Had To Add This....

I found this link, apparently written by Basil Marceaux.  Read if you dare..or if you can......

BASIL MARCEAUX FOR GOVERNOR

Anyone who can translate it, please leave me a comment!  Make sure you read all the way down to "Things of Important"  and "Things I done for my citizens".

I just can't stop laughing over this....

GO Basil!

1st Sale!!

Yay!  I sold a block! 

I was told to do a block with butterflies and make it pink.  Going quite this pink was a bit of a challenge for me, but I think it turned out pretty well!

Politics

I'm not much of a political person, but I'm so hitting the polls to vote for this guy!  He's inspired me to run for the next election.

New Addition

Not a baby!  What is wrong with ya'll?!?  New addition to the bucket list.  :)  Read about it here:

Mirrored Treehouse

Initiations and Sharing

I got initiated into motherhood today.  And Eric learned to share.


Matthew threw up all over me.

It is now 1am and I am waiting to wash and dry 3 loads of laundry and then make my bed. 

I'm not eating any more food this week.   I know I'm next.

Fruit chart

I found this fruit chart to help you guys out!  :)  I really am gonna blog soon about the whole food change....

Flies!

And the Bottom Drops Out....

Eric is better - 100% I believe.  And it's a good thing too, since we had to deal with the news that John's full time position was given to someone else before he could fill out the paperwork.  He was given another full time position - 4 night shifts, then 4 days off.  There's no chance for him to get overtime, which now cuts our salary in half.  No more house hunting.  No more birthday planning.  Vacation days won't be an option nearly as often since he plans on trying to get hired in another county and working on those days off to make up the difference we are losing in salary.  I am so disheartened.  John works SO hard.  He always has.  Why can't he catch a break?  Why is he treated so poorly everywhere he works?  Overworked and underpaid and no closer to his dream of becoming a nurse.  He's put his time in.  When does it pay off?  It's weighs heavy on my heart that the kids and I partially stand in his way of achieving his dreams.  If he didn't have us to worry about, he could easily finish school.  He could be anything he wanted to be.  But he puts us first and works hard to make sure we are provided for.  I've tried concocting plans that would alleviate that stress from him, but I don't have the money-making potential he has and if I do go to work and put the kids in the care of someone else, that will eat up my whole paycheck.  I don't know what to do.  I don't where else to go to look for jobs.  He needs a job where he can work nights or flexible hours enough to go to school.  A job that would pay him to go to school while allowing him to maintain his job would be tops.  Me, being able to get at least a part time position as a transcriber at home would help.  I am so discouraged and so tired of watching John wear himself out.  I want so badly for the skies to open up and for every blessing to fall on him.  I want him to be happy so bad.  I feel so heartbroken and helpless to make a difference.

I know God is taking care of us.  And I trust Him to do what is best.  We are so blessed it's a sin to complain.  I'm just finding God's timing difficult to deal with.  It seems like we run and run and run to get ahead, but we're stuck in the same place.  I guess we're slow learners and not mastering the lessons He is teaching.  Please pray that we keep God first, and that we accept and do His will gladly.  It's not easy right now.  I want Him to change everything.  Come to think of it.....I was here over 4 years ago.  Crying and crying about wanting a baby.  Fearful I would never have one.  I went to a Wednesday night class where something stuck out to me.  "We need to learn to wait on God and stop waiting on things from God."  I found out I was pregnant days after taking that lesson to heart.  I think it's time for me to relearn that lesson.  God is faithful.  

Yay for Viruses!

Eric seemed to do fine the rest of the day yesterday.  He didn't eat much - I wouldn't allow much - so by the end of the day I figured it was a fluke.  I still wondered if he had gagged himself, but the repeated episodes seemed to indicate otherwise to me.

