basic to some, but to me they're things I've tried in the past but have never really made a habit...so I'm hoping by putting all of this in writing, it makes me more likely to stick to it!

Feeling motivated...

2009-01-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

So let's hope it lasts! Granted it's only day 4 of the new year, I'm hoping that if I get into enough of a routine with becoming organized the things I do will become second nature and I'll wonder how I ever got along without them!!

Today's goal is to figure out how to organize the girls' closet to accommodate Ryan's clothes...I have a tiny little dresser in there for her but now that she's getting bigger, her clothes are getting bigger and her dresser is exploding. Right now I just shove crap in there with no rhyme or reason (and I REALLY mean shove...it's tight in there!) So I'm thinking I need to hang stuff at this point because there is NO room in either bedroom for another dresser...And once her clothes are organized better, putting laundry away will be easier, picking clothes out for each day will be easier...etc...

I'm also taking a look at my menu for the week to determine what I can do TODAY to prep myself for easier dinner during the week:

SUNDAY: roasted chicken with vegetables (chicken is defrosted ready to go)

MONDAY: leftover chicken with gravy over mashed potatoes (I'll just chop extra potatoes tonight for tomorrow too)

TUESDAY: "kids choice" meaning Vince is working late so if they want cereal for dinner, have at it! :)

WEDNESDAY: a quiche of some sort and salad, I have a pie crust and a dozen eggs to use up...

THURSDAY: steak lo mein (will just pull the steak strips out of the freezer on Wednesday)

FRIDAY: spaghetti...no brainer :)

Ok, off to feed the monsters so I can figure out my plan of attack for Ryan's clothes...

Ideally...

2009-01-03T22:17:00.000-08:00

I would like this blog to be a running list of organizational ideas/tips, recipes (because another goal is to become more consistent w/menu planning)...stuff like that, any other suggestions for me?

Here's to 2009...

2009-01-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

So, my ultimate goal for 2009 is to become SLIGHTLY more organized in many aspects of my life...hence the name of this blog. I'd like to think that I'm "semi organized" already but just need to brush up on some things (yeah, right...who am I kidding?) As for the Semper Gumby part, anyone who is familiar with the Marine Corps knows that the USMC motto is "Semper Fidelis" or "always faithful" Well, many Marine wives joke that OUR motto is "Semper Gumby" or "always flexible"...ready to deal with anything that life throws our way with grace, tenacity, and flexibility...we'll see how that works out for me :)

I'd love for you to join me in my quest for ultimate organization and prioritization as a wife, mom, teacher, housekeeper, chauffeur, chef, laundry-doer...etc...

2008-10-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

My punkin' pie.......this kid is so friggin happy :) If ALL of my kids had been this way, I would have had a litter! NOt that Sam and Alex weren't happy babies, but she's just DIFFERENT...maybe mom and dad are more confident with #3? LOL

2008-10-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

What's an updated blog w/o a picture of my sweet pea?????

2008-10-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we're having a crop this weekend at BUSY BEE So PLEASE come play with us, myself and some of the other rockin' Booyas will have some awesome challenges for you and you can try and win a GC for the oh-so-fabulous Busy Bee store!!!!

I'm going to be posting this sketch as one of the many challenges we have in store for you...so come check it out and get YOUR chance to win some scrappy shopping $$$$

2008-10-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

MAY 3rd?!?!? SERIOUSLY, MAY 3RD?!?!?!? Why did no one yell at me???? LOL

Ok, so here I am a mere 5 months later...seriously, that's pitiful....

2008-05-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

HAPPY NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!!!!! Woohoo! Only a "holiday" a fellow scrapper can appreciate..lol SO check out all the fun stuff we have going on over at BUSY BEE Some awesome games and challenges....and you can try to win a $25 GC to the BUSY BEE STORE where Heather has the latest and greatest! See you over there!!!!!

