HAPPY EASTER

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter!

I will be working, this is really sad! For those that don't have to work on Easter be nice to the one's that do have to work. Be a little more patient because they are probably working understaffed, like me that past 2 days. I know i would like to be home with family, but we all can't have cake jobs.

My kids are excited about getting their baskets....i got a small amount of candy and a couple of summer outfits a piece. If i had more money i would have gotten a couple of cd's or games, but you can only do so much.
Clothes seemed more important to me.

Have a great day!

MY WEIRD DREAMS

In one weeks time i have 2 very strange dreams and they are driving me crazy just to think of them.
Dream 1
It's the day of my son's trip and everyone slept in till 8...i know the time because in my dream i woke up and look and start screaming "were late". So i start scrambling around the house to pack him up look up the trip route and i am bound and determined to get him wherever they are so that he can finish his trip. What really bothered me was that i actually woke up very panicked!


Dream 2
I am back to working at McDonald's and we are finishing cleaning up and we are closing. I go lock one of the doors and just as i come back in.... there are customers in the store and my crew are serving them! I politely get these people to leave and i lock the door again. I turn around and all of sudden the customers are in my lobby again. I push these people back out and lock the door ...this time i lock the door and push on it and it opens....again...i lock the door and push on it and it opens again...i do this a few times and realize that something is loose on the door and i tighten it and it finally locks. I turn around and my lobby is full of customers and the crew are serving them...Now i am mad...i look at my watch and notice that i have to be back at work in about 4 hours and i can't keep the people from coming in. I walk over to an area in the lobby and see like a community of senior citizens and i am asking them to leave that i was trying to lock up the store to go home and no one is listening...it's like i am not even there. But the urgency to get these people to get out is driving me batty...... I wake up feeling panicked and pissed off.

Ok...i'm editing this because last night i had another weird dream
Dream 3

I'm only writing it down because all 3 dreams are so vivid and maybe somewhere down the line they may mean something to me.
In this dream I am at the hospital and i just had a baby...don't know what it is but does not seem to be a major part of the dream. But while my husband is holding the baby and my kids are playing with the baby, I am on the other hand going crazy because one of the nurses just told me that they are not releasing me for at least a month. No one wants to tell me why i can't go home. I'm crying and screaming that i want to talk to the doctor to find out why. Frank tells me in his sweet voice don't worry i'm sure thier is a good reason. But i am still going frantic, saying "how can you be so calm? My insurance only covers up to 10,000 in hospital stays" and i also say " just having that baby took 10,000" " I have to get back to work, we are going to lose everything" . I stand in the hallway looking and screaming "where is the f**king doctor" every nurse is avoiding my questions. They just say " we are trying to find him and he will be happy to tell you what's going on". The whole dream is of me screaming and crying " why do i have to stay a month?"
These are the weirdest dreams and the fact that i keep remembering them and waking up panicked is really driving me insane.
The thing that all these dreams have in common is i am well aware of a time thing going on.
In the first dream it's about being 2 hours late...the second dream is about i only have 4 hours and the 3rd dream has to do about a month...they all seem really important in every dream.
Am i insane? Can anyone make any sense out of it?

My husband says that i have some weird dreams. I agree...but the fact that i can't get over them is what is bothering me.
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Kids came home with really good report cards! Darin again came home with A's and B's, I am so proud. Even the Math grade that was at a C 5 weeks ago he actually got back up to a B.....My little Honor Roll boy :)

Amber came home with all B's and C's ...more B's than C's. She was really struggling with math this semester. But i am really proud that she is doing the best that she can.
Amber had to sign up for this science fair. She has to put it all on a presentation board and work and experiment and everything. We chose to do the rainbow in a glass, using sugar, dye, and water. should be interesting. Projects, Projects, and Projects....
__________________

I had a grocery store call me and ask if the hours i listed on my application were the only hours i could work. I told her that i had another job and that i could only work during the day while the kids were at school. So that blew that.
But in the same instance i was thinking "yeh, otherwise i would have put open availibility or negotiable". I guess i was just discouraged.
Well i'm off to bed now...

Stuff

Frank is still doing wonderful on his new job. He looks forward to the next day now.

My job on the other hand is cutting my hours down again. Also when i picked up my last prescriptions i found out that i have already maxed out my yearly allowance for prescription drugs. Not good when they cost me $300.00. Frank's insurance i still have to wait till he has 60 days in. I will have to see if my doctor has any samples left to tied me over. I doubt it because i was informed not too long ago that they will no longer carry samples as of last January. Or i will have to pick which pills are the most important and wait till the insurance kicks in.

