Mussings and Memories

This morning while driving Hubby to work, I noticed the field across from his office had a layer of frost on it. I was instantly transported back to grade school, on those cold mornings when we'd look for any way to get warm. We'd see a frost covered field and it became an ice skating rink. We had a very large field, so there'd be 20-30 kids running and sliding on the grass.

As the weekend approaches, we're all in different stages of winter crud. Girl is, hopefully, on the downswing, while Hubby, Boy, and I are all just starting to get sick. I had hoped Boy and I could get away without catching it, but he's all stuffed up and coughing, and I've got a nasty sore throat, I'm stuffy, and, if I still had tonsils, they'd be swollen.

We had plans this weekend, hopefully we'll all feel well enough to continue them.

Holiday Madness

Well, we've survived Christmas. I know New Years is still coming up, but that's not a big holiday for our family. Hubby and I may grab a bottle of champagne, or a foreign beer, or a 6 pack of hard cider, don't know. We've got a friend who's got something going on, a party/auction of sorts, but I REALLY hate being out on the roads on New Years Eve, so I'm not sure if we'll go.

Anyway, so this Christmas was actually a bit tamer than previous years. We had Christmas with my grandparents last week because that's when my dad was in town. He's very rarely ever in town and it's been about 4 years since he's been here near Christmas, so Grandma made sure we celebrated Christmas with him. He and my step-mom may be horrible parents to me (that's a whole 'nother post), but the one thing I can say about them, is they are pretty good grandparents.

My ex and I share Christmas with my daughter every year, he'll get her in the morning one year, and the afternoon the following year. This year he got morning, so we didn't really do anything until she was coming our way. We packed everything up, grabbed her, and headed to my mom's house. My mom, my step-mom (my mom's wife), and my sister were all there. I'll admit it, I'm very much about the traditions I grew up with, and it's very hard for me not to see my mom on Christmas, so I always try to spend some of the day with her.

Our day over there was fairly uneventful, with the exception that a cold/fever my daughter had been fighting the day before decided to come roaring back. We did stockings and presents, had our traditional taco dinner, then just kinda hung out, talking, watching the kids play with their new toys, and watching the new movie my daughter got. She wound up falling asleep curled in my lap, which was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Heartwarming because it's been quite a while since she's fallen asleep on me, and heartbreaking because I could tell she didn't feel well.

We got home and started opening all the packages. I think it's time for me to go through all the toys in the kids room and clean out the toys they don't really play with any more. We'll donate the good ones and get rid of the broken ones or ones that are missing lots of parts.

Hope your holidays were just what you wanted them to be.

And that's a wrap

Got the phone call today, the one letting me know my assignment with Amazon had ended and I was no longer needed at work. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get converted (hired to be a direct Amazon employee), but I'll definitely try again next year.

I'm going to start job hunting again, seeing if my temp agency has anything, or, if now that I have recent work experience, I'll be able to get a permanent job somewhere. I won't be starting anything new until the kids are back in school, that would just kill me with exhaustion.

Obviously, the extra paycheck will be missed, which is why I'll be continuing the search. I'll also miss a few of my coworkers, I'm kinda sad I  didn't get anyone's number while I had the chance.

The two positive I see, for the moment, both have to do with sleep. The first is, I can actually get some good sleep and help limit this overwhelming exhaustion I feel. The more sleep I get, the less caffeine I need to consume, which means some things will go back to not hurting. Ladies, you should know what I mean.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the fact that the world didn't end, spend some extra time with my family, and maybe even sleep in!

A sleepy update

It's been a bit since I posted anything, but that's because the last 3 weeks or so have been very crazy and very exhausting. I started a new job working in an Amazon warehouse during a graveyard shift. This means my day is very long, with very little sleep, and waaaay too much caffeine. Here's an example of a typical work weekday...
6:30 am-Get everyone up, dressed, and ready for school/work. Make breakfast for all, and pack Hubby's lunch.
7:30 am-Out the door to the bus stop
8:00 am- Boy is on bus, time for me to go to bed.
10:30 am-Wake up, get ready to go pick up Boy from bus. Get him lunch, and get him ready for a nap
Between 11:30 am and 12 pm- Get Boy down for nap, spend a few minutes on the internet to make sure he's actually laying down and not playing.
12:00 pm-Back to sleep
Somewhere between 1:30 and 3:30 pm- Boy wakes up from nap (if he actually slept), so I wake up. Mess around online, spend time with Boy, get dinner ready, if I'm up early then take shower for work.
6:15 pm-Head out the door, swing by QT for large fountain energy drink (Rooster Booster), drive to work
7:00 pm-Sit in break room, drinking energy drink.
7:30 pm- Shift starts
6:00 am- Shift ends, hurry to car and hurry home so I can get everyone ready.

On weeks I'm working overtime, I don't get out of work until 7:00 am, which means I'm hurrying home to meet Hubby and Boy at the bus stop so Hubby can get to work on time.