2008-04-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

We're getting closer!!!!!!!!!!! And my body is definitely feeling it.....UGH.......I just plain ol' HURT this time around! Hopefully I can be done working soon so I can just relax for a few weeks before #3 decides to show up! I was inspired by some of the girls on Baby Center to get creative with belly shots...this is HUGE for me, I hardly have ANY pics of me when I was pregnant with Sam and Alex, now I regret it but not much I can do now! So this was at about 32 weeks (I think) we'll just say 30-something OMG she's huge weeks along :)

2008-03-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe we'll be adding number 3 to the mix in a few short months!!! And yes, they usually DO get along this well...here's hoping baby will fit in perfectly! :)

2008-03-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

LOTS going on here....lol We've got a posting contest, a sketch contest, I was tagged, I made someone's day....so on and so on....so here we go!

You HAVE got to get your busy little butts over to Busy Bee to check out the latest contests...one is for posting and the other is for this awesome sketch:

SO if you're into winning gift certificates for an AWESOME store, head on over to the forums to check out the details!!!

NEXT...lol

So I was tagged by my friend Pat so here's what I'm supposed to do:
Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1) My food CANNOT CANNOT touch...unless it's meant to, like Chinese food or Mexican food....but jell-o touching turkey on Thanksgiving??!?!?! BARF FEST!

2) I am terribly anal about my penmanship, I was the dork in college who would go home and rewrite her notes because they were messy...hey, good study method, right?

3) I was a college cheerleader and would pay an insane amount of money to have that body back! Sigh....

4) I hate socks...I wear them only when necessary and will take them off as soon as it's possible!

5) I'm weird about "grooming" my kids, I have no qualms about picking noses, digging in ears, cleaning under nails...I find it oddly satisfying...yep, gross I know! LOL

6) I LOVE everything about my life but sometimes I take a look at it and my first thought is SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! Am I playing friggin HOUSE or what???

7) I am disturbingly paranoid and sometimes am riddled with anxiety over things that are not very likely to happen but I manage to conjure up the most god-awful scenarios in my head and then obsess over them....do they have meds for that?!?! LMAO

So, still wanna be friends with me?!?! LOL I'll tag a few more of ya when my novel-length post is over...

NEXT!!!!!

My super talented scrappy friend (and fellow military wife/BusyBee DT buddy) Shawna gave me the "You Make My Day" award on HER blog so now I get to present it to more bloggy/scrappy friends! Thanks Shawna! Your pages of Maddie and Adam made MY day! :)

AM I DONE YET????????? LOL
Oh yeah, finally managed to get a new belly shot! :) Here "we" are at 28 weeks 3 days...........I'm gonna be ginormous by June! LOL I almost forgot that about pregnant me! LOL

OK....so NOW I'm done! :)

I'm doing a combo "tag" and " You Make My Day" award :)

Janice
Melissa
Lucy
Jaime
Shawna (you can keep the award but don't have to "re" award it to anyone...lol)
Nancy VdB (I miss you girlie!)

Ok, I'm off! :)

2008-02-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

What a difference a few weeks makes! (ok, so more like 6 weeks...but who's counting?) Here we are at 25 weeks 6 days...yikes! Over halfway there!!!

2008-02-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

The kids and I had a long weekend thanks to President's Day so we took advantage of it and headed north to see Vince...the drive TOTALLY SUCKED (both ways) but it was well worth it, we had a blast! Gotta love being in CA where you can go from snow one day to playing in the desert the next....

2008-02-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

I need to do an updated picture BUT am happily laid up in bed right now getting ready to hopefully pass out for at least 8 hours (minus several trips to the bathroom..lol) Had a garage sale today, made close to $500! WOOHOO! Of course it sucked that Vince didn't come home so I was on my own...but when DOESN'T it suck with him gone????

Anyway, off to bed if baby lets me....getting my ass kicked from the inside out right now! LOVE this part! (remind me of that in a few months when he/she is stuck in my ribs...lol)

And to my scrappy friends....help me get out of my rut, I haven't done ANYTHING in about a month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

UGH...back into the "one post a month" rut....I plead the holidays as my excuse! And look who ate too many sugar cookies.......hee hee

We are now 19 weeks and 2 days pregnant with #3 and feeling pretty good! Had my "big" ultrasound last week but didn't find out what we've got cookin' in there, I was a good girl and didn't cave! So we won't know until June!! Any guesses???

Had a great Christmas, just as hectic as we expected, hopefully I can get pictures loaded soon as Sam had a very big winter in MN...first time skiing AND ice skating! She had a blast, Alex was not as big of a fan of the snow however!