My son is going on his Washington trip in April, he is looking forward to it. We got a list of the things that he will be doing while gone.
DAY 1
cleveland zoo& rain forest
and a swim at aquatic center

DAY 2
Annapolis Naval Academy
Museums on the mall
Smithsonian air and space museum
Smithsonian natural history museum
Smithsonian African art
WWII Memorial
Jefferson Memorial

DAY 3
Goup Photo at U.S. Capitol
White House Photo Stop
Daniel's story at Holocaust Museum
Arlington Cemetery Walking Tour
Marine Memorial (Iwa Jima)
Illuminated Tour of MemorialsVietnam/Lincoln/Korean/Einstein

Day 4
Gettysburg Battlefield Tour
and return home by midnight

That's really alot for just a few days. But i am sure that he will have alot to talk about when he gets home.

NEW MAN

Frank is a new man now that he has a much better job than he had. On Wednesday I decided that before the bed arrives on Friday I would put up the new ceiling fan for the bedroom that i purchased almost a year ago. Well i got the old one down with no problem, but when Frank got home i asked him to help me put up the new one(two hands are better than one)....Now if you know Frank and I, you would know that any sort of assembling of anything would cause us to be cursing at eachother and things getting thrown. Not this time folks! We did it without any broken bones, blood, or using the lords name in vain. This is a good sign Frank is in a better place.

My poor Darin is very sick! He woke up this morning saying his throat was hurting him a bit. I gave him some motrin, but something told me to make a doctors appointment and then go get him out of school. Around 9:00 a.m. i called the doctor and the earliest i could get was 2:00 pm. I ended up getting a phone call at 12:30 pm from Darin's school saying that he really wasn't feeling good and asked to come home. I informed the Nurse that i was going to be getting him in a half hour and taking him to the doctors anyway i would be right up.

When i got him in the car i felt his forehead and sure enough he was getting hot! Took him to the doctor and the doctor said he has an infection in his throat. Poor little guy, well not very little, i was just informed that my son is 1 1/2 inches talling than me at the age of 12! He has antibiotics and i had to go buy him some adult tylenol in the liquid form for the fever. He don't like swallowing pills. My daughter has no problem with pills, but Darin hates to even try.

Amber came home yesterday with her shoe torn apart, so that was a trip to payless shoe store to get her a new pair. OMG, the girl is wearing a size 9 shoe now! She's 11 years old! While we were there she picked out the most ugliest sneakers, folks they are green and white, we are talking MICHIGAN STATE (the football team) green and white. I tried to talk her out of them but she just kept saying that she really liked them. Well to avoid a scene and to avoid drama queen in action she got her wish. I really should be happy because they only cost me 10 dollars but GREEN is just not a color on my top ten list.

Tomorrow i may be making some cookies since my local store has all kinds baking ingredients on sale. I have a couple of cookies that i want to try out.
G'night all

FINALLY!

I thought i would never get back online again! The reason for no posts or comments or anything was that i purchased a brand new computer and my aol was not compatible with my new vista, so i decided to go the cable direction, but i had to wait 2 weeks. I got a really great deal putting my internet, phone and cable on one bill. I'm still trying to figure things out and get all my blog buddies in my favorites and letting people know of my new email address.

Lots have gone on since i last posted. Frank was really depressed, he would call into work (not helping with the situation that we are in) because he hated his job soooo much. He also would fly off the handle with the kids and me for minor little things. I tell ya, he's lucky i love him, or else i would have had to put a hurtin on him..lol
Well i have great news! Frank has got himself a new job!!!!!!!! More money, benefits, vacation time, holidays off, he even gets his birthday off with pay. He's a new man! He started on Monday and he worked today and he says that he LOVES it!!!!! His job is similar to the job he has had back when he was delivering wood floors. He is a warehouse/driver, only this time it's dealing with cleaning products and packaging supplies. Him and his boss seem to be getting along very well from the conversations that Frank has been telling me, and he also bought Frank lunch today. I tell ya, from one extreme to another.

