Stacy, The Wife, Mama and Quilt-maker

Ahhh, we can breathe again!

2008-09-02T08:16:00.003-04:00

The cold is gone, for the most part. Waiting to hear out of my left ear again...hopefully soon. ;)

Yesterday we started J's new "curriculum" aka http://www.time4learning.com and he did pretty well for his first more structured school day. This morning we woke up, made Boots' Monkey Bread (from nickjr.com early reader recipes), YUMMMMM!!!! Then watched Dinosaur George's Guide to Prehistoric Life and then another movie about plants, fruit and pollination. We're going on a free, self-guided tour of the Florida Botanical Gardens this morning after Tim gets the oil changed in the VUE.

And...HAPPY 13th ANNIVERSARY to Tim and I! We were married on Sept 2nd, 1995. Justin was born a mere 3.75 years later. 9 years after that we were blessed with baby Ginny.

Ah, how time flies!

Until next time!

Oye...the dreaded cold virus!

2008-08-29T06:35:00.002-04:00

Ick...boogers, coughing, sore throats, we've all got it. It started with Ginny last week but now we're all sick. It's kicking our arses and we're having a hard time kicking it. Justin seems to have the worst of it...he's feeling so crummy he's allowed me to give him Tylenol when he was super hot and cough meds at night before he went to bed. We'll live, but it would be nice if it would go away sooner rather than later. :)

Working on getting some sort of a schedule/routine for the kids and I so we'll have something to fall back on if we sort of get lost along the way with Tim gone. More having to do with daily to do's and homeschooling topics...I want to be sure everything is getting covered. We're still eclectic unschoolers, but once in a while we throw in a few curve balls and see what happens. :)

Justin and I printed out a few recipes from NickJr.com and he can't wait to try them (banana pops, etc). Gotta get groceries and need $ to do that. Rent took all our money this paycheck (1st of the month) but at least we still have a positive checkbook balance.

I hear J coughing so I'll leave now and go cuddle my big guy. Remember that life is SHORT, far too short to waste...so take advantage of opportunities that present themselves if for no other reason than you and your familiy can have an adventure together.

Blessings!

Ginny is sick, Tim got another job offer...

2008-08-24T04:36:00.002-04:00

Ginny has a cold. Been alternating Tylenol and Motrin to help keep her from spiking a fever and having febrile seizures again. She keeps waking up in the middle of the night because she can't breathe through her nose and keep sucking on her pacifier 'binky' at the same time. Poor kiddo!

Tim got another job offer on Thursday. It pays less, but it's a great opportunity for him to get his foot in the door. Tim should hear back from him on Monday.

Friday I went to a new primary care physician. Now this place was awesome....at patient registration they offered me a cup of coffee; I waited less than 5 minutes in the waiting room and less than 2 or 3 in the actual exam room. Had my PAP done. Have to get some bloodwork done on Monday. Also need to make an appt with my psychiatrist....she has appointments available on Monday so I need to call first thing Monday AM to get one...she's got to manage my meds. :)

Justin and I read a book together yesterday. Since he has officially "graduated" from his HeadSprout phonics program and is a READER now we're working to keep him interested in reading and working at recognizing common words as well as sound out words he doesn't know.

We moved the house around again...well, the furniture anyways. LOL With Tim going back to days next week at the newspaper (new job won't start until 1st week in September?!) we put J's bedroom and computer back into his bedroom and the couch back into the livingroom. So not only do I share the bed with Justin and Ginny, I've gotta make more room for Tim, too! LOL

Ahhh, Ginny just fell back asleep...and since it's so early I'm going to try to catch a few more z's myself.

Talk to you all soon!

Ya, I know...it's been a few days....

2008-08-18T16:55:00.002-04:00

lots going on. Tim got a job offer on Friday...still waiting to hear whether his security clearance is good to go or needs to be reactivated, etc. The new timeline has him leaving the first week in Sept. At least he MIGHT be home for our 13th anniversary, right? LOL

It's been all over the news, but Tropical Storm Fay (upgraded to hurricane by the time it gets to us) is on the way. For some odd reason I'm REALLY freaked out by this storm. Called the management of our apt complex and they pretty much said we're on our own. (great help! :rolleyes: ) We're in a non-evacuation zone, so even if there were a cat 5 hurricane we wouldn't evacuate as a storm surge (the wave from the ocean that will cover land) shouldn't reach us. (oh yeah, VERY comforting)...so if it goes bad we'll be stranded on the middle of Pinellas County, Florida (a peninsula, right across the bay from Tampa, west coast of FL, Gulf side). No one seems really worried, but last time folks were this lacksidasical (sp?!) about a tropical storm turned hurricane it pretty much destroyed Punta Gorda, FL....(closer to where my dad and step-mom live, and my bestest pal Jen and her parents live). We only have windows on the south side of our apartment, and one of those is a pretty shoddy slider...the window bangs around in the frame already, so I don't count on that providing much in the way of protection. We only have one room in the house with a door (aka not a metal bifold door) and it's not really big enough for us, but we could squeeze in if we needed to. We get water delivered and have 15 gallons (give or take) of drinkable water and I filled the empty 5 gallon jugs with water from the bathtub for drinking (boil and drink if necessary), flushing the toilet, washing up, dishes, laundry, etc. Already did all the laundry and put it all away. Same with the dishes. Cooking up 6 chicken breasts tonight so at the very worst we'll have fresh cooked meat for a day or two. Got batteries for the radio and flashlights. Will bathe the kids tonight and then clean out the tub and fill it up with water before bed. Have first aid kit already. Have dipes and wipes for Ginny (and extra besides). Have some plastic silverware, paper plates and cups to use if we run out of regular dishes. Apparently the power tends to go out with these storms and can last 10-14 days if we're lucky. :shrug: Not looking forward to no AC...yeah, I'm a spoiled domestic goddess! Meds (mine) already put into my med container to last for 2 weeks. Stocked up on toilet paper, got a gallon of milk (and got powdered milk with Ginny's WIC vouchers last week), another loaf of bread, freezing stuff in the freezer (jugs of water...they'll last longer than ice cubes will if we need to move things to our cooler). Granola bars, cereal, popped a few bags of micro popcorn and will bag it up and store it tonight.

At the very worst we'll be decently prepared. At the best, I'll have wasted water freezing jugs and filling the 5 gallon jugs and bought a few extra things. Filled up the gas tank in the VUE...no electricity, gas pumps won't work. We have no means of cooking, at the moment, because we can't grill here due to fire code regulations. There IS a "community" grill outside for residents to use and we could get some wood to burn to cook if necessary...though I imagine with 350 units and about 4-5 grills there'd be lines to access it. We sold our big tent a few months back, didn't see any use for it...now I wish we hadn't. It might be cooler outside in a tent than inside the apt should the power go out for any length of time.

Got extra dog food for Scoots, the gerbils have had their home freshly cleaned and have finished rearranging the bedding and hay to their liking. We're all healthy (well, I'm seriously having a major anxiety attack about this storm!), and we have a plan to be able to go to my dad and step-mom's house, or even Jen and her parents house (the back up to the back up plan) should we be without power for too long and they HAVE power...Pam and dad have storm shutters for their house, a pool full of water, etc. I'd feel safe there, except they aren't equipped for kids and I'd be wigging out that they'd break something, yk?

May even go so far as to pack a bag with clothing for 1-2 days for all of us JUST in case...not sure it's necessary, but at the very least this storm will give us a lot of rain in a short amount of time (aka flooding...and we have a pond to the south of us, literally 50 or so feet away from our screened in porch? We're ground level apt), and winds up to 95 mph, says the weather channel on TV. I'm prepared to shove my family and animals into our master bedroom walk in closet (pretty big) and even toss out the extra stuff on the floor in there to make room, throw J's twin mattress down on the floor (we can put it against the inside of the metal bifold doors to protect us if necessary)...it's the most interior room we have, the biggest without being huge, and it's already got clothes in there, and we've got 5 5-gallon jugs of water right outside the closet and in the bathroom, toilet in the very next room (the closet and bathroom share a wall), can grab meds, food, first aid kit, water, dipes and wipes for G, wipes for keeping ourselves clean, etc...we can stuff it all in there and be okay for, well, as long as necessary. I dug our "cube" cooler out of the storage area outside and put it towards the front so we can grab it quickly and easily if need be. The queen mattress (air mattress) can be secured against the sliding glass doors. We can nail blankets and stack furniture against the other windows if the wind gets really bad or a window breaks. Charging up both our cell phones, Tim's MP3 player (it gets FM/AM radio on it), charging up my laptop now. Even registered with Red Cross's Safe and Well program...(look up Tim or Stacy Wheeler of Clearwater, FL for an update if things get sketchy down here...we'll do our best to lyk what's going on through that or by phone). Boiled a dozen eggs, peeled and put them in the fridge (high in protein!).....peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pasta salad, spaghetti, all in the fridge already...will cook that chicken tonight and add that to our stockpile of food. We don't have much in the way of perishables due to finances being what they are, but we'll be fine for about a week, if necessary.

I just feel like I'd be a totally irresponsible parent/person if I didn't take some precautions for our family. Tim's not worried, but is going along with my need to feel okay about riding out a storm that could get bad or end up nothing but a few rain showers and wind.

4 flashlights

18 light/glow sticks (got them for 25 cents for a pack of 6 weeks ago on clearance at WalMart....so glad we got them, now!)

Foods...veggies, fruits, tuna, noodles, beans, rice, granola bars, cereal bars, baby cereal for Ginny (has lots of the nutrition she needs and she LOVES it!), Raisin Bran and Rice Chex for eating/snacking on, crackers, peanut butter, jelly, marshmallows, fresh bananas and apples and a few veggies tucked in the fridge, fruit juice.