So now it's back to the same ol' routine, Vince gone during the week, back to school, neglecting laundry and dishes...sigh...someday I'll get caught up!

2007-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my old stomping grounds...Scrap4Life! I was fortunate enough to be on the design team for this fabulous site and they are having a BIRTHDAY CROP! So many awesome challenges, can't wait to get to work! Go check it out, there will be some killer prizes too!

2007-12-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, thanks for the help with the pics for the card...now to help me with the actual card! It's nothing fancy, but I like the "simple" look for my xmas cards...

Which one do you like best?

2007-11-29T21:46:00.000-08:00

Two posts in ONE week?!?!? GASP!!! ;)

I frequent the June 2008 mommies board at Baby Center and lots of moms have been posting belly pics...well, I'm being brave...I'll blame it on my drugs, I have a migraine and am not thinking straight!

So here I am (in all of my lovely post-full-work-day glory...jammie pants and all...with the shirt I wore to school..how ghetto! LOL) This is at 13 weeks 3 days, thank GOD this is my third kid, I feel like I look GINORMOUS! Just wait! LOL

And the kids at school dont know yet, at least I haven't TOLD them...just waiting to see who has balls big enough to ask me..lmao

2007-11-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

Don't need to mention it's been FOREVER again! (not that many people read up on me...lol) Had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend here, Vince was home, got almost ALL of my Christmas shopping done, the house is decorated, AND I got some pics of the kids to potentially use for the Christmas cards...but I NEED HELP! I don't know which ones I like...here are a few of my favorites, I'm thinking of MAYBE a collage of 3, one of each of the kids alone and then one of them together...I don't know, I'm not good at deciding these kinds of things! LOL

At any rate...here ya go!
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2007-10-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my DT gig at Busy Bee is beyond awesome...I love all of the other girls on the team (talk about UBER TALENTED) and Heather, the owner, runs quite possibly one of the COOLEST sites on the net...super sweet, awesome customer service, and GENEROUS....wanna know how generous she is????

First of all, she offers this super sweet deal called "Busy Bee Bucks" Everytime you chat, you earn bucks that you can turn around and spend in her store!!! HELLO?!?!?!?! How friggin cool is that? Earn shopping $$ just for talking???? And NOW, there is a new contest going on and you have to get your hineys RIGHT HERE and check it out! Ok, so a CUTTLEBUG just for chatting??? Do I need to mention again how rockin' awesome Heather is??? I THINK NOT!

So all ya need to do is register, introduce yourselves (tell 'em I sent ya) and then jump in all of the fun we have on the boards, easy enough, right!!!!!! Can't wait to see you all over at Busy Bee !!!!!!!

2007-10-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are on day 2 of being 30...not so bad so far! LOL In one week Vince will be gone, hard to believe he has to leave again! Thankfully he has weekends to come home and will get all of the same vacation/liberty time that he would have gotten by being stationed down here. It's just going to be hard during the week especially now....
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SURPRISE! Montgomery baby #3 is on the way!!!!!!!!!!!! We're so excited and although the timing isn't great with Vince leaving, I'll figure it out....right???????????????

2007-10-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

UGH...notice how most of my posts lately start off "BAD BLOGGER"?!?!?! LOL Part of the problem is I can't sign in to create new posts when I'm at school (darn web blockers..BAD TEACHER! LOL) and by the time I get home, I forget about it...until I get to school again, can't log in--- the vicious cycle continues!

Anyhoo....LOTS going on here! Some major life changes coming up for our family...one I can't spill quite yet but the other is a HUGE career move for Vince! A lot of you know he flies the Cobra attack helicopter, WELL the Marine Corps has come out with a "new and improved" version of his helo....SO he has been chosen as one of the west coast guys who will be trained on this latest version of the Cobra! Awesome, right? He'll be a part of a historical change for the Corps and he'll have SO much fun doing it...awesome, right??? WELL, he has to go TAD (temporary assigned duty) to a base 3 hours north of here. Meaning he'll be gone Monday-Friday and HOPEFULLY will make it home every weekend...not so awesome, right??? :) I haven't been a "geographically single mom" in quite a while and was looking forward to 2-3 years of not having to do it at ALL. BUT he's very excited about this and it's a wonderful opportunity so my potential hang-ups about it would be a stupid reason for him to say no!