Now some bad news.....Amber quit her dance class. Her teacher Miss Alexis got a scolarship and will be performing with David Bowey(i know i spelt that wrong but i can't think how to spell it right). Anyways...We went to the class with the new teacher, and found out thier are 2 teachers and neither one had a clue what to do with these girls. With competition in just a few short weeks i did not think that it would be the greatest idea to keep her dance class. The thing is she said she did not want to go back before i could say anything. Poor Amber...i told her that i would check around for other dance classes.

So i got a new computer with a printer, now i don't have to run to my mother when i need something printed out. And on Friday i have a new bed being delivered, for the first time in a very, very, very long time i will have a headboard and a footboard. It's been about 6 years that my bed has been laying on the floor in my bed room. Good ole income tax returns :) Although this years tax return was a disappointment...but at least it covered a computer and a bed and that's what i was hoping for.

Ok, now i am getting tired ...so i think i will get some Z's :)

If you want to read, read

Do you find yourself comprehending more now as an adult then when you were a child? I mean I help my kids with their homework and literally i have to go on the internet to help them. I told my mom the other day that if i had the internet back then i would have been a straight A student. My daughter brought home what i hated the most when i was a child, math homework, especially fractions! She had to make a proper fraction to an improper fraction. 'Wha'? I really, really hated fractions when i was a kid. So i hopped online found out how to do it and learned how to do it in about 5 minutes and said to myself that wasnt' hard! Why did i have such a hard time back then? I guess my teachers had to do everything in a round about matter, rather then show the very easy way. I do enjoy helping them with their homework, I learn new things everyday. Plus it feels like quality time together.

I already told you about Amber being on the honor roll for the second time this year.
My son was on the honor roll for the second time also! All A's and one B! Go Darin! It's your birthday! He's so smart. He's also developing the funniest personality. He can make me laugh even when i am so mad that i can spit nails at him. I looked at him the other day and i am starting to see the beginnings of a mustache! My baby is growing up! Which means i am growing old. :(

When i was a kid it felt like adulthood would never get here and now that i have kids it feels like their adulthood is coming faster than mine was. Does that make sense?
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I had to take Frank to the doctors on Thursday. He hurt his back at work and he had to get a shot and some muscle relaxers and rest this weekend. It's going to hurt because he took 2 days off, but if your in pain, i guess you can't do much else.

I wish i could say things were going good for us right now. What' s really wrong is our job environments. We both are not happy, I could be if every one was doing their job instead of me feeling like i am the only one doing anything around there. I come home feeling like i got in a fight with Mike Tyson, and so tired i can barely walk in the door. I used to LOVE my job, now i have fears of at any moment they will take away my hours. I hate that i feel like i have so much to accomplish on my shifts because "I" know that one of the other managers is not going to do a f***in thing on his shift! And gets paid for it! One manager, he is a sweetheart of a guy, but boy is he lazzzzzzzzzzzzy! I leave him notes of what needs to get done and he just ignores them. Of course he is higher ranking then me so he can do that. The last note that he ignored i asked him about and he simply stated " I didn't feel like doing it" , so my question is when he leaves me a note about something and i say the same thing is that going to jive in my favor?
Can you feel the venting? In all honesty i kinda feel better now that i have wrote it down.
Let's hope that it won't spill out at the meeting tomorrow because i'm still feeling hostel about it.

Frank....his job sucks, sucks, sucks. He is filthy from head to toe when he gets home. His job has no benefits...no paid vacations, he gets paid very little. You never know if your gonna get at least 40 hours. Can you believe that even his pay checks have bounced?! One time i put a check in my checking account and a week later i found out that i had accumulated 365 dollars in overdraft fees! Thank god(but with alot of hostility) they paid for those. But from now on my husband cashes his check at the store or their bank. I'm not going thru all that again. Can you believe that?

Well i think i have done enough bitching for one night..

Oh and if ya gotta a second, a little prayer that Frank can find a better job would be nice:) I can manage for the moment...But he needs a ego boost right now. :)

Where does the time go?

Time has just flown by! One minute i was celebrating the coming of the new year and now the first month of the year is already gone!

Is anyone seeing a better year yet? We have already hit some bumps in the road of 2007. A major one is taxes. I owe the state for the first time in my life a great deal. All because cashing in Frank's 401k didn't take any state tax out. Also Unemployment is investigating a couple of weeks of checks, all because the company wrote the wrong things on their paper. I know i am being very vague, all because it's all personal, but i wanted to share the stress that i am under.

Just got Amber's report card and she is on the honor roll for the second time this year, she says that if she does it for a third time she will be invited to a pizza party! I haven't got Darin's report card yet, I will be getting that tomorrow. I am not worried but he is a little worried about social studies. I'm sure he will still be on the honor roll.