This morning he woke me up asking for breakfast.  He seemed to be in good spirits and I figured he must be hungry.  I still wanted to keep things light though.  He asked for Rice Krispies, and I obliged.  While I was making breakfast he mentioned that his bed was "wet".  This typically means he has had an accident, but he had the same shorts on and they were dry.  So I ignored him.  I continued to feed him a couple of small bowls of Rice Krispies and since he seemed to be feeling well I allowed him to have an orange.

I went back to his room to begin my cleaning for the day.  I started in the master closet by putting all the clothes away, then I headed over to his bed to make it.  Guess what was waiting for me there?!?!  AGH!  He had puked.  I have no idea when.  Does anyone else have children that A) don't get upset when they get sick and B) don't bother telling you?!?  Okay, granted, he told me his bed was wet.  *smacks head*  I was upset for a couple of reasons.  One, he had been sick and I didn't know it.  Two, (and I know this is gross but hold out for me) it was really thick - thick enough for me to scoop up and throw out with gloved hands.  He could have choked and I would have never known!!  Three, I should have been able to smell it, to get to it right away.  But it wasn't acidic at all.  It didn't smell at all really.  And I guess that shouldn't be a concern, but it kind of has been because it seems as if his food isn't getting digested at all.  I am hoping this is just a virus and not a symptom of something worse.  I know that's my hyperchodriasis coming out.  I just want him to be okay!

Meanwhile, he seems to be doing fine.  No fever, he says he's "hungry" quite a bit and he's eaten fairly well today.  He has been less active, and has seemed to prefer laying in our bed and watching Madagascar over and over and over again....

I'm a bit on edge with the puking (of course).  Any time he coughs I ask if he is okay.  He smiles and says yes, that he is just "swallowing".  I try to keep reinforcing the use of the bucket.  He really likes that being explained to him.  "I gag in the bucket?"  "Yes"  "Gag in the bucket and then put it in the toilet!"  "Yes".  All grins.  Pretend gagging in the bucket.  Bucket on the head.  More smiles.  I mean, I can't get much better than this.  God has blessed me.  I have yet to deal with a child who is so sick they can barely move.  And I haven't had to hold a child while they get sick every hour on the hour.  And I haven't had to deal with two of them sick at the same time.  I'm glad God understands my phobias.

So, under the assumption that this is a virus (and I'm wondering if it's the same one Matthew had) I spent the whole morning running around the house with my hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, spraying every hard surface in sight.  Eric and Matthew's bedrooms are complete and the bathroom is done.  I have to get to the front of the house soon.  I was just pooped from all that deep cleaning.  I think our water bill may be a bit high this month after all the hot loads of laundry I've run today! 

I know this was a totally pointless blog.  Thanks for reading!  :)

Booooo.

Yesterday was full of good news.  John got a full time position with the EMS.  His new schedule is incredible.  Work 24 hours, off 24 hours.  Repeat...I don't know how many times..then 4 days off.  YAY!  Things were looking up!  New full time position, house hunting today, vacation time on the horizon, 2 beautiful children - I was feeling incredibly grateful and blessed and also.....nervous.  They say when you hit rock bottom there's no where else to go but up.  I feel the opposite is true too.  When you're at the top, there's no where else to go but down.  And yesterday was pretty tops for me!  So even though I was awoken this morning by Matthew's lovely set of lungs, I was excited about looking at all the beautiful houses today.  After making Eric's breakfast, I focused on making Matthew's.  Then I heard the gagging.  What has this child (Eric) put in his mouth this time?  I spun around in time to watch him puke.  And puke.  And puke.  I did what any loving mother would do.  I went and got John.  :)  AGH!!!!!   John was the hero (there John!) and took Eric to the bathroom and cleaned him up and then came back and cleaned the mess up.  Eric's not running a fever and seems to be okay now, but I decided to stay behind with him just in case.  We didn't need him puking in the car or worse, somebody's house.  *sigh*  So I'm missing out on seeing all the beautiful houses I worked hard to pick out.  I was SO looking forward to today.  Eric was too.  A huge part of me wanted to pack us both up anyways and risk it, but things could have been disastrous if we tried to go.  Now that we're just sitting at home, I'm SURE there won't be another incident! 