I look at it this way, I'll get lots of scrap-therapy in during the week while he's gone! That's IF I can manage to stay sane juggling a full time job, house, and 2 kids! Calgon take me away.................

2007-09-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

HORRIBLE BLOGGER! I have now been yelled at by THREE friends to update...so thanks to Nancy, Janice, and Lucy I am now updated! :) And special thanks to other bloggy/scrappy friend Pat for helping me figure out how to put active links within a post! :)

Ok, so school has officially started and I miss my summer vacation! I love my kids though, I have a really good group this year (so far, anyway!) Sam is LOVING first grade and is getting pretty darn good at reading, she's growing up too fast! Alex turned 3 last week and I'm so sad that I have no baby left :( He's all "guy" now (we get yelled at if we call him a big boy...he says he's a "guy")And SUPER fun...got to FINALLY meet my super crazy talented friend Nancy from the Netherlands!!! She and her adorable boyfriend Pascal are doing a whirlwind vacation along the west coast and I got to hang out with her and Janice for a few hours last weekend, she is a DOLL and I wish both she and Janice lived next door! :)

So there ya go...hopefully it won't be 3 weeks before I update again, if that's the case girls..come after me!

2007-08-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

HUGE DORK......yep, that's me....rushing to get Sam to soccer practice the other night, carrying Alex to go across the street totally FELL off the curb, twisted my ankle (effectively spraining it) and scraped up my knee BIG time....yep, huge dork. I was limping like a moron, bleeding everywhere, and as it turns out we were at the wrong damn field so she missed practice anyway! LOL I can finally walk normally again but my knee is still scraped up and hurts like crazy...yep, huge dork...did I mention that yet????

2007-08-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

FINALLY home! I LOVE going back to Minnesota to visit but sometimes it's more exhausting than relaxing...always so much that we want to do, so many people we want to see, it doesn't always work out but we had a blast! Now it's back to the regular routine before school starts....BOO! Sam starts soccer tonight and she's so excited, and I've gotten roped into being a team manager so I'm officially a "soccer mom"! Looking forward to MAYBE relaxing a bit now that we're home!!!

2007-07-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

So since I can't manage to get PUBBED I'm going to try to get UNPUBBED! :) I am getting on a plane in 3 hours yet I just HAD to squeeze in some non-existent extra time to crank this baby out! :) (Shhhhhhh.....it's a DT one too.....)

2007-07-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

My sweet girl on her birthday...for some challenges over at Scrap4Life (scrap a birthday and use stickers..I used SEVENTEEN stickers! I didn't even know I had that many! LOL)

I'm feeling super energetic right now and I hope that means I'll be able to tackle a lot of the stuff that's on my to do list! We leave for 3 weeks on Wednesday so that means the house needs to be clean, laundry needs to be done, suitcases need to be packed, and my August DT assignments need to be done before we go.......so I have lots to do, hopefully I can actually be productive today! :)

2007-07-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Last night was one of those nights I felt like quite possibly the SHITTIEST mother ever.....Sam had a meltdown last night at about 11:00.....I tried SO hard to stay calm and maintain SOME patience but she just kept freaking out, kicking, screaming, crying...it was a doozy! I HAD to walk away, I couldn't calm her down, couldn't rationalize with her, and coddling and comforting was the LAST thing I wanted to do...my patience had totally gone away and I had to walk out before I did something regrettable. Then of course "Daddy the hero" walked in, laid down with her and she INSTANTLY calmed down...I felt like shit and about 2 inches tall. I HATE moments like that, when I feel like a crappy mom, doing things I swore I'd never do.....ugh.......

2007-07-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

HOLY CRAYOLA! I figured out how to do something on my blog that wasn't stamped on my forehead, written in a "Blogging for Dummies" guide or written out step by step by someone smarter than me!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!! Looky here! --------->

So very very very proud of myself.....now if I can just figure out how to do active links/hyperlinks within a post I'll be THRILLED!