On a normal 40 hour week, I have three days off, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. For a 50 hour week, I work Sunday, too. For a 55 hour week I'm working until 7 am, plus my Sunday shift. For a 60 hour week I go in from 2 am-7 am on Sunday, go home, then come back at 7:30 pm, in addition to my regular days working until 7 am.

Since I'm married and have kids, on my days off I do try to get a little extra sleep, but refuse to sleep the day away so I can actually spend some time with my awesome family.

Hubby has been amazing during this time. Usually, the majority of housework and child rearing fell to me since I was staying home and he was the one working. Since I'm now working, too, and an odd schedule at that, he's taken to getting things done and taking care of the kids more. He makes sure I get that extra sleep when I can and, even though I can barely hear them when I'm sleeping, he's really good about trying to keep the kids quiet when I'm sleeping, even taking them to the playground in our complex.

The only guarantee I have is that I'll have this job up until Christmas, after that I could wind up being let go or wind up being asked to stay. On one hand, I'm really glad to be working again and I've met some truly great people, not to mention the money is really nice. On the other hand, I'm not sure if I could keep up this schedule for a long time. The best hope is, eventually, we could get Boy in to a daycare/preschool for a couple of hours after he gets out of school. Our major hope is that someday I can have a more normal day time job, but I'm thinking that probably won't be a possibility until Boy enters kindergarten.

Anyway, spending some time today catching up on housework and the like (it'll be a BIG caffeine day for me) so this weekend we can spend some time with the family. Going to my grandparents house on Sunday for an early Christmas since my dad will be in town.

Busy weekend

This weekend has been kinda busy, hopefully it'll quiet down and become calm tonight. Yesterday, Hubby and I decided we didn't want to be inside, so we took Boy to the zoo (Girl is with her dad this weekend, celebrating her birthday). It was a beautiful day yesterday. We're members of our zoo, so we get in an hour early. We got to the zoo at 8 am, it was cloudy with a slight breeze, and kind of chilly. Once we got inside, Boy took off running, basically leading the way through the zoo. The day warmed up a bit, but still kept cool, which made it perfect zoo weather.

We have 2 traditions when we go to the zoo. The first is we ride the tram tour thing (you get in a tram, and they drive you around the zoo to look at the different areas and hear facts), the second is the kids take a ride on the carousel. We always save the carousel for last, so after we grabbed a snack, we went on our tram ride and, I swear to you, we must have had a polygamist family on the train. There was one guy, like 6 or 7 women, and something like 15-20 kids...and the kids all looked alike...and all looked like the guy. It was interesting, to say the least. Even if they weren't polygamists, it was an interesting group.

Today, we went out to have breakfast, went grocery shopping, then ran to 2 other stores trying to find any Hostess products (which was pretty much a bust). Got home, put all the groceries away, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned the kitchen, then cleaned the rest of the house.

Now, I'm sitting here, trying to stay awake, and deciding what to do with the rest of the day. Oh boy. I'm sure you loved to hear me ramble on about my day, I just know it :). Did you do anything interesting/fun this weekend?

Weekend stuff

So I spent the weekend running around a lot in the new van. Part of it was planned, a lot of it wasn't. Friday, when the van was purchased, I needed to be to a certain part of town by 5 pm. We were going to try to pick up Hubby from work, then head out there. The problem was, the area of town we had to travel through, on a Friday afternoon? There was no way we'd get there in time. So I wound up driving our sedan out to my Grandparents, leaving it there, and picking up the van. Saturday, we were supposed to go pick up the sedan, get an issue with the title fixed so we could get the van registered, and take my Grandma grocery shopping. Of course, I forgot the keys to the sedan at home, the "fix" for the title wasn't correct and couldn't be fixed, again, until Monday, and my Grandma had no clue why she told me she wanted me to take her to the store.

Sunday rolled around and it was time for the kids birthday party (their birthdays are 5 days apart). We  headed out to my Grandparents (again, 3 days in a row if you're keeping track) for the party. The kids had a great time, got some awesome toys, and were exhausted by the end of it. I packed everything up in the van and headed home (yay for all that space).