15 gallons of bottled water. 20 gallons of refilled 5-gal jugs with water from the tap (flushing, washing, etc). First aid kit, clothes and dishes done. Toilet paper (don't want to run out of THIS if we're without power and no one is selling anything because their computer systems are all run by, you guessed it, ELECTRICITY!. Lots of books, several board games and cards we can play...

Can you tell how anxious I am about this upcoming storm/hurricane? I've been through blizzards in NH (even drove THROUGH one and made it out alive, no worse for wear!), tornado's in OK (mere minutes before we drove through Oklahoma City the city was decimated by a tornado), tornado's in OK where we lived (Ft. Sill/Lawton) Flooding, hail, winds, rains...we've been there and one that. I've even been through hurricanes in NH and while bad, they weren't THAT bad. This is only expected to upgrade to a category 1 hurricane when it hits the Tampa Bay area so it shouldn't be more than lots of torrential rains and powerful winds. Hopefully no trees will fall near us (or on us, JUST kidding!).

So, if you don't see a new post from me within a few days, we may very well be without power and thus without internet access, obviously, but feel free to call my phone or Tim's and we'll have it with us.

So, wish us luck, folks! (and for the rest of you Floridians, KEEP SAFE!)

Ahhh, what a relaxing few days...

2008-08-13T10:46:00.002-04:00

no demands, no pressures. Dh got some extra, and much needed, sleep. The kids have been good (aka not too much fussing!). We even indulged in a few sweets while watching the Olympics (GO USA!).

Made a great chicken dinner last night with mashed potatoes, home made gravy, corn, and carrots. Ginny ate up everything, as did dh and me, but Justin...well, some things take time. Food aversions and oral motor sensory issues are NOT good in an autistic kiddo who's already a very self-limiting (aka PICKY) eater. We're working on it, though. He HAS tried many new foods in the past few months, so I'll give him his due there. :)

Cuz got her paperwork notarized and mailed, so hopefully we'll hear from the attorney soon and get this adoption (of Ginny) done and over with. For crying out loud, Ginny will be ONE YEAR OLD in 2 days! (Aug 15th).

No passport for Tim yet, so can't continue to apply for those overseas jobs until he has that in his hand. I still can't believe that he's willing to go into a living situation where he'll be confined to a base for a year, work 60-80+ hour work weeks, 7 days a week, may have to take only cold or bottled water showers if no hot showers are available, may have to eat MRE's if no dining facility. It could be that bad, or he could be stationed somewhere "nice" like Dubai and live in a hotel for a year. (THAT would be great for Tim!).....I don't like the idea of sand and dust storms, living in 8-30 man tents, sand in EVERYTHING (including food, clothes, eyes, mouth, etc)...possible mortar attacks, random gunfire, etc. I can only hope he gets the first job he applied for because the pay is better and it may NOT be in Iraq/Afghanistan or a very "uncomfortable" place to live/work for a year. That my dh is willing do go through all that for 1-2 years (or more) to get our family financially stable and have a padded nest egg/bank account so we can get a house, well, that absolutely AWES me. Yeah, it won't be easy for this mama with 2 kids, but he'll have the worse end of the stick in the bargain, if you ask me. To be willing to do that for his family, Tim ROCKS!!!

Wow, though, no sex or lovings from my guy, just me and the two kids....I sure hope I have enough patience for that. Just me, Ginny and Justin. All day, every day. LOL Sounds scary....how in the HECK do military mamas do this? (You Amity Mama military mamas, you SO ROCK!). Homeschooling, library, pool, beach once in a while, I'll have to figure out some stuff for us to do that's easy, free or cheap, and doesn't require a lot of driving. If we're lucky my bf Jen will come and stay with us a while, if not, then well 'settle' for a visit now and again. Although I do believe Jen has her heart set on going back to NH to live/work. :<

A few days ago I realized that I "lost" my business plan for Home Sewn by Stacy...can't find it on my computer or on my memory stick thingy...so I have to start over from scratch again. :sigh: Still no word from my VA employment lady or the VA Voc Rehab guy....they're both in KY, so not sure why I'm being ignored or ??? I've been contacting them for a few months now...wondering if I should send a certified return-receipt letter for creeping out loud.

Talked to my MIL the other day....apparently Tim's Grandma (aka Mamaw) fell and banged herself up a bit...she's hurting, but is otherwise okay...something about hitting her face on the house?! Mamaw and Trena (Tim's aunt) are in TN with another of Tim's aunts (Virgie) for a bit...Mom will go to pick them up in another week and bring them back home. Mom's apparently retired so she can watch the kids (Tim's niece and nephew) full-time...they even go to school in the town she lives in, not the one they live in with their dad. I feel badly for her...I can't imagine having to retire early because your 30-something year old kid can't care for himself, never mind his two kids. :rolleyes:

Mailed some pkgs this AM and the kids and I went to the library...apparently we can check out SIX DVD's per library card....teriffic...now how do I keep J from watching movies all day long and get some school work/educational stuff done? A lady in the library asked J when he started school...J looked at me and I kindly told her we school year round because we're homeschoolers..she and another librarian looked rather pleased and the first lady pointed out some homeschool-y books for us to check out and lots of kids books they put out for sale for the Friends of the Library. :)

OH! http://www.handipoints.com Took a while to set it up, but working well so far. It's pretty much a place (free!) where you and your child can set up chores/tasks...each one worth so many handipoints and bonus points. Each of the points can be "spent" on clothes, home, furniture, etc for their cat...their virtual cat....J named his Sunny and picked a girl. (though now he wishes he had a boy cat but we don't know how to change the sex of the cat). He's "bought" movies to watch (think older cartoons...Popeye, etc), played games, interacted with other "cats" aka kids, explored his town (library, school, etc). WICKED cute!

Planning on getting him http://www.zookazoo.com membership ($6- a month) so he can get some educational stuff in as well as have fun, interact with other kids (aka virtual ZELFS)....while having fun and learning. Going to wait a while, though, to see if he sticks with the handipoints stuff for a bit to learn if he's got the attention span and understanding for it. (so far so good!).

Well, have some dishes to dry and put away, laundry to fold and hang up, and a tired babe who's getting cranky. Until next time!

Hooking up with an old friend....Job Searching...

2008-08-10T11:23:00.003-04:00

when dh was still in the Army and based in Germany, we met Winston, Alex and their kids L and L. Well, we've had contact with them on and off for years but the past two years we seem to have lost each other. Low and behold, after a lot of digging on Tim's part, we found them again! Turns out W's working in Kuwait at the moment (retired Army).

Funny how things turn out, huh? Tim's got his resume out to several companies that contract out with the DoD, and after a lot of talking, fact finding, talking with Winston, he's truly going for it. He'll probably go to Iraq or Afghanistan for the first year as he'll make more money there and we hope to pay off all our credit debt and Ginny's hospital bills in the first 3-4 months, then chip away at our student loans and be 100% debt free in under 9 months, a year at the latest, then sock away the rest for a house. In the mean time, his passport is still processing (expedited to two weeks as opposed to whatever it usually is), so as soon as he has that in hand he can literally get a job today and be gone tomorrow. So the teetering on the edge thing has me a little edgy, sad at the prospect of having my dh gone for 6+ months at a time before we see him again (Ginny's not even one...will she remember him when he comes home for a visit?!)...he plans to do this for 2 years to "set" our family's finances and create a nest egg for us, as well as pump a lot of $ into his 401K for retirement.

Thank goodness for Winston...he has lots of contacts with these companies and he and Tim have spoken at length about specifics of living over there (in Southwest Asia...aka Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi, etc) such as where he'd be living (in barracks or in the local town or in a hotel), get a company car, that he'd be able to eat regular food there (same stuff we could get in Germany as far as the PX and Commissary go), laundry, etc.

Tim'll be in the rear (support for comsec/IT/electronics maintenance/repair), so he's less likely to be in danger in Iraq and Afghanistan, though I still worry about it. I'm seriously considering looking into Dragon Skin for Tim if he goes to Iraq or Afghanistan....rather be safe than sorry. Don't know how feasible that would be, though, or if he's use it or need it.

The job Tim's currently in was pre-approved for a certain amount of a raise by a certain time or it wouldn't be worth us moving here to FL....well, they put a freeze on raises and the guy who was going to take the retirement/buy-out pkg rescinded his offer and so now Tim can't even get a raise through a promotion to a Senior position (which is a promotion as opposed to a raise, but with the promotion comes a raise).

So, we're in a holding pattern, just waiting...I suppose it's just a matter of time before he's offered a job. Tim and I have talked and talked and talked about this...despite the dangers of him over there, missing out on the kids, missing me, the freaking heat over there and sand storms, well, the money is worth it. He's the breadwinner, not me, I'd never be able to make that much money in several years of working. So, in our old-fashioned home it's dh that the duty falls to to earn the duckies and this is a way to do it that will make us debt free and have a good sized nest egg in under a year...the 2nd or 3rd years will just add to that, but we'll take it one year at a time (contracts are typically for a year).

So, if you have positive thoughts, can you send them our way for a successful job search for Tim?

Friday and another Pay Day....

2008-08-08T05:44:00.003-04:00

too bad it goes too fast! LOL

Woke up at 5:30 this morning with two more things for the grocery list. Don't you just hate when that happens?

Sold a few things on Ebay, just waiting for payments.

Busy week coming up...my mom's bday on the 9th, my auntie's on the 11th, my best buds on the 14th and of course our very own Ginny Moira Arwyn's 1st birthday on Friday the 15th.

Dog had fleas on him last week, we've been bathing him in dish detergent and it really works! The fleas rinse out deader than a door nail! Unfortunately I think there may be some in the house so we're going to figure out how to bomb the apartment while keeping the gerbils safe (aka out of the house) and taking the dog with us wherever we go (he's seriously neurotic, so he's going to be a nut wherever we take him and we can't just leave him in the truck....too hot!). So, that's my fire to put out today...what to do with the dog and gerbils while we're bombing the house. (any ideas for this cash strapped family?!)