2007-06-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was tagged about a month ago by my friend Lucy (yet another reason to check my stinkin' blog more often!) :) The topic was "Summer Resolutions" so here goes:

1. Spend WAY more time with the kids!!

2. Read more!

3. Call my grandparents regularly

4. Get together with my college girlfriends for more than 2 hours while I'm home this summer!

5. Put my HUGE stack of layouts into page protectors (and albums if I'm feeling really ambitious!)

Ok, I'd tag more people but have no idea how...I've tried doing the active links but I suck at this..lol

2007-05-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

Vince is gone again...BOOOOOOO.....he'll be home on Friday but it still sucks, no matter how long he's gone! But at the same time it's nice for us to have a little break, gives us a little perspective and appreciation for each other! :) I do manage to get a lot done while he's gone though, Sam and I spent 2 hours mucking out her room on Sunday afternoon....3 trash bags and 3 give-away bags later, it looks SO good in there, we'll see how long it lasts! Got the yard cleaned up, the house picked up, and of course some scrapping done! This is the latest page for Busy Bee, the challenge was to use 7 or more pictures and I managed to get it done, although I'm not loving it too much...the girls I work with are SO awesome, it's kind of intimidating at times! Hopefully I rank right up there with the rest of 'em!

2007-05-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 4th, there was a horrible accident right near my school...we heard the sirens during 5th period, we commented on how many we heard, wondering what was going on...little did we know how horrible it would be. The Coble family was coming home from their son Kyle's Mother's Day tea at his preschool, they were hit from behind by a semi truck...all 3 of their children were killed in the accident. I cannot imagine the unspeakable pain their parents must be feeling, you should SEE the community...on EVERY SINGLE tree, sign, lamppost there are 3 ribbons; 2 pink and 1 blue...for Emma (age 4), Katie (age 2) and Kyle (had just turned 5 the day before the accident). It breaks my heart to think of that family and their pain and suffering, that Lori and Chris Coble will never hug their babies again, never wrap another birthday present, never coach another little league game...I consider myself a person of great faith, but tragedies like this make me question Him and the things that happen in this world. Why THEM? Why this family? Why 3 babies who had so much life left? Hug your babies tighter for a mother and father who can't anymore...

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1681224.php

2007-05-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

Should I be irritated????? Vince didn't tell his parents that my grandpa died so they have no idea he and I are going home this weekend...when I asked him why he didn't say anything, his response was "I thought it'd be a nice Mother's Day surprise" Are you freaking kidding me??????? We're going home for my grandpa's FUNERAL and to spend time with MY family...he couldn't even be bothered to tell his parents, "Anne's grandpa died last week" My parents would be the FIRST people I would go to if something like this happened in Vince's family, they would most likely attend the funeral, send condolences to his parents, etc...I guess yet another glaring difference between our families....UGH......

2007-05-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Long overdue but happy birthday my sweet baby girl....I love you!

2007-05-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

YIKES! I hate it when I don't update here...not that many people read it ;) But it's nice to update for ME every now and then. I used to journal a lot but this is kind of taking the place of the traditional "pen & paper" style journaling I used to do!

Let's see...what's going on here....still no word on a new job, I put in for a transfer so we'll see where that goes. Medieval Faire was hectic, chaotic, frustrating at times, but the kids had a blast and I am happy about that...even happier that it is DONE! It's like planning a wedding for 450 inept 12 year olds...lol Went off with quite a few hitches, but oh well, we got through it!

After several months with cancer, my grandpa passed away on Monday. I was so exhausted from the weekend in San Francisco with my kids, then Medieval Faire right away on Monday...I was so looking forward to a relaxing night at home (read: GOING TO BED EARLY) I talked to my mom and dad who were enjoying a few days in Vegas, dad mentioned that grandpa had been taken to hospice care on Sunday afternoon...then a few minutes later my uncle called my dad's other line...I immediately knew it couldn't be good as it was 11:30 pm in MN when he called...not normal...so I literally sat on my bed with my cell phone in my lap knowing it was only a matter of time before I got another phone call...sure enough my mom called 15 minutes later. He had 86 good years, but I am beating myself up over not having called. I kept coming up with lame ass reasons why it wasn't a good time, and I'd "call tomorrow"......so I never got to say goodbye and tell him I love him. I know I shouldn't be kicking my own ass over that, but I think part of me always will; regardless of the fact that he KNOWS how much I love him. I'm sad for my grandma, I'm sad for my dad, I'm sad for my kids....he was an awesome man and saying that I will miss him is a pathetic understatement. I did this layout a few months ago of my grandparents when they were first married, I think I'm going to frame it and give it to my grandma...