So I am getting to hear over and over again about Eric getting sick, in typical 3 year old fashion.

"Is it terrible, mommy?"
"Is what terrrible, baby?"
"Gagging."
"Yes.  Gagging is terrible."
"Yes.  Gagging and then sneezing a lot is terrrrible!"

Sneezing a lot.  Yeeeesss....that's what you were doing.  And then he reenacts it again and again to make sure I fully understand exactly what he's talking about.  You all know I'm loving that.

Today's Thought

These are 2 interesting videos from vimeo.com that 2 different friends of mine posted.  Thought you might like to watch them as well.


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

The State of Christianity from Urbana 09 on Vimeo.

Visitors

In order to make sure that I could stalk my stalkers, my sister introduced me to a site that keeps record of who comes and goes.  I decided to check it out today.  I've learned some interesting things.

1.  I must be getting boring.  I started blogging in April where I had 289 page views.  This has since dwindled to 230-some odd page views.  I need to find more interesting material to write about.

2.  I have a friend in Waterloo, Ontario.  Hi Canada!  Don't worry.  The site doesn't reveal your name.  Just your location.  You should leave me a comment some time so I can "meet" you.  :)

3.  Hello to Winchester, New Hampshire too!  I don't think I know anybody there.  I bet it's a beautiful state to visit!

4.  There are a few other frequent visitors from the northeast.  I wonder why people from the northeast are more intrigued by my blogs than people in other parts of the country.  Hmmm...how can I reach out and gain the interest from 1 person from every state?  I think it's my new goal.

5.  Apparently my blog is best read right before lunch or right after.

6.  Which brings me to my next interesting discovery.  My Jillian blog was the most popular one this month.  Quite fascinating with the copious amount of reading material available concerning health and nutrition.  Jillian Micheals - if you ever read this, you totally owe me.  Call me.

7.  Even though I endorse products and websites, and even though marketing directors have SEEN me promoting their products, I have yet to get anything for free.  I guess that only works if you are famous and endorsing the product on TV.

So, my combined research has led me to the conclusion that while I may be becoming a boring blogger, people in the northeast find nutrition blogs fascinating.

I think I'm going to write about ranches and rodeos tomorrow and see what new readers I can round up...

Setbacks and Exhaustion

I didn't even get a chance to go look at the house I love.  It's under contract.  *sigh*  AND another one of the houses that I was very interested in seeing which was well below our price range is under contract too.  I'm still excited to see the others on our list though.  My very favorite one is what John listed at the "top" of our price range.  But it will have to come down at least $10,000 for us to get it and I doubt we'll be able to swing that one.  Who knows what will happen?  Still pretty awesome that we should be in a house by the end of the year!  :)

In other non-housing news, the boys are keeping us busy.  I'm about ready to put them both up for sale.  :)  Eric is in his repeat everything 15 times mode. (I feel like I've said this before in a previous post.  How many times do children go through this stage??)  What one conversation looks like.  Now imagine this 100 times a day (different topics of course!)

"Mommy, are you sleeping?"
"Yes."
"Are you sleeping?"
"Yes."
"Are you sleeping?"
"YES."
"Are you sleeping?"
"Please stop talking."
"Mommy, I am TAWWWWKING.  Are you sleeping?"

So help me....this phase is so exhausting.  Sometimes I even change up the answers.  It doesn't help.

"Mommy, I need ice"
"No."
"Mommy, can I get ice?"
"No.  You don't need ice."
"Mommy I need ice."
"Eric.  I said no.  Stop asking about ice."
"Mommy, can I get some ice?"
"No!"
"Mommy I need ice."
"No.  No ice.  You don't need ice.  I don't HAVE ice.  You're not GETTING ice.  Do not say the word 'ICE' one more time!"
"Mommy...I need some ice"


He has also remembered how I don't like people to go hungry.  So his fall back statement when he doesn't want to do something is, "I'm hungry".  Sometimes he's throwing a fit about one thing, and realizing that it's not working will sop mid-sentence and say, "I'm hungry!"  It doesn't work.