Made Ginny some more baby bling yesterday....a few anklets and another necklace. She's so cute...she loves wearing the necklaces and she had, at one point, two anklets on each ankle and she made sounds when she walked so I knew where she was without even seeing her! LOL

Okay, so TO DO today:
1- bathe both kids.
2- mail pkg
3- Await PayPal payments
4- get groceries once said PP payments arrive
5- Finish up the laundry (one in washer, and one load ready to be washed)
6- Phone my VA lady again
7- Work with J on completing his phonics lessons (at least one today!)
8- Clean out fridge
9- Go through bucket on my desk and figure out what goes where and put it there (aka NOT on my desk!)
10-Get some reading time in with both kids
11- More floor time with Ginny (you should HEAR her laugh when I chase her! LOL)

So, that's my accountability list of things to do....so whip me with a wet noodle if I don't get them done, eh?

Until next time!

Beautiful morning at Clearwater Beach....

2008-08-04T20:34:00.003-04:00

dolphins, schools of little fish swimming around us, low tide, but with some big waves to play in, and of course, digging a hole to China for J to jump into and bury both kids up to their tummies in sand. :)

Of course the cheery morning ended with that...Justin was whining about watching his Pokemon movie. Ginny was just super needy this afternoon and yelled half the day. As a result I allowed myself to get totally cheesed off and was ready to kill both kids. *sigh* and thinking like that only leads to guilt, and of course more frustration. How to we help Justin get through his feelings, express them without freaking out totally? And we're working with Ginny with words and signs (eat, drink, more) but so far no good....yelling and grunting is getting on my last nerve and I don't have many left today. My blood pressure must have jumped high because I got a headache before we were even home from the beach this AM.

Though I did chill out with dh while he played his PS2 game X-Men something or other, while feeding complete meals for lunch and supper, snacks, drinks, getting some dishes and laundry done, and trying to keep the house in a somewhat decent shape...aka keeping the toys in one area instead of all over the house. OUCH that Pokedex hurt when I stepped on it!

So, I'm cranky, crabby, and ready to start rolling heads if anyone even LOOKS at me wrong. (hmm...wonder if Sally is due to start soon?!) In the meantime, how the HECK am I going to be able to care for the two kids if/when Tim goes overseas for work for a year or more?! Do they have pills that make you constantly cheerful, positive and the best person/parent ever?! If so, I want them. I think they're called Jelly Belly Jelly beans. LOL Boy do I wish I had some sugar right now. Groceries are running out and we're going to have to go further into the hole to get some more fresh fruit and veggies, and milk.

I'm ready for bed, but I'm sure Tim is ready for some romance tonight since we've been waiting forever for the kids to go to bed. :grin: How do you tell the guy you love more than life that you're tired and sleeping is a higher priority than sex at the moment?! I dunno, I may change my mind once things get hot and heavy. ;)

Gnight, everyone!

Nice few days....

2008-08-03T16:07:00.002-04:00

Tim's promotion/advance and raise isn't going to happen. The guy who was taking the retirement package rescinded his acceptance so Tim won't be able to get the Senior position and the promotion/raise that goes with it. :sigh: Needless to say Tim's got his resume out and has hopes that he'll find a better paying job. He's even willing to go overseas even if it means the kids and I will be left here in the states so he can get some big pay so that he can assure our bills are paid off and we're okay to buy our first home. Gotta love that man! It'll be super difficult being on my own with two kids, but military moms do it all the time, so I guess I can do it. If it weren't for Tim's Army education he wouldn't even qualify for this one job. He sent in his resume today. He applies for his passport in the AM (requirement of job) just to be sure he's ready.

Hopefully my cuz will get the paperwork signed/notarized and return it to the lawyer so we can get the adoption completed asap (preferrably BEFORE and IF Tim goes overseas for work)....going to call Auntie G. to get on her to complete it asap. It's the only thing holding us up at this point.

Tim's off today, Mon and Tues, so we have 3 days with him...planning to go to the beach early tomorrow AM. I believe we've got a few movies to watch tomorrow, as well.

So, I'm feeling as though so much is up in the air at the moment and not wanting to do much until we figure out what's what. Financially the job would ensure we're debt free, able to live comfortably and buy a house. I still can't believe he's willing to do that for us...go to Saudi or Turkey or Iraq or somewhere in SouthEast Asia to work as a contractor so he can take care of his family. I can't help but worry, though, that his head will come home to me in a box....all that they can find of him. I can't help but think of those contractors that the Iraqi's burned, hanged and then put their heads on pikes for all to see. :shudder: It's the same exact job he had in the military and he's actually looking forward to getting back to that kind of work again, the travel, and the experiences.

Oye, G's crying...gotta run!
Until next time!

Had a nice entry last night...

2008-07-31T10:21:00.002-04:00

and for some reason the internet ate it. *sigh*

Okay, got two of the organizing sets of drawers put together and have the two chalkboard front cabinets still in the box waiting to be put together. I'm glad to have some storage space and place to put things where Ginny can't get them.

Made a terrific chicken dinner a few nights ago, with skins on red mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. Yumm! I forgot how good a truly homecooked meal tastes!

Got my biz cards in yesterdays mail. Also updated the website. http://www.HomeSewnbyStacy.com

That I Can Has a Cheezburger website (the picture of cat below with the clickable "cat" link) was a HOOT! I laughed so hard over so many of the photos and their captions. 120-something pages later I knew I had laughed myself out and it was time to quit. Even Justin was cracking up at them!

FIL called today. He's still planning to come in October with his dog (was ours, but when we moved from KY to FL we had to give her to FIL because we couldn't afford the pet deposit here for a 2nd pet), although plane tickets and all the related fees have increased since we gave him the quote...so he's stuck sending more money so we can order his ticket (no internet access for FIL).

Can't wait for the adoption to be completed. Tim wants to find a better paying job since the cost of living here in FL is much more than we expected. We need to wait for the adoption to be finalized, though, so everything can progress smoothly and we can get G in our insurance, etc and get several things settled before he even actively pursues a new job.

So, off to call the adoption lawyer again and see what's up, then off to Once Upon a Child to turn in our pack n play, get a store credit to get G some more clothing (or get the cash?! I dunno yet), and vacuum the VUE out since we got so much sand in it from the trip to the beach on Sunday.

Until next time!

Need a laugh? Check this out!

2008-07-29T13:49:00.000-04:00

more cat pictures

What a great day!

2008-07-27T19:12:00.002-04:00

Woke up this morning around 6am with Ginny. Got our gear together and woke up J to get ready for Dad to bring us to the beach. We went to Clearwater Beach for about an hour and a half. As a child I hated the salt water...any in my eye would leave me in pain. As an adult, however, I find that the Gulf has lovely warm waters, dolphins swimming in the distance, Pelicans and Seagulls dive bombing for food, and the salt isn't as bad here as it was where I grew up (New Hampshire). I didn't wear a bathing suit, but Tim wore his swim trunks. Justin is a big fan of digging huge holes and sitting in them, then begging to be buried alive. :) We all swam (except for Ginny of course, Tim or I held her while standing in the water)....Justin, Ginny and I sat in the surf and she loved to wiggle her toes. We got some great pics of the kids, I'll have to load them onto the computer tomorrow. Even got some video, as well.

Justin still has that rash on his face. I've been using Lidocaine with hydrocortisone in it...slathered it on his face until he almost looked blue like a smurf while he laughed hysterically. It's looking better tonight, so I'll have to keep his face slathered with the ointment and hope for the best. He's telling me it's itchy now, and it hasn't been in the past, no spread though.

Came home, everyone showered off and got into clean clothes. Went to Sweet Tomatoes for breakfast/lunch in hopes we'd see N, my step-sis. But she wasn't coming in until 3:30pm...ah well, maybe next time! We came home, J watched his Pokemon movies and used his new school supplies to do a lot of drawing in a notebook while I put G to sleep and then Tim and I took a snooze...Tim had been up since yesterday evening working 5pm to 7am this morning. G and I woke up about an hour later and skedaddled out of the bedroom to let Tim get more sleep. At 3:30 we woke up Tim and watched some Ninja Warrior with Justin and played with Ginny. Made the girly some more baby bling (anklets this time) and of course she bent over flat to the ground and tried to eat them. Silly girl! Made pasta w/ meat sauce for supper, spent some more time with Tim and the kids and about 20 minutes ago Tim passed out on the couch, he'll be working overtime tomorrow so he set the alarm to wake himself up. I suspect, though, that he'll be up at like 3am, go to the fitness center and work out, come home, shower and go to work.

Put G down to bed about 7pm (same time Tim passed out on us!), writing in my blog and watching Brainpop.com with Justin on erosion, oceans, shark attacks, minerals, you name it...lots of new movies I haven't seen on there yet. (gotta love http://www.Brainpop.com !)

Time to unwind, slow down the noggin and prepare for bed. We go to bed 8-9pm most nights because Ginny gets up so early...the dog barks wanting to go out, Ginny wakes up, you get the picture.

All in all we had a great family/together day. Thank goodness for days like this....really helps this mama recharge!

Blessings!

Ahhh, a good nights sleep and an AM nap with hubby...

2008-07-26T18:58:00.003-04:00

makes the world of difference for this mama. :) I'm still tired and dragging butt, but at least I got some organizing accomplished today. Found some odd bugs in the Gerbils container of food today and ended up feeling like I had bugs crawling all over me today. :shudder: I know I didn't, but I see one bug and start scratching. Getting ready to put G to bed for the night and then J and I will spend some time together watching some TV together...we record some of his fave shows and watch a few at a time. We need to get back to reading a little every night again...it's some Mom/Son time that only he gets with me.