Amber will be starting her dance classes again on the 5th of Febuary, she is so excited! I hope that now she kinda knows everyone that she will do even better than last year. I wish Darin would show some interest in something sporty. I am pretty sure that the next flyer i get about a family bowling league i will sign us up on it. That's the only thing that he was actually into.

My job is sucking more and more everyday. Lately i have come home drained! They want you to be able to work miracles in a couple hours. I've still been applying online for jobs. But i really feel bad for Frank. He HATES his job!! I hope that he will be able to find something in a little cleaner place, making a bit more money and with benefits.

Well now that i have fully bummed you all out. I am hitting the hay.
gnight'

GOOD RIDENCE 2006!

Amber and Masen(my freind Barb's boy)
don't they make a cute couple? He's destined to make 6 digits when he grows up. He is the smartest kid i know!











My bestest friend in the whole world who left me to move 3 hours away to open her own farm...lol I miss her! I am so happy that we got be with each other for the new year.





Hello 2007! Since there is a 7 in this number i am hoping for a better year than 2006!
We celebrated with my best friend Barb and her family and my mom popped in to rush in the New Year!
We had some snack items, did some dancing to the radio on channel 95.5 was playing some of the best songs to dance to. Then we played some card games while the kids were in the rooms playing games, having pillow fights, and whatever else they do to occupy their time.



Frank does not drink anymore, just a beer every now and then, so he decided that he was going to get himself drunk. He really regretted it around 12:30 am. when he started to throw up everything that he drank, ate, and then some up. I was happy with my one wine cooler :)

Well HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! I pray for better things to come in 2007!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and I hope Santa was very kind to you all!

I was woke up at the butt crack of dawn by 2 children that will remain nameless ahemmm(Darin and Amber) begging for me to wake up and watch them open presents. You should have heard them when i told them they were going to open them after dinner at my mothers. You would have thought the heavens were going to open up and lightning was going to strike down on our house. lol Of course i was kidding! I set up the camcorder and the ritual began....each gets a gift opens it then the other opens theirs and so on and so forth. Clothes discarded like mistakes under the tree...while toys and games and anything really cool, got opened and examined like disease under a microscope..lol

Amber favorites were the nintendo ds lite and her eeyore fleece! I got that fleece for a major bargain! regular 30 dollars on sale for 12.99 and i ended up paying 9.99! She loves eeyore and for the life of me I don't know why ....we never watch winnie the pooh...??? go figure.

Darin favorites of course was the nintendo ds lite and the jewelry he got. I got him a skull necklace and ring, i also got a necklace made out of horse shoe nails that one of my customers make for the holidays and money goes to "toys for tots".

Of course their most favorite gift was what they got from Grandma and Grandpa! Spending money to get whatever they didn't get from us. Darin spent the day today looking for games to play in his system and Amber was pretty conservative today. She did buy a game and a couple posters and she even bought a haircut today when i went to get mine.

They still have money ....but want to hold on for other things.
I took some of my money and got my hair done and bought some really needed socks and undies. The things that i put off buying for myself.

Christmas was wonderful, and i think the best ever, if i could erase the 5 hours that i had to work. This year there was no 2 car hauling of gifts from Grandmas and Grandpas house to mine. Finding a spot for every toy, no assembly of toys, no batteries recommended. No headaches what so ever!

Mom did a fantastic job of dinner! Everything was great as ever. I went over on Sunday and helped prep Christmas dinner, whatever she needed a hand in, i was there. We had stuffed cabbage, italian sausage, polish sausage, ham, potatoes, corn, biscuits, all the vege trays, cheese trays, pies, cakes etc. etc. etc. she did outdo herself. :) Thanks MOMMA ...LOVE YOU!

I scrubbed the bathroom down for her, thankfully my sister did a great job of helping with the rest of the house for her. I aprreciated that!

Today was an off day for me, so shopping was done, hair got done and believe or not...ALL the Christmas decorations down and put back in the garage....I love getting my house back to the way it should be after Chritmas. Plus, just in case it decides to dump alot of snow on the ground i am not stuck with the decorations forever and not in bitter cold!