2007-03-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

After a great deal of discussion with Vince, I am going to start reworking my resume to look around for a new job...

I LOVE my school, LOVE my kids and other teachers, but the time away from home and the drive are killing me! I spend close to 3 hours of my day in the car...WAAAAAAAAAY too much time! So I'm going to fix my resume up and see what happens! Hopefully things will work out the way they are supposed to! :)

2007-03-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

HOLY MOLY it's been forever!!!!!!!!!!! Just goes to show I don't have as much to bitch about when Vince is home :) If I do, I just bitch to him.....unless it's ABOUT him....then I call my sister!

Things are going well here, busy as always....the BIG news is, we have officially decided we are DONE having kids. We'd been going back and forth on it for a while now, but tonight Vince flat out told me he has no desire to have a 3rd child. I was expecting it and we had both been leaning in that direction, but I was suprised at how disappointed I was to hear it verbalized with such finality. I don't think I'm mentally prepared to be done having babies, but this is one thing that we can't compromise on...we can go back and forth about the color we want for our countertops, or what kind of pizza to order ;) but we can't "kind of" have a baby...it's either yes or no and it looks like we're done....

2006-12-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

He will be back in California in about 13 hours.....I cannot believe it! It still hasn't hit me yet! Maybe because I've had so much going on at school and am so overwhelmed with everything else that is going on...who knows but HOLY SHIT HE WILL BE HERE TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so beyond excited, relieved, anxious..the butterflies are kicking in now and I can't stop thinking about what that awesome moment is going to be like, when we FINALLY get to see him again! I still get goosebumps whenever I think back to May 6th and December 10th...the return dates of previous deployments...just the sheer joy, excitement, anticipation, there are so many emotions that go along with a homecoming and I can't WAIT to be feeling all of them tenfold at this time tomorrow! MY LAST NIGHT OF GOING TO BED ALONE!!!!!!!!!!! THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED IS OCCUPIED TOMORROW NIGHT.....WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to my 3 faithful readers...love you girls, couldn't have done any of this the past 6 months without my yayas!! :)

2006-12-08T23:58:00.000-08:00

It still hasn't sunk in that he's coming home...I'm not in denial or anything like that (as someone suggested "not-so-nicely") it just seems so surreal to me. He hasn't been in this house for SIX MONTHS and the thought of him being here seems odd..in a VERY VERY VERY good way! It will probably hit me on Wednesday night at about 11:30 or so as I'm rushing around making sure I have as much done as I possibly can...and I KNOW I'll still scramble around on Thursday before we leave to pick him up!

It just seems like Thursday will NEVER get here! Thankfully I have enough going on in the next 5 days that will keep me insanely busy, I'd go nuts waiting otherwise! Sooooooooooo lose a few pounds, finish painting Alex's room, clean the house and we should be set! :) FIVE MORE DAYS!!!!

2006-12-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, so December 14th it is!!!!!!! YAY YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!! I cannot BELIEVE that he'll physically be here in less than 2 weeks! I'm still in shock...I can't wait to have him home finally!

His mom called today....BARF! It was the single most awkward conversation I have ever had with another human being before in my LIFE, even Sam said to me at one point in talking to her "mom, I don't know what to say!" The funny thing is, adults cover up the mouthpiece at moments like that, not so much with a 5 year old! LOL

But whatever, I could seriously care less! I have more important/exciting things going on...like my DESIGN TEAM position!!!!! I was chosen to be on the 2007 Design Team at Scrap4Life and I am SOOOOOOO honored, thrilled, shocked, excited...you name it, I'm feeling it! I FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY feel somewhat vindicated in my scrapbooking! YAHOO!