Matthew is getting a mouthful of teeth.  4 new ones have just broken  through and it looks like he's trying to get some more in.  He's not walking yet.  I'm sure he would if we worked with him a little bit more, but I can still catch him fairly easily right now.  I am delaying the walking for as long as possible!  His hair is coming in nicely and is still very light.  I really do think it will stay dirty blond, but we'll see!  He talks almost as much as Eric and like to sing the ABC's.  He's still as opinionated and strong-willed as ever, and he still likes to make a run for the toilet whenever he gets a chance, but his smile with those beautiful dimples melts me every time.  I can't help but squeeze him up!

Bucket List

Finally got my bucket list up.  I'm sure I will be adding to it.  Add what is on your bucket list too!  And if you can help me out with my list, let me know!

Pretty Crazy

So...funny story connecting my 2 house-hunting blogs:

The realtor wrote me concerning the house I said I loved.  She said she saw it a couple of years ago when it was on the market for $200,000.  So, the thing I said about wanting a $200,000 house for half the price?  Yeah....  Can't wait for this next house hunting adventure!!

Monsters!

Now that a house is on the horizon, I'm in major decorating mode!!  I've waited nearly my whole life to decorate a child's room and I'm ready to give my boys cool rooms!  I am very interested in doing one of the rooms in a monster theme.  I love these little monster plushes.  Is there anybody out there in cyberland that can make a dozen different kinds?  I'll pay you!

I FOUND IT!!!

Ok....haven't been on site to check it for sure...but I am in LOVE with this house!  AND it is in our price range.  A little higher than we wanted to go, but maybe we can negotiate it down some!!!  I am hoping we can go with the realtor on Wednesday to check it out.

http://centralrealty.tennessee.remax.com/PropertySearch/ListingDetail.aspx?view=photos&lid=82852586

House Hunting

Our apartment lease is up next month!  Which means....time to find a house!  Looks like we will be staying in the tri-cities, so we have been house hunting.  It has been quite a while since John and I last bought a house, and that went so easy I barely remember it!  This time around, we are taking our time to find a place where we can be settled in for the next 10 years or so.  I have in mind the amount of "house" we need/ want.  3-4 bedrooms, kitchen with plenty or counter top space, a dining room, a basement, and a backyard.  Not much, riiiiight?  Ok.  So it's quite a bit of house for the amount of money we plan on spending.  Which I think is starting to frustrate our Realtor slightly.  We have now been house hunting twice.  And we found a house in Elizabethton and a house in Kingsport that would "work".  But it's not EXACTLY what we're looking for.  I decided today that we should start looking for houses in a higher price range since we can mostly likely negotiate the price down.  I think this will help our search immensely.  I told the Realtor that I "like to cook and we have company in a lot".  John jokes that we want a mansion for $100,000.  He's just kidding - sort of...  :) 

It's hard to comprehend that we could be moving again soon.  Into a very permanent place.  John and I haven't lived anywhere more than 3 years (?) at a time I believe.  If it feels this unreal right now, I can't imagine how I will feel on moving day!  It will be so nice to have a place to call our own though and we're making sure it's everything that we need.  We're not settling or rushing into anything this time.  And believe me when I say we have all of you in mind while we're shopping!  Whether it be if mom's wheelchair can fit through the doors or if there is a place to put guests up for the night.  So we expect everyone to come visit us in our SPACIOUS house just as often as you have patiently crammed into our tiny apartment!