I pray that the New Year will bring better things to come for everyone!
Merry belated Christmas and if i don't get back on here....HAPPY NEW YEAR!

one more meme for Christmas

Thanks Momma's corner for the meme's! It was fun.
1. What is the worst Christmas gift you ever received? Not going to answer this one on the grounds that it may incriminate me. lol

2. Two weeks before Christmas you win $1 million. You have to spend it all by the end of this year and you cannot buy anything for yourself. How do you celebrate the holidays? Send as many friends friends and family on a vacation! since i can't take myself...hopefully they will bring me a souvenier.

3. Do you have any family traditions? What are they and do you continue the tradition in your own household? - Other then going to my mothers for dinner, that's about it.

4. What is your favorite smell from this season? I usually bye the spice apple scents for the outlets in the house. It really smells great.

5. Do you regift? (That’s when you get something you hate and give it to someone else on another Christmas later) - no, If i don't want, no one will! someday it will end up in the trash.

6. If you have kids, how hard do you try to preserve the myth of Santa Claus? What do you do to keep the Fat Man “alive?” I tryed really hard the younger they were. But now at 11 and 12 they were starting to piece things together. Also for them to have an understanding that we are not financially sound, I will try to make every effort to get what they want...but if i can't ...i can't

7. When do you decorate your house and tree? When do you take everything down? I put it up as soon as i have a day off right after Thanksgiving, and i take it all down the day off from work after Christmas. I'm anxious to get it all up...but right after Christmas i am done with them and want my space back in the living room.

8. Do you sing along with the Christmas muzak in the stores? What’s your favorite Christmas song and which is the one that you hate so badly that you go postal and run amok in the aisles of Walmart when you hear it? - Of course i sing to music, "it's beginning to look alot like Christmas" the one that i hate is "grandma got run over by a reindeer". Just tired of hearing it.
Thanks again momma's corner.

Joining in the fun of Christmas!

Time for a Meme. Let’s do one about Yuletide. This one has been bouncing around on various sites so I figured I’d do it:

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? I like them both, but if i had to pick, hot chocolate

2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? both!

3.Colored lights or white on tree/house? No white lights here! more color the better!

4.Do you hang mistletoe? No, I'm going to greet every person with a kiss anyways!

5.What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My moms stuffed cabbage! I look forward to Christmas just because of that!

6.Favorite holiday memory as a child? The fact that we did not get much during the year, but on Christmas we always got what we asked for and then some.

7.When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I started to figure it out when everything we asked for was in the buggy at stores, mom and dad would say they were for so-and-so but we never visited them, but on Christmas it was under the tree.

8.Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? When we were really young we would, but as we got older it was always on Christmas Day and after dinner.

9.How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? After putting it together i string on chasing lights, followed by red garland, then gold and red beads , then the kids put on the ornaments that have been gathered thru the years.

10.Snow, love it or dread it? I love snow! but hate ice!

11.Do you know how to ice skate? Not very well, did it alot when i was a child, but now i would not put skates on at all.

12.Do you remember your favorite gift? I would have to say back in "93" when i found out i was pregnant and finally got my engagement ring.

13.What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with my kids and my folks.

14.What is your favorite holiday dessert? Homemade cookies!

15.What is your favorite holiday tradition? getting up to watch the kids open their presents before the butt crack of dawn.

16.What tops your tree? I have a beautiful fiber optic angel that moves her arms.

17.Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love giving gifts that really mean alot, and very suprising.

18.Favorite Christmas Song? "It's beginning to look alot like Christmas"

19.Favorite flavor of Candy Canes? peppermint is the best.
I got this from Momma's corner...thanks for letting me join in.

Dancing in Silver!

As you all know my daughter has been going to hip-hop dance classes. Well for the past two months they were doing a routine to prepare them for a dance competition that they just had on Saturday. We had to drive 1 1/2 hours to Lansing for this competition. We had alot of fun watching all the kids doing their routines on stage. So many talented kids!

Amber's team did really well for only 4 students showing up! THEY GOT SILVER MEDALS!
I'm so proud of Amber and her team mates! She is thinking of continuing classes and trying out for the next level of dance class.






Amber is in back on the left...performing












Amber in back and on the left.













Amber and her teacher Miss Alexis(in the camoflauge outfit)...Amber is looking down at her Silver medal she got.





You go girl!