So, any suggestions on how to get G to stop grunting? We keep trying to teach her signs like drink, eat, hungry, more, again, cookie, milk, mama, dada, brother, etc but she's just not into it. We'll keep it up in hopes it'll sink in, but in the mean time she's frustrated and I'm about to scoop out my eardrums with melonballers.

Did some research into the qualifications of a VA (virtual assistant)....not sure I'm knowledgable enough to do all the parts that most VA's do (like excel, for instance...I'm a total DUNCE!). But I'm working it out....how I can translate being a VA to other things like running errands for local folks too darned busy to pick up and drop off their own drycleaning, pick up the last minute ingredients for a meal, shop for holiday gifts, etc. I dunno, worth thinking about anyhow.

Gotta run...G and J are fighting in the bathroom door....

Friday afternoon and evening (more)...

2008-07-25T20:18:00.002-04:00

It's been a tough day today. I've been unbearably grouchy, spent much of the day frustrated, my kids knew I was cranky (stressed out and not coping with normal daily stuff well) and it showed...Justin ran around like a nut and Ginny screamed half the day.

I'm stressed to the max. It doesn't help that I spent money we don't have (aka on credit) to buy a few things for the house. Tim works so darned hard and I feel like crap for spending a few hundred on some furniture/organization type stuff I wanted (read WANTED not needed) for our family. As a result I've been listing a few things for sale on the local CheapCycle and Craigs List to help offset the costs. When I stress out majorly I tend to shop...aka shopping therapy...only it's an expensive habit. I ordered a queen air mattress that sits up off the floor (we have a Select Comfort mattress that I hate, I hurt so bad in the AM/early afternoon as a result and it's on the floor, no bed frame or anything) (dh and I LOVE the air mattresses!) I ordered two 6-drawer translucent rolling carts to store some of Tim's office stuff in the closet and homeschooling stuff out here in the livingroom. Lastly, I ordered 2 cabinets that have chalkboard fronts on the doors so I can put stuff in there and use a baby-proof cabinet lock so Ginny can't get in there, but J and I can (homeschool stuff, toys with small parts). I'm working on creating a "space" for J and I for homeschooling.

Our couch, TV, and Tim's computer is in J's old bedroom (2nd bedroom), and our school/work/play area is the entire livingroom (the biggest room/part of our 1000 sq ft apt), and Tim sleeps days on the couch and when he's home we sleep on the queen on the floor of the master bedroom, J's twin mattress on the floor to the right of us and Ginny's toddler bed to the left of us. Sometimes J wants to sleep on the futon bed in the livingroom or on "daddy's couch". It works for us, for now. Not sure how well it'll work once Tim goes back to working days in September.

Okay, so I'm stressed out, in a lot of pain, feel like crying, and feel badly for being such a cranky wench to my dh and kids. I just want some time by myself...no kids, no dh, no worries...take a hot bath for as long as I want, read a book if I want to, take a nap, indulge in a little something sweet.

I'm still at 230-232 pounds...I'm not losing but I'm not gaining either. That doesn't really bother me (the weight or how I look as a result of being 5'5" tall and 230 pounds) until I get in a bathing suit and go to our apartment complex's pool (like today)...fortunately only two older ladies were there and they didn't seem to care. :)

Our lease here is up in a year (Aug 2009), so we're stuck living here until it runs out. Housing market is so bad and cost of living so high down here we're having a hard time making ends meet...then of course I go ahead and order stuff we DO NOT need. (argh!). I keep reminding myself that we have food, a roof over our heads, clothing and lots of love. Everything will work itself out.

I want this adoption done and over with already. Ginny will be a year old on Aug 15th and she's still not ours. I can't get our attorney to reply to my e-mails or return my calls, or even get to talk to a secretary. I need to know if Jenn (birth mom) got the letter and if she's sent it back or do I need to phone her, etc, if everything else is good to go for the adoption. We need to get Ginny on our health insurance already. Dr bills, office visits, meds, etc have taken their toll. Not that we'd change a thing, Ginny is OURS in every sense of belonging to our family. She's a WHEELER through and through.

Getting my arse in gear with my quilts...no reply from the lady who inquired about 3 t-shirt quilts for her kids for Christmas gifts. That's a bummer. No money to really spend for marketing and promotion, so doing what I can on my own (business cards, submitting website to search engines for ranking, blogging and MySpace'ing for networking and socialization, links in signature lines everywhere, etc). I've still got the crazy quilttop....haven't really found the RIGHT fabric for the backing and don't want to settle. Friend's mom gave me a lot of high-end decorators fabric...not sure if I'll use that to make REAL curtains for our home or part of my quilts/pet throws. One looks like a tan faux suede...I was thinking about taking that and reupholstering Tim's padded bench....Scottie (dog) and J and G have taken their toll on the cover and there's a nice big tear in it. I think he'd like it if I reupholstered it. Hmmm....need to get upholstery tacks, I do believe....Ace Hardware...perhaps tomorrow?!

I've had one Mountain Dew and 2 candybars to eat all day today. I'm starving, but my tummy is so upset (stress!) that I'm afraid to eat. I went back to my 2 in the AM and 3 in the PM Prozac regimen (as prescribed by my drs)...hoping that will help. In the meantime I'm not sure if I should take something for anxiety or not...probably will if I keep feeling like this.

I didn't cook lunch or even supper tonight...I feel like a dismal failure, yet again, at being a housewife and mom. I know it's the stress and anxiety talking, but still, it doesn't stop the tears from coming. Just a bad day for me, overall, today. Some days are like that. The more stress and anxiety the more pain I experience as part of the FMS....and no pain meds for that...gotta wait until it's unbearable so when I need them later in life they'll work for me (that's my mantra, anyways).

Well, off to see if I can stomach some cereal or something...maybe a freeze pop? Yumm...sounds yummily sweet!

Talk to ya tomorrow!

Friday at last...

2008-07-25T12:08:00.002-04:00

Just another day in the Wheeler household. Ginny was up at 6AM. Ended up getting J up at 7:20AM.

Tim got crummy news at work last night: the guy who was going to retire rescinded his offer and is now staying and keeping his job, which means that A- We moved down to FL and were promised, within 9 months of the start of working for this company, that Tim would get a raise so he'd be making at least as much as he was at his last job in KY, B- He won't be getting the Senior position (which is simply a pay raise), C- there's a raise-freeze so he's not getting what he was promised. Needless to say he's not feeling very loyal to his organization at the moment. He needs to keep this job until the adoption is final, but then plans to look elsewhere. He's an electronic tech with lots of IT experience as well, so he doesn't HAVE to work in the newspaper field, and will most likely make more money if he wasn't in this field. He's upset, frustrated, and disappointed and I can't blame him.

Went to the post office this morning to mail a pkg from an E-bay auction winner, then to deposit $ into the bank to cover Tim's dads plane ticket here in October, returned some movies to Block Buster, got $65- worth of groceries at Sweet Bay, had J put the bills/mail in the mailbox (forgot to do so in the PO), and went home. Then we turned around and went to the pool since it's so warm without being too hot, a light breeze, no bright sun overhead. We were there about 45 minutes and were leaving when the skies opened up and let loose. We got into the apt just as it really let loose. :) Doing laundry, have dishes to do, maybe even take a family nap this afternoon. (hey, I can dream, right?!)

J's rash is still there on his face, but not so bumpy anymore, mostly a raised red rash. Got some cream with hydrocortisone and anti-itch meds in it (he's not itching it, but I don't want to risk him getting it under his fingernails and passing it along...since we don't know what it is, yk?!)

I've decided that this is MY blog and as such I'll write what I want without worrying about who's going to be reading it and if they'll be angry with me or whatever. If I can't express myself here, where the heck CAN I express myself, right?

So, let's start with this: WHY the heck does Ginny (11 month old dd) scream most of the day? Is it a girl thing that she 'objects' to no one looking at her or when I'm in the bathroom and I won't let her in or when she can't reach the dog through the baby gate, yada yada?! Seriously, at this point I'd like to get a melon-baller and scoop my own eardrums out!

And how the heck do I get Justin to stop whining....he's a 9 year old boy, autism yes, but STILL 9 years old. He just knows how to push my buttons. :grrr:

And yes, I understand my patience levels have dropped since dumping many of my meds and lowering my Prozac. I'm wondering if I need to go see my regular (civilian) psych...the VA guy (him being a guy is a problem for me) won't keep me on the 100 mg Prozac/Fluoxetine. Right now I've downed myself to 80mg. :sigh: Gotta make that appointment, I guess. I just hate the co-pays, then the costs of the meds...it's just too much money, ya know?

Well, hot dogs are ready for lunch. G is eating veggie bootie (spinach and kale) and loving it, so now if we can get J to eat them that's 2 more veggies we can get into him. LOL

Until next time!

Yesterday afternoon/evening we

Busy, Busy, BUSY!

2008-07-24T11:19:00.002-04:00

We've had quite a busy few days. From going to friends house to coming home and dealing with all the laundry and settling in, to getting ready for friend to visit only friend isn't coming. :sigh: Disappointed to say the least. I'm seriously stressed out by friend and her situation, and the fact that she's avoiding us again. Crap happens...no need to be embarrassed, just move past it and concentrate on the now and future. Just thinking about the whole situation has had me reaching for Tylenol for my headaches, my dh for love and support, and meds for my anxiety.

Got some shopping done yesterday and again this morning. Got everything but the food. $ is tight, but we really needed to get a few things (non-food items like toilet paper, soap, laundry detergent, clothing for both kids and shorts for dh). We didn't realize how comfortable we'd become with only one kid....add one kidlet to the mix and things are tight. Not that I'm complaining, Ginny is a huge blessing to our family and I wouldn't know what to do without her. But dh working OT all the time so we can keep up with bills sucks, too. I can't wait for the adoption to be done and over with so we can get some $ back from dh's work and in our next years taxes...we need a few chunks of money to pay Ginny's hospital, ER, ER physician, Lab and ambulance bill from when she had a UTI, febrile seizures and stopped breathing about 1.5 months ago. (up to about $3500-4000 at the last tally).