Monday, we had to wait for the guy at the dealership to call us when the title issue had been fixed, then we had to head out there, get the van registered (finally!!!), swing by my Grandparents for the 4th day, and pick up the sedan. Hubby drove that home while I drove the minivan. I woke up this morning and was actually kinda sad that I didn't have any errands to run today, so I could drive my minivan.
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On the 26th, I start a new job. It's going to be physically demanding, and a graveyard shift. I don't mind the physical, but I know the graveyard will be difficult. Basically, I work until 5 am. Due to Hubby's work schedule, I will be responsible for getting Boy on the bus for school, and back in the house at 7:40. At this point, I'll lay down to sleep. I have to get up and pick up Boy from the bus at 11 am. He'll spend about 30-40 minutes eating lunch then getting ready for his nap. He'll lay down for his nap right around 12 pm. I'll lay down for another 2-3 hours of sleep (if I'm lucky), then get up to make sure I can get ready for work, and get dinner started. Hubby is home by about 4:45 pm. I know I have to leave no later than 5:30, I may even have to leave as soon as Hubby gets home, depending on how long it actually takes me to get down there. I will be living on coffee, energy drinks, and pure protein for a while, until I get used to it. Luckily, I will have 3 days off a week. One of those days is a weekday, so that's a bit difficult sleep wise, but I have the weekends off, so I'll be doing a lot of sleeping then. It won't be fun, it'll be exhausting, but hopefully it'll help us out.  If we're really lucky, we might be able to get Boy in to a daycare for a couple of hours, so I can sleep uninterrupted. I'm not holding my breath on that idea. We'll take it a day at a time.

Van pics

So, as promised, here's some pictures of my "new" minivan.

The backseat

Front seat

Cargo area (bins are mine)

Front

Middle seat (kids seats)

New Van

So I recently got a job in a not so decent part of town. I don't start until after Thanksgiving, but I'll be working the graveyard shift, 6:30 pm until 5 am. When talking with my Grandma, Hubby and I were talking about the possibility of me taking a bus down there as our car is not in the greatest shape and those extra miles would kill it.  Next thing I know, my Grandma is telling us she'll buy us a car, as long as it's under $X.

We started shopping for used cars on Wednesday, originally just looking for any decent car with good space in the backseat and trunk, because of Boy and Girl. We decided that any car we got would probably be better than what we already had, so Boy and Girl would switch to my car and Hubby would drive our older car.

The first place we stopped to look at cars, we were looking at sedans. The salesman (it was a small used car lot, probably family owned) showed us one more car, a minivan. It was a couple hundred above our budget, but it was a nice car. I, of course, fell in love with it because I've been wanting a minivan for 5 years. We said no thank you, and went on our way. We found a private seller looking to get rid of their minivan and, while it was older and a little bit more beat up than the 1st minivan, it was about $1,000 less. I was definitely thrilled, though I still really wanted the first one. We took 2 to a mechanic and found out it needed a LOT of work, the cost of which would equal, if not exceed what we were planning on paying for the van.

We said no thank you and resumed our search.

Friday I was supposed to make some more calls and possibly go check out a few possibilities, but Boy was home sick and NOT in a good mood, I wasn't going anywhere until he was no longer in meltdown mode.  At about 11:00 am my Grandma called and asked how the search had gone. I was honest, I had sent some inquires out, but no one had gotten back to me. She then asked if I could be out to her house by 5 pm. I told her it would be difficult, but we might be able to. She said, "I bought you a minivan, if you want it you have to be out here by 5."

So, squee! We have ourselves a 2003 Dodge Caravan. It's shiny, pretty, and is perfect for our family. The kids love it, Hubby loves it, and I love it! I'll have to take some pictures tomorrow, when the sun is up, so I can show it off.

I'm back and Birthday Stuff

I've been gone for a while, took a break from blogging because I felt I HAD to do it since I had one, even though I didn't have a ton to blog about every day. I've gotten some things settled, so hopefully I'll post a bit more frequently.

Our son turned 4 today, it's amazing how the time has flown by. I can remember the day he was born like it was last week, quite different from when I had my daughter, who will turn 6 next week. I remember her birth, but everything is a little fuzzy thanks to a pain medicine I received. 

Anyway, 4 years old. It's amazing how things have changed in 4 years. He's been identified as being developmentally disabled, he's walking along the edge of the Autism Spectrum, and he's been transferred to a preschool for kids who have behavioral delays, as well as developmental.

We've moved to a new complex, where we're finally downstairs. We have 2 new cats, Khaleesi (Leesi for short) and Drogo. My daughter started kindergarten, and I've got a new (albeit seasonal) job. I'm crossing my fingers that, at the end of the season, I'll be asked to stay on. It's in a warehouse (too bad it's not Warehouse 13), and those apparently have a high turnover rate, which increases my chances.

I'm still struggling with my weight. I tried Weight Watchers for 6 months, but it didn't help. I'd have a week where I'd lose 5-8 pounds, then the next week I would literally do the exact same thing the week before, eat all the same meals, do all the same activities, and I would gain all that weight back. I've been introduced to a new diet/lifestyle called the Dukan Diet. I'll be starting it completely soon, there's certain things I need to stock up on first, like oat bran and Splenda. We'll see how it works.

We're having a birthday party for both kids this weekend, but hubby has to work that day, so either tonight or tomorrow we'll have a little celebration, just the 4 of us. Hopefully, we'll be celebrating us getting a second car, too!

Alright, I'll leave you with that for now and try not to disappear again.