We lost a good man

John Viterbo1933 - 2006
John Viterbo age 73 of Port Hope passed away Sunday, December 3, 2006 at Harbor Beach Community Hospital. John was born on October 19, 1933 in Pennsylvania to the late Anthony and Jenny (Jako) Viterbo. He then married Marjorie Bagnasco on November 7, 1954 in Detroit. John was a member of St. Germaine Catholic Church of St. Clair Shores. Surviving is his wife Marjorie, his son Anthony Viterbo of Port Hope, and his daughter Marjorie Viterbo of Macomb. 2 grandchildren Cindy Korber and John Viterbo, and 2 great grandchildren. Funeral services will be Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006 at 11am in the Ramsey Funeral Home, Harbor Beach with Fr. T.J, Fleming of Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic Chruch officiating. Burial in the New River Cemetery, Huron City.

This was my Uncle...Apparently he was getting some firewood outside and when he did not come back in my Aunt found him laying on the ground. She did all she could to revive him but was unsucessful. Doctors say it was a massive heart attack.

My mother and I drove out this morning to his service and gathering. We started early because it was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Harbor Beach Michigan for us. It was a beautiful drive up, we got to see alot of Lake Huron on the way up. Thank God the weather was not bad for the trip.

My memories of my Uncle John that keep stirring in my head are of him sitting at a huge table that he had in his family room. He was a very scary looking man, if you looked up mafia in the dictionary, his picture would have been there. Well anyways, he would look at you, and say in a very deep voice "come here" we would say "NO". He would say "I said come here!" My sister and I would be scared to death! But we did what we were told. When he got us in reach, he would grab us and lick our faces!!!!!!!!! OMG the torture. It was his fun to torture the scared children...lol As we grew older he was much more easier to talk to...and he didn't lick our faces...lol

God love him and accept him!

Happy Thanksgiving

The morning started at 5 a.m. to get things packed up for the downtown America's Thanksgiving parade. By 6 a.m we were seated and enjoying our donuts and hot chocolate waiting for the parade to begin. The weather was gorgeous! Was not cold at all while we waited for the parade start another 3 and a half hours later. The parade was one of the best i have seen in while.

But when the parade was done i had to go to the bathroom in the worst way! It hurt so bad just to move. Thank God Starbucks was open, but the wait was almost unbearable.
*Mental reminder* no hot chocolate or water during the parade.

When we got home which was pretty early, we pulled out some christmas lights for the cutter. Frank always gets on the roof and does that part for me. Since he will not be here to assist with the other decorations that i will be working on Friday. *It's beginning to look alot like Christmas* is running thru my mind when i see the lights.

So around 1:30 in the afternoon i went to my mom's for dinner to see if she needed me to do anything. I had went over there on Wednesday and helped with the cleaning the house, chopping all the veges, making my special cheese dip for the crackers and i made the deviled eggs that really went over well.

We had so much to eat,
Turkey
stuffing,
mashed potatoes
cranberrie sauce
all kinds of veges
corn
green beans
rolls
sweet potatoes
deviled eggs
cheese and crackers
pies
cakes

It was sooooo much to eat, but the best stuff was the stuffing! Mom's stuffing really was the best she had made ever. She did make it a bit different this year. All i have to say is " do it again, do it again"...lol
I hope everyone had the greatest Thanksgiving ever.

TADA....Amber the Magnificent!

Amber's D.A.R.E. officer Mrs. Walny.













Amber and her teacher at the D.A.R.E. graduation.










Amber is now a proud graduate of D.A.R.E!
She worked really hard for 9 weeks and is now pledging that she will not do drugs, smoke, or drink!

My only hope is that she don't fall to the wrong crowd and break that oath!
I'm already worrying about my kids and what they will put me thru the next few years.


If you look closely at Amber's hair you can see the highlights that i put in her hair the night before. I put caramel highlights and they look FABULOUS on her.
It really shows off her face in person.



I'm really proud of her! She really wanted me there. I had to switch my shifts to be there for her. My life is my kids, and my kids are my life :)

Halloween coverage!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!
I was lucky to get to dress my daughter up for Halloween and go to her school and see all the wonderful costumes. The school has a parade for the parents and other students. I took my mother to the parade and we enjoyed all the new and original costumes. This man is Mr. Turner, my daughter's teacher. He came as Fred Flinstone, he almost looks like him with his stubble on his face.


































My daughter chose to be a hippie this year...I absolutely love the costume! She loved it too! I drew a peace sign on her left cheek and i drew Love on the right cheek in bubble letters. She got rave reviews at school. She won second place for costumes in her class. I guess a princess beat her this year. Last year Amber won first place with her skeleton pirate.















The glasses had little peace signs on the lenses. So adorable!


