Ginny has been rather cranky of late. I fed her raisins as an experiment to see if she'd react to them...of course she did, but the next day. Poor kiddo! Gas, diarrea, poop that blistered her little buns....so I think raisins (which are dried grapes, so grapes, too?!) are the dietary culprit. Milk and yogurt and cheese don't seem to be bothering her. I do think, but am not positive, that she's cutting a few teeth, or at least she's acting like it. I've got to find those Hyland's Teething tablets...hopefully they'll help.

Justin is doing well. Papaw send some prepaid American Express cards for the kids so they got some clothes as well as a few toys, books, home-school type items. J got a great calculator/cash register that has a scanner that really reads barcodes, though there's no way a pack of gum is $100- in real life, but it toots his horn for sure! And it's got a teeny microphone so he can use it to yell out "spill in aisle 3!". He's SO into money (Rock N Learn Making Change and Money...first viewed it from our public library.....SO worth it!) so we're using the play bills but his real change and he's put the sticker barcodes on several things around the house and sets up a shop and checks out imaginary customers. TOO cute!

J woke up with some kind of rash on his face and forehead and we can't figure out what it is or what/where he might have gotten it from. It started out looking like acne, but it quickly began to all connect. He hasn't been anywhere to get a hold of poison ivy or anything like that. I'm suspecting a food allergy? We've been lucky to get J to try several new foods in the past few weeks. I REALLY need to start a food diary for both kids. Short of doing an elimination diet for each child and starting with very basic foods and adding a new one a week (which would take forever and J would swear he was starving) it doesn't seem realistic for us to try.

Renewed our membership with PPEA (Pinellas Parent Educators Association) and AEI (Alternative Education Instutute) so we can homeschool J under the umbrella school (AEI). Went to WalMart last week and got tons of school supplies...like 1 subject, 70 page, lined notebooks for 5 cents a piece....we got 50-something of them. They MIGHT last us till the end of next summer. Picked up some flash cards so we can drill J about his addition and subtraction (which he does well), and multiplication (which we're doing okay with, but only with numbers up to 12) and division (which we haven't really started yet). We are pretty eclectic homeschoolers and try different things, different methods to get J interested in subjects and topics. From Brainpop.com and Brainpopjr.com to HeadSprout.com, to a million other free printables for homeschoolers, etc, we keep trying new things until we hit on something that works for Justin, for me, and for our family. Lately he's been asking for playmates, but the one little boy that lives near us is pretty mean to Justin...he smacked J in the face two days ago, acts like all of J's stuff is his and bosses J around. Really cheeses dh and I off, but J takes it for a while then blows up in a tantrum and we end up asking the boy to leave. J is autistic, but high functioning. He's at the social level of a 5-6 year old child (he's 9), and at 111 pounds he's a big, strong boy and likes to play rough (he's got sensory issues and really enjoys being squished, getting knocked around, punching his punching bag, me rolling over him, wrapping him up tight like a "mummy" in his blanket, etc. The rougher the better. That really freaks out other parents as well as the kids. Other kids enjoy the rough play but it's hard to get J to stop or ease up a bit if the child(ren) isn't into being THAT rough or want to stop playing rough. Playing with other autties isn't the best for J, either...I once bbsat an auttie boy and they tended to feed off of each others negative behaviors until I had to ask the boys mom to find another sitter for him. Really, J needs an older kid who's okay with rough play and doesn't mind playing with a kid younger than themself. So....how does this mama go about finding her ds a playmate?!

Dh is doing well with his workouts, still at about 210-213 on any given day. Ran sprints this AM. LOVES his new sneakers. His back really bothered him the past few days because we sat around at said friends house for a few days. He had to take pain meds for his workout yesterday, but once he was done his back seemed right as rain again.

In the meantime, I have to write friend an e-mail, write other friend to play catch up, mail a pkg from an E-bay auction winner, get some groceries, figure out how much $ is coming in and how much will be going out in bills so we can figure out how to put aside $ in case J needs to go to the ped for the rash on his head/forehead. Actually, Ginny isn't sick, but I'd like to get her in for her 1 year well child visit so we can get height, weight, stats, etc. Still no vax's, not until at least 2-4 years of age...want her to have an immune system and be past the "autism" scare stage (18-24 months with the vaccinations).

Oh, and Ginny is a baby BLING lover! Made some anklets for her a few days ago...she loves them and I love that she can't get them off but I can get them on and off easily...this way she can't chew the wooden beads off. :)

Until next time!

Long and hopefully POSITIVE weekend....

2008-07-21T12:32:00.002-04:00

We helped a friend this weekend, and hopefully her parents as well. I can't tell you how IMPORTANT it is to communicate. If you have something to say, SAY IT, don't sugar coat it, just SAY IT! I have a feeling a lot more communicating will be going on and we hope positive changes will be the outcome. Send some prayers their way, will ya?

Left Fri, got back yesterday. We stopped to see P and Dad on the way home. It's always great to see them, but I know my dad just needs to pop a valium or something before we get there. He's always well behaved, LOL, but I know how he is (very much OCD) and it makes him a wee nervous to have an autistic grandson running around the house and a newly walking baby toddling around on their tile floors. Dad's getting old, 67...he looks great, but you can tell his body is starting to tell him he can't do manual labor anymore. (yes, he's 67 and had more accidents and surgeries than even I can remember and he's STILL doing hard labor for a job!). He's the type of guy that the minute he stops working and lays down, his body will probably give up and he'll die. So he refuses to go down easily and will work, probably, until the day he dies. (which I pray isn't for a long, LONG time!). P is always a breath of fresh air...and it's nice to talk to other adults with good heads on their shoulders. It's hard to see our parents get older, though.

J got to do a few hours of swimming this weekend. Even G got in her baby float with the sun shade and kicked around in the smaller part of the pool for about an hour. Great times with friends and family, glad we got to see everyone.

I was contacted recently to do some quilts for a woman for her children...for holiday gifts. I'm VERY excited at the prospect of a custom order, but nervous at the same time. I remember being so nervous with every order I made with Justin's Buttons (cloth diapers, etc) and Auntie Stacy's Afghan's & More...to make things positively PERFECT is my goal, always, and a tiny flaw will make me nuts so I've learned to take my time and get everything right...I can remember writing and rewriting my grocery lists because I didn't like how a particular word looked, or a letter didn't come out perfect. (uhmm, yeah, OCD? You bet!) Thank goodness I've learned to let some things go.

On the way to our friends house T and I did a lot of talking. It's amazing that even after almost 13 years we can still discover something new about one another. I have a great husband...he'd do anything for me, including losing, literally, 2 days sleep to help our friend. I'm so lucky! ;)

J had a super language day on Saturday (using words like Typhoon). In case you didn't realize, J is 9 and has autism, as well as SID (sensory integration dysfunction disorder). So having a "GREAT" day is super fantastic where J is concerned!

I believe Ginny is officially a walker...walks everywhere, although if it's too far she'll still resort to crawling. And I think she's cutting some more teeth (she has 4 on top and 4 on bottom at 11 months old and has had them for about 5-6 months now?!)....she's biting on everything SO hard as if trying to relieve some pressure in her mouth.

Still settling from our weekend away. Doing laundry, cleaning out the fridge, catching up on e-mails and snail mail.

Well, that's all I have to report for now. Keep in touch everyone! SO glad to see my niece and friend from when I was growing up on my "friends" list on my MySpace page! (can you tell I'm a newbie at the blogging and MySpace thing?! LOL)

Til next time!

Website has been updated!

2008-07-17T07:14:00.002-04:00

It took me a few days but I think it's good to go now. I re-took many pictures to make them clearer and kept them large enough to see details of the work-mom-ship. Check it out and let me know what you think! http://www.HomeSewnbyStacy.com

Justin did 6 worksheets yesterday of addition and he FLEW through them! It's amazing how quickly he learned his math with Rock N Learn videos. He loves to sing the songs and it helps him remember his math facts. He's currently watching Rock N Lean Phonics and he's getting a lot of practice saying the different sounds letters can make...ow, ou, oi and oy, etc.

Ginny is officially a walker now...she's been furniture walking for months but is now walking up to 7 steps on her own. We have to keep an eye on her as she's still a little uncoordinated and tends to trip over her own feet. She's ALSO a climber! She's been climbing into her high chair, onto the couch, and onto J's bed. It's scary because she gets so close to falling yet rarely falls. It's enough to give me a coronary before breakfast! LOL

Tim's back to work. His sleep schedule is all messed up again, but he seems to be doing okay. At the moment he's on his way home from work and will hit the gym before coming home.

Hoping my bff, Jen, will be visiting this coming Sunday. Haven't seen her in far too long. She's finally got a back surgery date set, Aug 5th. So if you have any PP&T to spare on the 5th, please send them her way!

I was given an idea by Nancy B. at http://www.AmityMama.com to make coaster sized samples of my work so folks can see the quality of my work before spending the money on an entire quilt. It's a great idea and I'm going to hand quilt them as well. It should be fun! (and thanks for the idea, Nancy!)

Ginny is yelling at me so I've got to get out of the baby-gated area into the "free to roam" zone and spend some floor time with her. She's so cute!

Until next time!

Wow..a wild few days!

2008-07-15T18:38:00.003-04:00

After taking dairy out of Ginny's diet for about a week (with a few minor slips on my part) I decided to give her a sippy cup with milk (cows milk) in it and check out her behavior afterwards....a few things I noticed is that yes, she gets gas, but it's not as bad as it was a few weeks ago. So I'm guessing that there are a few gassy culprits that could be the problem including raisins and brocolli (she LOVES brocolli!)....not sure what else, but she does have episodes of extreme crankiness that seem to go away after a bit of tooting. :) We tried soy milk and I tried it, too....ick! I guess you could get used to it, but I'll stick to cows milk, thank you.