John and I both silently wondered how difficult this would be dragging 2 little boys along with us.  Would you believe they LOVE it?  The first day Eric was so excited to see the first house that he cried when we left.  We explained that we were going to look at more and he was thrilled.  After every house he would ask if we were going to look at more houses with my friend (the Realtor).  After the last house, we had to deal with a complete meltdown once we explained we were done looking for the day.  I'm not sure why it excites him so much, but it has made the process more fun for us.  He walks in and says "Wow!  This house is HUUUUGE!"  with the exception of a foreclosure that we checked out.  He walked in first and said "This stinks!"  And he was right.  I don't know if it is customary for people of foreclosed homes to saturate the carpet and floors in urine or if those people just lived that way, but we are done looking at foreclosed homes.  Unless of course there's a foreclosed $250,000 home running less than half price!  In above average condition.  :) 

We will keep you updated on what we find.  Here are a couple of houses that I am hoping to look at.  They seem ideal.  Maybe one of the m will work out!

http://www.remax.com/property/78195378-60210283/1535-Parton-Dr-Kingsport-TN-37660/

http://www.remax.com/property/75487067-60210283/302-Virgil-Ave-Kingsport-TN-37665/

http://www.remax.com/property/79304658-60210283/1353-Catawba-St-Kingsport-TN-37660/

http://www.remax.com/property/77288517-60210283/3016-Hi-Dr-Kingsport-TN-37663/

http://www.remax.com/property/71213585-60210283/4821-Tinker-Ln-Kingsport-TN-37664/

http://www.remax.com/property/79350076-60210283/457-Independence-Dr-Kingsport-TN-37660/

Cast your votes!

My Little Helper

This is what happens when I am bent over the sink washing dishes to put in the dishwasher.....

Grocery Shopping and Meals

I should have been blogging about such things all along, but we can pick up here.  Today I went out for the first grocery shopping trip off the week.  Last week, I went over my $100 limit by $6.  This could have been avoided with slightly better planning, but all in all not a bad money week.  Of course, very little was organic, but most everything was whole, natural food.

I feel great that I've been able to change the way we eat and keep costs reasonable.  HOWEVER, several things are starting to concern me.  If you noticed, I haven't mentioned a whole lot about meat.  We haven't had to buy any because we had stocked up on chicken breasts last month when they went on sale for $1.75 a pound.  I don't know how buying meat is going to factor in once we run out of what we have.  Another concern is that we will no longer have WIC after this month.  I'm happy about that for the most part, but it did provide $12 worth of produce for us as well as it would have taken care of the cost of the soy milk, which is running us $40 a month.  I have got to wean that child off of soy milk!

Today I spent $50 on groceries.  More than I would have liked for the first grocery trip of the week, but it may work out.  That $50 covered breakfast for everyone for the week, as well as a week's worth of fresh fruit, and several lunches.  I didn't get any fresh vegetables, so I will have to either check the Farmer's Market tomorrow or just use the frozen veggies and cans that we have in the house.

One of my favorite "organic" changes has been changing my cleaning supplies.  This is a great way to not only cut toxins in your home, but also costs.  All you need to clean and sanitize your house is a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a spray bottle of vinegar.  That's it.  It has proven to kill bacteria as well as bleach-based cleaners without all the harmful side effects.  That was an easy enough change to make.  The hydrogen/vinegar solution also effectively cleans your fresh produce!  So....even when you can't buy organic, you will be able to have cleaner food than by rinsing with water alone.

So tonight's menu consists of RACHEL RAY'S MEATLOAF MUFFINS WITH BARBEQUE SAUCE, fresh green beans, homemade organic mashed potatoes, and fresh strawberries and pineapple.  I substituted ground turkey for the beef.  No, this isn't part of going organic.  We made the switch from red meat before this process in order to eat healthier.  I prefer the lightness of the ground turkey to beef anyways.  I used STUBB'S BBQ SAUCE.  It was on sale and is all-natural.  I could read (and identify) all the ingredients - and no HFCS!  I was going to take pictures of dinner, but I'm feeling to lazy to do that (and dinner is not ready yet anyway).

Losing It With Jillian is on tonight.  Check it out!