Well I really got depressed about not being able to take Amber trick or treating. This was the first year that i was not able to walk at least a hour with them. I had to work! I know she did fine with her dad...but you know how it is.

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I got a pre-test from a hospital and apparently i passed it because they emailed me saying that i move on to the next phase. (what ever that means)...I would love to get into a hospital, more job security. Their will always be sick people. The bad thing is that i have applied to so many of the hospital jobs i don't know what they are interested in hiring me for. I'm sure whatever it is i will be able to do it just fine.

I'm still looking for a full time job with benefits. And my husband is still looking. Until i get his license fixed, he can't be too serious about it at the moment. I payed his ticket and i have already mailed the money to reinstate is license in New Jersey...then i just have to see what else i have to do.
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Well report cards are coming soon...i am totally confident that my kids are doing great!
Darin has brought home A+ progress reports to most of his classes...It doesn't leave much for the teachers to talk to me about except how nice my son is. Darin is getting an A+ in algebra, I had a hell of a time with that...but he is getting it.
Ambers grade does not send out progress reports, other than a weekly not saying if they have late assignments or their behavior in class. But so far their are no bad marks against her. I do know that she is not doing so great in math...and that is/has been an ongoing battle.
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Well i'm off to bed...

A TALE OF CAROLINE

All i can say is it's really interesting this week.
I left off with breaking my finger...that is now feeling way better and i am able to type without pain again. That was so much fun and my finger turned so many pretty colors of purple.

Just 2 days after all this my daughter started complaining about her ear hurting her and it turned out that she had a bad ear infection..She is much better now with a weeks worth of antibiotics in her system.

This Sunday my son was jumping on the trampoline at the neighbors and did something really stupid landing his full weight on his ankles. The way he was acting you would have thought it was broken, but I knew it wasn't ...it was not grossly swollen and no black and blue...so the only thing it could have been was a really bad sprain. But just in case i rushed him to our doctor and confirmed it was badly sprained and he was issued crutches because he could not put any weight on it. But today you wouldn't know that anything was wrong with him other than a small limp.

The good news is i am finally caught up with my bills:)
I got a new washer machine and dryer...but that is another story...here let me tell ya it.
Friday Frank and I went to ABC warehouse to purchase a new washer and dryer because my dryer just refused to dry anything anymore and the washer machine was borrowed from the neighbor and he was telling us that his machine was acting up and he would need his back when his broke down. Well Frank took the old ones out and Saturday they delivered our new ones....Soon after they left my husband noticed that the dryer had a pretty big dent in it....well we paid for a brand new dryer...soooooo i have not done laundry since last Thursday...And the new one will be delivered on Wednesday. You should see the mound of clothes that i got to do as soon as i get it hooked up.

I'm still looking for a different job. I wish that i didn't have to, i really did love my job. But these days it's just unpredictable. Frank is going to apply after work at another job tomorrow. Cross whatever you can that he gets it...it's more money and great medical insurance!

Amber has been taking hip hop dance class...and she is really getting good at it. She is excited about it, she wants to sign up to do the dance competition on December 2nd. It's going to be in Lansing. I've already put my day off at work to go and see it.

On Thursday i have to take my truck in to get the windshield wipers fixed...they won't work on fast speed at all. This won't be good if rain and snow is coming down to hard to see thru.

The only way to end this tale is to say
THE END :)

Even GOD has a sense of humor

Ok...so being behind in bills, Frank working the most crappiest of jobs, and Me working at a job that i don't know if I'm going to work full time or part time. They paid my vacation hours off, which means that i will never have another paid vacation again. Which means i will probably go insane in the next year, if all this was not funny enough, He thought it would be funny to break my left, middle finger in a garage door.

I was shutting the garage door and my fingers got caught in between 2 of the garage door sections. OH MY GOD THE PAIN! Right away dark blue across my finger nail.....60 seconds later it was followed my gushes and gushes of blood. I thought i would have to go to emergency because i did not think it was going to stop. Well i at least got it to slow down, I showed mom and she wanted me to go to the doctors ...I did not go. I did not think it was necessary because it was the tip of my finger, all they would do is put a popsicle stick and give me pain medicine. I can splint it if i have to at home and the pain, i've had worse pain with a c-section. And it would rack up a $400 dollor bill that i don't need right now. Soooo here i am trying trying to not type with it. Work is hilarious...lots of ouches get said.