Got the washer fixed this morning...apparently little things like head bands and baby socks can go over the top of the washer and down into the drum where they gum up the pump...our pump was totally blown. Fortunately the repair was covered by the original manufacturers warranty, or we'd be out at least $150 for the part itself. I've done quite a few loads of laundry and I'm down to just one load left to wash, on in the washer, and one in the dryer. :phew:

Drove into Tampa on Sunday and when we got there (were going to the New Balance store in the WestShore Mall) we found out the mall didn't open until noon, and THEN the store didn't carry the model # Tim wanted (903 or 757, Men's 10.5 wide). And I went to call my Uncle B and realized his number wasn't on my cell phone. :sigh: Looks like I'll be missing Uncle J this trip...perhaps he'll be back again soon?!

Scottie got his hair cut today. We hadn't realized how matted he'd gotten in his arm/leg pits, so to speak. He's neurotic about anyone touching his legs/paws so they had a rather difficult time getting him shaved down. He looks cute with a shorter mustache/beard and eyebrow hair, like a little puppy, really! Hard to believe this pup is going to be 7 this fall! Talking to the groomer, she told us that we should probably bring Scottie in to be groomed more often so that he gets used to being groomed (I doubt that! LOL), but it'll keep any matting to a bare minimum because there won't be hair long enough to get matted.

The VUE is still leaking, even after Tim put in some sealant. :sigh: We have a flooded front floorboard again. Tim thinks we may be able to order the part from Saturn and install it ourselves (our VUE is 5 years old this past May and paid off, so of course the warranty is expired).

Been working on the website http://www.HomeSewnbyStacy.com after getting some honest feedback from the wonderful ladies at http://www.AmityMama.com and have been changing colors to match the new logo and banners Jami made for me, taking new pictures of the quilts I have done and are ready for sale...picture quality and lighting was an issue before, hopefully I've fixed it. Haven't published the updated site to the actual website yet, (use Microsoft Publisher) but will do so when I've completed it. I hope it stops raining so I can take a few things outside for pictures soon! Also trying to streamline the website content and show more closeups of my work (mitered edges, sewn borders, hand ties, etc).

Vacuumed today and moved around some stuff so I could get to the entire carpet in our 2 bedrooms and livingroom and I'm ready to cry my hips/knees and ankles hurt so darned bad! Damned Fibromyalgia! I'm sure cutting down on my meds to just fluoxetine and propranolol didn't help all that, but the side effects of all those meds were beginning to be just as bad as the problems they were trying to help. Talking to Tim, I go off all the "extra" meds and keep to the bare minimum, if that, and then feel great for about a year (after all the meds are out of my system) and then I go back to hurting like heck again and the docs start adding meds back into my daily diet. :sigh: Without the fluoxetine (Prozac) I feel like all I do is yell and that's not who I want to be, so I will keep taking that. The propranolol is a high blood pressure med, but since we haven't been able to determine if the headaches I'm having are causing me pain and therefore raising my bloodpressure or if my blood pressure is going up and I'm getting a headache because of that...it's sort of a catch 22. Fortunately, nothing conclusive showed up on my Holter monitor (heart monitor you wear for a week), so no damage there. Back on the propranolol and my headaches have practically disappeared. UNLESS we go to play racquetball on Sunday mornings (our usual) then I get a killer headache that lasts for two days...but I think that's a muscular thing with my neck and shoulders. :shrug:

Well, off to snag a piece of cheesecake...yumm!!

Until tomorrow, then!

Ahhh, Saturday!

2008-07-12T17:12:00.002-04:00

Ginny was up between 9 and midnight, so didn't get too much sleep. She woke up at 6AM and proceeded to scream bloody murder, which woke J and I up. J wasn't too happy about that and had a meltdown early and ended up taking a few minutes quiet time in the bedroom by himself.

Got some organic soy milk for Ginny today...she doesn't tolerate dairy products well (not sure if it's a sensitivity to lactose, casein, dairy products themselves, allergy, etc), so tried soy milk today....it's gross and she won't drink it either. Hates it. Instead dumps it all over herself so she doesn't have to drink it. We have half a gallon so we'll keep trying over the next few days. She'll be off of formula in a month (which is milk-based yet doesn't bother her?!), so we need to find a healthy alternative. She eats meats (chicken, turkey, doesn't like ham, LOVES eggs), love veggies and fruits, also loves yogurt and ice cream, but gets an upset/gassy tummy with them. She isn't a picky eater and has eaten things I won't even eat (avocado). Any suggestions on other healthy foods that take the place of the dairy products she's not getting, nutrient-wise? Ginny didn't take an afternoon nap and it shows with her behavior.

Justin has completed 2 phonics lessons today to "earn" a toy he picked out this AM at CVS. He did the phonics lessons and broke the toy in under 1/2 an hour. McDonald's was a treat for him today. Next time we go he'll be getting apple slices instead of french fries. I know those fries are yummy, but J and I aren't skinny and we need to be more careful about what we eat. We review the food pyramid, food groups, and healthy food choices on a regular basis. We praise him for making good food choices without our prompting. We're getting there, one baby step at a time. He ate his FIRST family meal last night....he ate the same chicken, noodles and green beans Tim and I did...that's the first time he's done that with a home cooked meal in his whole life (food texture/color/smell issues...it's an autism/SID thing).

Listed 2 more items at our Home Sewn by Stacy ETSY shop http://www.HomeSewnbyStacy.etsy.com

Don't forget to check out our quilts for sale in the shop as well as on the website at http://www.HomeSewnbyStacy.com

My student loans are coming due soon and I need to contribute to our family income while staying home with the kids, homeschooling J and being the stay at home mom/wife. I may have to try something else to add to our income while building up our quilting biz. We also need to brainstorm new products for our shop/site to add variety. I've been told I'm pricing the items too low and therefore making them seem as though they could be cheaply made or something. That's not the case but I have found that when doing the financial analysis I have under-priced my items. But for now it'll do until I have more business and get custom orders which are priced on time and materials involved.

Listed a bunch of stuff on our local Freecycle this afternoon. How come ONE person e-mails to claim 6 to 9 posts of items, none of it related? Is this normal? Or can one person use specific sized women's clothing, bras, shoes, romance books, baby items, boys sneakers, socks and shorts, and kitchen items. Hmmm....

Got some cute pics of the kids on the digicam today. Will try to upload them soon and post them here so everyone can see my cute kids. :)

Well, almost time to get Tim up for work...time for supper for the kids and dh. Talk to you tomorrow!
Until then!

Ahhh, FRIDAY at last!

2008-07-11T11:52:00.003-04:00

At least for most folks. Just another day for us here. Our days off are typically Sunday morning/afternoon and all day Tuesday (when dh is off of work).

Phoned Maytag this morning. They're sending out a tech on Tuesday morning to check out our problem. In the meantime I have a tub full with 2 laundry baskets overflowing with wet laundry. Hopefully it'll be okay until Tuesday because HOPEFULLY the tech will locate and fix the problem (and hopefully it'll be under their 1 year limited parts and labor warranty).

My sis, Nancy, who lives less than 5 minutes away (would like to see more of her!) is working full time and going back to school to be a hairdresser. Our older sis, Wendy, is also a hairdresser. I wonder if I left Nanc a message that J needs a haircut (not expecting freebies!) and if she's ready to practice (aka does she need a guinea pig?!) lmk. I'm so proud of her...got out of a bad relationship, bought her own condo, the place is picture perfect, belongs in a magazine. And she has the BIGGEST cats I've ever seen! (Posh and ???). Anyhow, just wanted to put it "out there" that I'm proud of her. :)

J's back to watching School House Rocks. Ginny is on the floor about to break through the babygated area (we're gated in, she has the run of the house) and she's a lot happier today. Gas makes the girly real cranky, apparently. The pup (Scottie, our 6? year old mini schnauzer) goes for a haircut on Tuesday, which he needs desperately...can't even SEE his eyes! So back to a super short summer schnauzer cut for Scottie (also known as Scoots). Gerbils got a great habitat cleaning late yesterday and lots of timothy hay...they're safely holed up inside a chewed up box sleeping. (Trick and George, 2 male gerbils).

Have a pile of stuff to go through and list on the local Freecycle http://www.freecycle.org in hopes that someone will want it so I don't feel like a bone head for buying this stuff and now that we don't need it, need to get rid of it (thinning out our household STUFF....feeling a little penned in by the amount of junk we have!).

That's it so far, and it's only noon. Off to make lunch for my kidlets.

Until next time!

An INCH of water in the laundry room?

2008-07-10T17:25:00.002-04:00

Want to talk about PANICKING! I even woke Tim up (works nights)...we've had to listen for the spin cycle of our washer and then lift up the lid, hold it open a few seconds and then close it again for the spin cycle to kick in. Today I did a load and all the water drained out of the bottom of the washing machine....I had to mop it up and then Tim asked if I'd tried to put it on a spin cycle to spin the water out and through the drain (obviously I had NOT)...so I woke him up for nothing because I was a dunce and panicked instead of using my head. Fortunately, at least I think so, I thought to shut off the water at the spigots so at least no new water was draining out of the washer.

For the record, it's an Amana 3.2 cu ft top load washer model # NTW5245TQ. We bought it at Lowe's in February. The spin cycle problem started about 3 months after we got it (late May). Fortunately for me, the paperwork pack rat I saved the receipt and the books and tomorrow I'll be able to call them (Maytag) and there's 1 year parts and labor warranty on the washer so hopefully whatever the problem is that'll fix it. *crossing fingers*

Now, it's almost 5:30pm, J is hungry, G is munching on Craisins and hollering because she's full of hot air (aka gas!)...what to cook for dinner? I'm tempted to call Mikey's Pizza and get an XL pizza delivered. Alas, gotta get sneaks for the dh so perhaps pizzas in the toaster oven? LOL

So much for todays drama...