We have decided that we are staying in CA with our little family for Christmas and I am really looking forward to it! It'll be hard not being at home, especially since Christmas is SO huge on our side of the family but this will be good for us. Vince also suggested going somewhere in January WITHOUT the kids....yahoo to that! :)

Could this post have been MORE ADD????? Sheesh...I'll make it more random and add a picture of a recent Alex page..lol

2006-11-25T21:38:00.000-08:00

MAYBE December 14th?!?!??! I got an email from another wife the other night telling me this is "THE DATE" for them to come home! But Vince has yet to spill the proverbial beans on that one...I think he's being cautious, doesn't want to get my hopes up or anything, understandable I guess but at least we now have a tentative date to look forward to! SO much more concrete than, "in a few weeks we hope" Hopefully we'll know for sure soon! We got to talk to him the other day and unfortunately after he talked to the kids, he and I got cut off...as I was babbling about Christmas lights! :( We never got to say I love you, and I hate it if our conversations don't end that way. I haven't heard from him since, not even an email. Today would be a great day to hear from him, I need him right now. Well I ALWAYS need him, but today is especially bad. I'm just ready to be done...pretty sure I've said that about a billion times by now! On a slightly more cheerful note, the house is decorated; looking and smelling (cinnamon pinecones..yum!) very Christmasy and ready for him to come home! :)

2006-11-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

It's been a few days since I've heard from Vince...no big surprise there! Half the time I expect him to pull one of his "surprises" and walk through the door, and other times I'm dreading him telling me he won't be home as soon as we had hoped he would be. Once we get a better idea of when he'll be home, I'll feel better...I hope. In the meantime, there's plenty to keep me busy. I've submitted for a few DT calls, but I don't have high hopes. For every GOOD layout I do, someone is always better. I'm very proud of what I do, regardless of it being validated by me being picked for a DT, but I'd love an opportunity like that. It's frustrating to get rejected, because that's essentially what it is! At any rate, I certainly hope that the people choosing the KMA team will be more careful about their choices this time around...amazing that even in the world of scrapbooking, a name can mean everything!

2006-11-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

Ready for him to come home!!!!!!! Oh so ready for this to be over with, I'm at the point where everything makes me sad and all I do is daydream about him coming home! LOL I scrapped this picture of us the other day from my trip to Okinawa...makes me even more anxious to have him home!

2006-11-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

I cried at the grocery store tonight...twice...once when I saw a carton of egg nog (one of Vince's favorites) and then again when I guy wearing Vince's cologne walked behind me at the checkout counter. How pathetic am I???? I wasn't hardcore bawling, but if I had let myself, I definitely could have turned on the waterworks! He needs to come home and SOON, this is getting ridiculous! LOL OH and then he chose tonight to send a picture, I bawled and the kids almost killed each other in their rush to press their faces up against the monitor...all to see daddy!

2006-10-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need to kind of negate the bitching with some happy stuff..lol

Believe it or not, we were at the BEACH yesterday! Gotta love California! The kids had so much fun, and more than once Sam commented "I wish daddy was here"

2006-10-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

UGH.............this deployment totally sucks!!!! I hardly ever hear from Vince and when I DO, it's not like we have a GOOD conversation, there's no time for it or our emails are full of other stuff.....it's starting to piss me off. I KNOW he's busy, but come ON, sit down for 5 damn minutes and email your wife and children! I don't get it...

2006-10-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

I just realized something that I've been doing for the past several weeks...checking in at various sites (ie KMA) BEFORE I even bother checking my email to see if I have any from Vince. Does that seem odd?? Don't ya think I'd be rushing to check to see if he has emailed me at all??? I used to, but now since I hear from him so rarely, I figure what's the rush? How friggin sad is that? The way this deployment has been going for the past month is so totally different from any other deployment, even when he was in Iraq. At least when he was over there, he had a valid excuse for not emailing regularly. I don't buy into the "I'm busy" bullshit...EVERYONE is fucking busy!!!!!!!!!!!! Does he not think I'm busy with a full time job, 2 kids, a house and everything that goes along with it?!?!?! It pisses me off, but of course I feel I can't "burden" him with that...he is after all, so very busy....