Payday!

2008-07-10T13:14:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is payday, thank goodness. Went grocery shopping today with a small list and still walked out with $200- of groceries...mostly meat and produce. Thankfully we didn't have to buy any non-food items like diapers, wipes, soap, etc, so that saved us a bit.

I think on Sunday we'll head to Tampa to some Westshore something or other mall where there's a New Balance store so Tim can get some appropriate running shoes. Running 8 or so miles every other day does a number on a guys feet, I can tell you. There are, apparently, running shoes/sneakers designed for people who run on the balls of their feet, aka the heel, more than a normal runner. Hopefully these sneakers will take care of all of those issues for him. He's down to 210 this morning...just FIVE pounds away from his goal of 205 pounds. When he hits 205 pounds he plans to add weight lifting and other muscle toning exercises to his workout repetoire (sp?!).

Justin is working on phonics lesson #72 at the moment...he did 71 earlier today to "earn" the jacks and ball set he picked out at Sweet Bay. He's busy working on lesson 72 to earn a piece of candy. :shrug: Whatever works! I've got a 9 year old autistic boy who is a READER! I think that is fantastic!!!

Ginny's been screeching bloody murder again today, including in the grocery store. Not sure what that's all about, but I'm hoping a little extra one on one play time with her (and I) will help settle her down. She's calm at the moment.

Got to talk to my best bud up north, R, this morning. It was good talking to her. I miss R and her family, and wish I'd gotten to meet her dh and kids before now...well, someday they'll do the Disney thing, I'm sure and we'll see them then when they're here in FL. R, positive thoughts and prayers for the urologist appt for G and much strength to you about P's move!

J, my other best friend down here in FL, I spoke with her, too. She's okay, but having a lot of back pain. Hopefully the visit with the surgeon on Monday will help get the surgery lined up and get it done and over with already. Once J's back is fixed I'm confident she'll be feeling better and up to getting out and about again. We miss you, J!

We're currently trapped in our apartment...they painted the "foyer" outside of our apt and we can't walk on it for a bit. At least it'll look brand spanking new! :) I don't know, however, what the maintenance woman did with J's handprint concrete garden stone, though. :eeks:

I FINALLY finished the book, VERY good! I'm still stalling on the patchwork quilt because I realize it's not what I want to do at the moment. I've been gathering fabric and putting it back for a few days now trying to determine which fabrics I want to use to make another crazy quilt/wall hanging. They are a lot of work, but man do they look great when they're done! $ permitting, I may hit up JoAnn's on Sunday (with their flier and coupon) to pick up some more fabric that suit my mood at the moment so I can get started on ny newest creation.

Now, to get up my courage and call my Uncle B about Uncle J coming to Tampa for the weekend and meeting up with them to see Uncle J before he heads back to ME.

Until next time!

Walked quite a bit today...

2008-07-09T14:56:00.000-04:00

J, G & I went for a walk through our apartment complex (quite large and we live all the way in the very back!) to get the mail, and then, feeling brave, we pushed beyond our comfort zone and kept on walking right out of the complex, down the road, took a right and walked down past the fire department, then turned around and walked back past our road and took a left and basically walked around the block, well, several, but we cut down one street to check out our neighbors and wow...there are a lot of rentals that really need some work nearby.

On the way back J took a quick detour and swam for a few minutes in the complex pool. G and I weren't exactly appropriately dressed for swimming so we cheered J on swimming from the shallow to the deep end and back again...he was racing Polliwag, or was it Poliwhirl? (Pokemon).

We came back home, G went down for a nap and J did a phonics lesson. Afterwards we went to one of the local malls where we walked and walked and walked some more. We weren't looking for anything, just getting out of the house, thank goodness it's practically next door (we could walk there in about 10-15 minutes). J decided he was hungry so I sprung for Wendy's and he had nuggets, fries and fruit punch. Ginny chomped down some Cheerios and downed her grape juice for lunch. I had a rootbeer...one of those things I love, but not if I have it all the time. More walking and then we hit the highway and went in search of a book store. Barnes and Noble, to be exact. We spent about an hour and a half in there. I wish we had tons of money because we'd have shelves and shelves of books. I was looking for a 3rd grade workbook for J, but they had all the grades BUT 3rd grade. :shrug: But we spent some $34 bucks there anyways and walked away with a Wall-E sticker book, a book about Ancient Greece, another about Ancient Rome, a Pokemon book with a poster in it and a cloth book for G that we found on the clearance table.

Now, here we are, back at home. J did three more phonics lessons http://www.headsprout.com and his next one is 71, and there's only 80 lessons. :) So he's getting there! I've been reading to him each night from his Pokemon book of choice and he looks forward to the one on one time with me since G is already in bed for the night and Tim has left for work already.

I'm starving...off to warm up some beans and rice...may add a wee bit of mozzarella cheese for some extra flavor. Yumm!

Yet another day in the life of this Wheeler Family!

Our VUE has a leak....

2008-07-08T15:05:00.000-04:00

And by leak I mean that there's a leak from a cracked plastic piece on the roof above the front passenger door where the metal ended up rusting a bit and the past few times it's rained we get rainwater all over the floorboard of the front seat. It's been raining cats and dogs here in the afternoons...a dozen toddler sized cloth diapers didn't absorb all the water on the passenger side floorboard, never mind that we discovered the drivers side floorboard was soaked, too. A little clear sealer, thumbprints on the trim of the truck in said sealer (it's like a glue or caulk), and Justin even put his finger in it. What fun that was first thing this morning! So how do you dry out the floorboard of a VUE? No shopvac. Dh suggests going to the local carwash and using their vacuum....but I don't imagine those are meant to suck up water?! Ideas?

Tim had the whole day off today...which has been nice. We had a few movies we'd been waiting to watch until he was off and we got to watch them today. Ginny has been a seriously curious babe....she's so cute to watch her mind work such as when her little wrist makes the movements to unscrew a cap from a bottle only she doesn't have the strength to open it. (she'll be 11 months old on July 15th!) Justin has discovered how to make equal equations such as 7 x 4 = 20 + 8 he's run through half a pack of index cards he's so excited to show us his newest accomplishments! He's been stalling on his HeadSprout reading program lately, so I'll make an extra effort to get him to do at least 3 lessons this week and then work on what he's learned so he'll feel confident for the next few lessons. http://www.headsprout.com

A fellow Amity Mama http://www.amitymama.com , Adria and her family have a little girl named Serenity that is 22 months old and was discovered less than 2 months ago as having leukemia. I played catch up with their blog yesterday and found myself crying...she's lost most of her hair but loves her new bald head. How cute and courageous is that?! And my 9 year old ds is whining about not having enough crayons or something (and he's got a few hundred, literally!). Adria and family (and especially little Serenity) our thoughts and prayers are with you for a super speedy and full recovery! If you need anything, be sure to let us Amity Mama's know...we love to feel useful!
Read Serenity's story here: http://www.liftingupserenity.com/

It rained cats and dogs yesterday, early evening, as I wrote above. Justin saw how hard it was coming down and nearly begged me to let him go outside and play in the rain. I'm a play in the rain kind of gal myself so understood his need to do so...he spent about 10 minutes or so outside with just shorts on, barefeet, no t-shirt. He would spin around singing "I love the rain!" and splash and stomp in the deep puddles, running from one puddle to the next. It was so sweet to watch. The upstairs neighbors came home and the woman (grandmotherly) said I was a cool mom for letting Justin do that. LOL Apparently on the way home from work her and her dh were talking about seeing it raining, running to put on their bathing suits and playing in the rain...then they come home to find Justin doing the very same thing. I have to admit, if it weren't for me needing to be somewhat dry to care for Ginny I would have joined him. Justin had SO much fun and was SO happy for those few moments. It's rare that folks realize now that J is autistic. He's mostly "normal" except when it comes to social situations like picking his nose at the table in a restaurant. :rolleyes: Although I guess that could be attributed to him being a boy, no?! LOL

Missing my friend Jen in Alva, FL. She's waited FAR too long to visit us. She's having a hard time after being hit by a careless driver and being on a forced vacation while awaiting a date for back surgery. If you have any prayers or positive thoughts to spare, would you mind sending a few her way? (thanks!)

Tim's doing well with his working out and keeping his back pain at bay. At 212 pounds (from 260?) he thinks he's ready to start toning up by lifting weights, doing situps and pushups. Me? I hate excercise. Probably the reason I'm still in the 230's (ahem, 232 from 250, thank you very much!)...that and I'm a sugar addict. Ate a bowl of cocoa pebbles for breakfast and a bowl of icecream for lunch. I suppose I'd better load up on veggies and beans and rice for supper.

Oops! Ginny is up from her afternoon nap...gotta run! Until next time, folks!

The day after the day after....

2008-07-06T18:29:00.000-04:00

J and I watched the 4th of July fireworks from our little lanai. He was so happy to see them, hear them, and I was SO proud that he finally understood what the 4th was all about.

We got to sleep in until about 7:20 AM this morning....G is usually up around 5-6 am-ish. Justin would probably sleep until 9am if we let him. :) Tim came right home from work, we got dressed and went to play racquetball. I think I hurt my back, I have a little twinge in my lower back and my whole left leg (mostly my hip and knee) have been bothering me a lot, and playing racquetball tends to aggravate it. But we had fun. J walked laps around the court while T and I played...G sat in her stroller eating Cheerios and drinking from her sippy cup.

I'm still hemming and hawing about finishing the lap quilt as well as reading my book. Although I did get a LOT of work done in the house the past two days...cleaned the kitchen top to bottom, thinned out our stuff, scrubbed, etc. You ever feel claustrophobic because there seems to be too much stuff in your home? That's how I'm feeling at the moment. I hate having a small storage building that's packed to the ceiling with stuff....I hate STUFF. I'd rather start out with a few pieces of furniture and when and if we needed something finding it then. We have this MONSTER 10' long desk for J and I to share at the moment, but I wish it was smaller, but the smaller table we have is too small.

So, right now we're just thinning out our belongings, yet again. We've all lost weight and are going through our clothing for items to donate to Good Will or to Freecycle http://www.freecycle.org
990 sq feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, a big livingroom, a galley kitchen...and we still don't have a kitchen table and chairs (nor do we have anywhere to put one!) LOL....feel free to post a comment or two with some suggestions and links on home organization, living more simply and with less. We need all the help we can get. :)

Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T11:53:00.000-04:00

I hope it's sunny and warm wherever you and yours are celebrating Independence Day today!

Tim zonked out by 10:30 this morning (works nights) and J had a hard time falling asleep again last night. Wondering if we need to keep Melatonin on hand for those sort of nights. Ginny woke up with gas again. Read that if a kiddo is lactose intolerant that giving them yogurt with live cultures helps increase the lactase in their digestive system helping them digest lactose in dairy products better. Well obviously that's not the case. I think we're going to nix dairy completely for at least a week and see what happens. In the meantime we need to get some gas drops or something for G so she's not so uncomfortable.

Reworked and updated our household notebook last night and this morning...a million addresses, e-mails and phone numbers that were outdated and I had a pile of them waiting to be put into the book. :sigh: I've GOT to work on getting us back on the weekly menu and shopping list kick again. We end up with food, but nothing we can use by itself. I also need to get more creative. I think I'll make a bigger batch of rice and beans so I can munch on it all week rather than grabbing a quick snack from the pantry.

STILL haven't finished my book yet, but am more than half way through. Normally I can sit down and read a book like that in a few hours, but I just don't seem to have the time to read it through, so I'm choosing to not read it at all. No sense reading 2 pages and forgetting what they were by the time I get back to the book.

Nothing planned for us today. Though I did make potato salad yesterday and I plan to make corn on the cob and hot dogs for supper tonight.

Justin is LOVING his Kids Popular Mechanics videos we got from the library. Submarines, electricity....he's soaking it all up like a sponge. Thank GOODNESS for homeschooling!

I'm off to clean up the kitchen and push through a few more loads of laundry. Wishing you and yours a fabulous, safe and happy 4th of July!!

11:14AM EST and already done grocery shopping....

2008-07-03T11:19:00.000-04:00

thank goodness. I didn't realize that dh would be paid today since tomorrow is Independence Day/4th of July. And then when I thought about going grocery shopping the day before, well, I don't do well with crowds and typically end up feeling overwhelmed and anxious...not good with a baby and an autistic kiddo along for the trip.

Why is it that FRESH produce is more expensive than frozen or canned, which has been processed and canned or frozen? Wouldn't it cost more to do all that processing and packaging for produce than it would if you just put it in a farmers market stand or local grocery produce dept and let folks get what they want? :sigh: I big chunk of our grocery bill went towards dairy, meat and produce...we rarely shop in the middle aisles so we don't get junk.

Ginny was a good little kiddo despite being tired and it being past her nap time. Justin saw the display at the front of the store with pictures of soldiers in uniform and I explained to him that it was because of people like those soldiers (and like his daddy) that we have the freedom to make our own choices about what color shirt to wear, what to eat for breakfast, and whether to go to the beach or stay home. Then I explained about Independence Day aka 4th of July and since he's a HUGE School House Rock fan he understood immediately. (we own all the DVD's, computer games, even the cd with music....he memorizes the stories and songs and wahlah! Instant understanding after a brief conversation with his daddy or me). http://www.school-house-rock.com/

Ginny is down for her morning nap, J is begging for me to put the school house rock "unofficial" website on his computer so he can listen to the songs over and over and over again. :) Gotta love him for his persistence!

Thinking about calling my Uncle B. to see if he'll pick J, G and I up Sat before picking up Uncle J at the airport so we can hitch a ride with him to the family reunion. I'd like to go, but can't justify spending that much $ on gas at the moment, as well as the whole not being able to take the truck because Tim needs it to get to work. Hmmm...not sure. I haven't spoken to my Uncle B since my little brother died. I'm not very close to my mums side of the family. I'm not close to my dad's side of the family, either, for that matter. If it wasn't a Sat night dh would take off, but he can't because he's the only one in his dept working Sat nights at the moment. Oye!

Down to 231 today, from 250 in February. I put on a recently purchased pair of size 24 shorts this AM before heading out and they kept falling off so I don't think I'll be wearing those again any time soon. Tim, of course, has lost about 45 pounds since Feb and looks FAB U LOUS! Only problem is that he needs new clothes that fit! LOL Justin went from 117 to 109, but gained back a few pounds (2) after going off his meds a month and half ago.

Ah well...yet ANOTHER day in the life of the Wheeler clan!

Have a wonderful and SAFE Independence Day- 4th of July celebration!

Milk intolerance and gas in a baby?

2008-07-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

Poor Ginny was awake and screaming bloody murder around 9:30pm last night. I strongly suspect a milk or rice allergy/sensitivity. I gave her about 1/3 cup of milk with lunch yesterday. Either way, we're adding gripe water to our grocery list for Friday. I'm not sure if it's the rice or the milk, but she's had both in the past 2 days. I let her try milk or rice every month or so to see if she's still reacting to it and obviously I should have spaced the milk and rice apart a few more days. Why is it she reacts to milk and yogurt but not cheese? Anyhow, she's had a milk and rice free day today, hoping we have no more gas problems today or tonight.

My Uncle J. is coming down from ME to visit family on the east coast of FL...can't make it to the b-day party for gramps on the 5th as Tim is working. It's at least a 2.5 hour drive each way and there's no way I'd be back in time for Tim to get to work on time. I'm hoping Uncle J. comes back to the west coast with Uncle B. so we can pop on over to Tampa to see him before he heads back to ME (Tampa is just 30 or so minutes away).

So, since Tim is working we won't be doing much for the July 4th holiday or the weekend. LOVE the holiday weekend...it's for barbecues, family, friends and fireworks displays. It's the folks that get their own fireworks that scare the ribbons out of me. Hopefully Scottie won't be TOO terrorized by them this year (Scottie is our 6 or so year old mini schnauzer).

Oh, Jami from imajworks made me a new logo and 2 banners. Visit her here:
http://imaj-works.smugmug.com/photos/311847743_6QuZp-S.jpg
SUPER creative gal. She's a fellow Amity Mama http://www.amitymama.com/ Check out the website for the new logo (top right of each page) and animated banner (at the bottom of the home page). http://homesewnbystacy.com/

Didn't get to finish my book yesterday, but hope to get more read tonight when the kids are in bed.

Another day in the Wheeler household...

Why oh WHY does he fight taking a bath?

2008-07-01T07:33:00.000-04:00

Why is it J won't take a bath or shower? Yes, he's 9 years old. It is literally like trying to get a large dog into the bathroom (remember those AFV videos of the dog holding onto the sides of the door frame so he wouldn't have to go in the bathroom and get a bath?!)....only ONCE you get J IN the bathtub he's in there for at least an hour, or more. Does J just ENJOY the "battle" so to speak? As I type he's been in the bathtub about 40 minutes now. Just laying in there, spacing out, relaxing. Can't blame him for that...everyone needs some down time.

Ginny, on the other hand, LOVES taking a bath. And she splashes and gets so much water on the bathroom floor that when I mop up all the water my bathroom floor is freshly cleaned (again!).

And what the heck is it with boys missing the potty? Is this a little boy thing? Will he outgrow it? I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to potty and sat in his pee. :shudder: Almost as bad as sitting down and feeling that cold porcelain hitting your arse because you didn't check to see that the toilet seat was in the down position. LOL

I've got a book I want to finish today...Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy. So far so good, not really a romance novel, but about all those lives surrounding a mystical St. Ann well and the road that could destroy it should it be built through that location.

Weighed in at 233 pounds even this AM. Breakfast? Meds and a tall glass of water. Still running short on groceries...not sure what J will eat for breakfast....but I think I can convince him it's time for some "teddy bear toast" (aka toast with a wee bit of butter and then the cinnamon/sugar mix in the little shaker we had when we were kids!).

Dh is working OT again today. Hopefully this'll mean two big paychecks...which we need to pay our bills as well as pay down some credit card debt. :shrug: Pay comes in, $ goes out. That's the way it goes here in the Wheeler Household. (though we're doing better than we have been in a long time!).

Gas is killing us....our Saturn VUE gets much better MPG than our Saturn wagon did, yet we're still dumping almost $50- a week into the gas tank. Dh said something about there being a new oil reserve found in Colorado that is supposedly bigger than the one in Saudi? I'll have to google it later and get the scoop for myself.

Have a great day!

Just another day...

2008-06-30T14:54:00.000-04:00

Today is just another day, like any other. Dh is at work getting in some overtime. Justin is acting up and is mad at ME for him getting his "Robot Wars" shows taken from him. Ginny is wanting to be attached to my hip 24/7 and I'm all touched out. Payday is this coming Friday and we're low on groceries...time to get creative. Thank goodness for Hillbilly Housewife's website! http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index.htm

Did some cleaning and rearranging in the livingroom this morning. Gave J the bigger desk, although I'll take an end for my laptop. The little table is now just a sewing table for me.

I've got a quilt in the making but haven't felt up to working on it today. It's going to end up about 70" by 70" in size, 6" blocks, patchwork quilt....a lap quilt, if you will. It's great, made with many different colors and patterns. I finished my crazy quilt yesterday, but need to hit JoAnn's for batik fabric for the backing....it's so great I hate to give it up. But as I wrote at AM, I'd be a crummy business-woman if I kept everything I made and didn't sell a thing! Revamped the website before I even officially opened for business. Listed several quilts, security blankets, a pet blanket, etc for sale.
http://www.HomeSewnbyStacy.com