2006-10-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

29 years old...sometimes I still feel so young, sometimes I feel WAY older....and a lot of times I look at my life, and think I'm just playing house! I feel too young to have a full time career, TWO kids, car payments, mortgage...all of the "fun" stuff that goes along with being an adult. I remember when I was younger WISHING desperately that I was older...now I want to go back! :) Just back to the simplicity and innocence of being younger, the worry-free days of playing ding-dong ditch with the neighborhood kids, walking down to 7-11 for a slurpee...those were the good ol' days! Not that I'm unhappy where I am, I truly can't think of anything that my life is lacking at this point. I have a husband who loves me and who I love more everyday, 2 children who are the reason I do what I do everyday, a family who has made me who I am, a beautiful home, a job that is so completely rewarding, one in which I can genuinely say I LOVE going to work (I'd say "everyday" but that'd be pushing it!)...there's nothing missing (other than a winning lottery ticket!) So if 29 is this good....bring it on 30! :)

2006-10-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Is it bad to say that I feel totally disconnected from my husband right now? I don't ever remember feeling this way during a deployment before...we haven't spoken in over 2 weeks, all I get are very brief emails, and he doesn't know when he'll be able to call. It's very frustrating to say the least! I just feel so withdrawn from it all, I'm basically going through the motions right now, unable to snap out of it. I'm tense at home, tense at school, snap at the kids (biological ones and students!), not sleeping...what the hell is up with that?? It's just so odd that I'm here, doing my thing day in, day out, and I have absolutely NO idea where my husband is, what he's doing, HOW he's doing...I just miss having regular communication, at least before we had that. Now it feels like I have no connection to him at all! Maybe I'll send him this link so he can at least read what's going on with me! :)

2006-10-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

The kids and I discovered "Photo Booth" on my laptop tonight...gotta love my Mac!!! I had NO idea there was an integrated camera in this sucker! It's going to be so much easier to email pictures to Vince now! YAY!!!!!

2006-10-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

Whenever you are going through something in life, doesn't just about EVERY song on the radio "speak" to you? When I'm lonely and missing Vince like crazy, it seems as if every sad, sappy song was written about ME and my life...the one that I'm considering my "theme" song for right now is SheDaisy's "Come Home Soon"....friggin depressing as hell and I cry every time I listen to it. So one might wonder, if I cry when I hear it, why the hell do I listen to it over and over??? Apparently I like the constant reminder that I'm miserable and lonely! :) I guess it's just one of my many outlets for dealing with him being gone. I'm not going to post the lyrics for the entire song, but the chorus is my favorite part....

"I wonder, I pray
I sleep alone, I cry alone, and it's so hard livin' here on my own...
So please, come home soon...come home soon"

That's all I want, is for him to come home soon....only about 68 more days!

2006-10-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

So have you ever "googled" an old friend or even an old significant other? I'll admit...I've done it! Kind of seems a little "stalker-ish" but I'm just curious what happened to people I was such good friends with and have lost touch with over the years. In my searching, I came across the website of the husband of one of my best friends from high school! I haven't seen her since her wedding and although we've emailed back and forth a bit over the years, it's never been anything consistent. I got an email from her this morning! WOW! I don't know if it's a coincidence or if her husband can tell who hits on his site, but it was good to hear from her! I always tell myself that I'm going to try harder to keep up with friends from high school (ok, so it's really just Paula..who am I kidding??!?!) and college (hi Amy and Michelle) :) and I never follow through. Maybe I need to set a more realistic/measurable goal...like "I will email one old friend a week" or something like that. These people were some of my best friends at critical points in my life, why should I let that go? SO, if anyone comes across this that I knew "back in the day" (yeah, right..doubt anyone has ever "googled" me! LOL) I'd love to hear from you! :)

2006-10-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

So in searching for a picture of myself to add to this...I realized there are NO pictures of me!!!! I just scrolled through damn near 1000 pictures and only came up with this one of Vince and I from a wedding last fall!

Sad, or just one of the many "perks" of being a mom???

2006-10-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well...here goes nothing! I figured it was time to join the "blogging" world, after all I do hate feeling left out! :) I doubt anyone will ever come across it or read it, but if nothing else, it's a good way for me to vent/whine/complain/ramble...and SO much easier than writing in my journal (and my hand won't hurt after writing 3 sentences!) :)

Tonight was a good time for me to start this...I haven't heard from Vince in a few days and I'm just tired, stressed, overwhelmed and tonight was one of those nights when it all hit me like a mack truck. The kids were upstairs watching a movie before bed, and I was doing the nightly clean-up routine. I guess every now and then I realize that I'm doing EVERYTHING alone and it sucks, I sat in the middle of the kitchen floor and cried...hard...I was over it pretty quickly and felt a little bit better, but I know another night just like this is just around the corner!