Soooo much fun to live my life.
We finally broke down and cashed in Frank's 401 k so that we can catch up on things around here....Also did I mention my clothes dryer took a crap! Yep ...so we are going to be purchasing another one as soon as the check clears.

I haven't even mentioned that my husband lost his wallet ummm about 2 weeks ago and when we went to get a new one for him we found out that he has a suspended license in New Jersey with a ticket in the amount of $248 that he never paid 20 f***ing years ago. So i have to mail them a money order to pay that...then they will mail me a reciept...then i get to pay $100 dollars to the New Jersey DMV to reinstate his license...then they have to clear it up in lansing and then we can get his license. fun, fun, fun.

This is all the stuff that i did not want to mention while trying to keep an up mood during Amber's party.

But it all can't be happy endings in 30 minutes or less...
i'm getting tired..and my finger is killing me...
so g'night all

Introducing our snake

This is Darin's pet snake Fang!
Darin got this snake for his birthday 3 years ago. I have to say that taking care of a snake is easier than taking care of any of the other animals. Fang is a Ball Python and a very nice snake. Last summer i took it to the pet store and the man was able to sex Fang and tell us that she was a girl. Then wanted to mate her, because it is very rare that a pet store gives up the girls for mating purposes. I told him that i would think about it, but i decided not too. Right now Fang is about 3 1/2 feet long, and can eat a medium size rat.

Thanks mom for all the pics that you sent. I gave Fang her 10 seconds of fame. :)

Ambers Birthday Party

This is Ambers best friend Lisa





















My girl, is 11 now :)















Isn't she cute ?

Happy Birthday Amber

Amber's turned eleven on Tuesday! Time is flying! It feels like yesterday i had her..
The other day I was looking in the photo albums for pictures for Darin to use on a Autobiography for school project. Looking at all those pictures sent me into memoryville. It still amazes me that they were that small at one time. I started to think of all the cute things they used to do. I remember when Darin was 3 and 4 he would put socks on his hands and pretend that he was a boxer and want to fight daddy, it was so cute. Amber had a high pitch squeaky voice and would holler for Darin in the cutest of ways. I remember that we had the hardest of times to keep clothes on the girl! She would strip down to her diaper every chance she could get!
Awwwww memories!
Now she is eleven and she is going thru so much so fast, with puberty, her acne problem, and the girl is really developing if you know what i mean. Baby girl has curves!
Since i did 12 reasons i love Darin on his birthday, i think i better do Amber's 11:
I Love:
1) that she is able to speak her mind
2) that she wants to help others all the time.
3) when she tells me she loves me.
4) that she loves animals.
5) that she already knows what she wants to be in her life.
6) that she loves to listen to music and can name the song and the title.
7) that she can make me laugh.
8) that she is so adventurous.
9) that she tries hard in school
10) that she can make friends very easily
11) I LOVE that she is mine.
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As you know on the 17th was my anniversary, well on Sunday i was woke up by my son standing in front of me holding a plate with a egg sandwich on it. He said "would you like a egg sandwich mom? I made it for you". I was shocked, I asked "what made you do this for me?" he said "because i didn't do anything for you anniversary". Then he told me that his sister helped with the little breakfast in bed thing. Isn't that the sweetest thing in the world?
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I'm not going to talk about all the crappy stuff that's happened this week, it will only take away from all the nice things that i have said...i will write about the bad stuff next time.
You all take it easy..

Happy Anniversary to us.

Frank and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on the 17th. We have been together 14 years almost to the date. We have had our good days and of course right now we are going thru our bad days. But hopefully things will be right again soon.

We didn't do anything special because i had to work in the evening, but i was suprised at home with a card and a rose. Times are tight, so to get that was just enough....the card was really nice. Just to put the card in a nut shell, it says that he LOVES ME. And my card pointed out how lucky i am to have a man like him in my life.

Although I have told him that i sacrificed myself and married him to save all the women. In return he says that he saved all men from having me..lol just our little love words..lol
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Amber started hip hop dance class today and is really excited about it. I figured in junior high and high school there are so many dances that at least she may be comfortable if she had some neat dance moves. The classes are only $7.00 a week for 15 weeks. I should be able to come up with that.

Darin wants to go on this field trip to washington d.c., he would see zoo's and museums and i'm not really sure what else until the meeting on the 28th. The teacher said that the price is going to be $600 dollars. Thankfully we can make installment payments on this. He really wants to go and of course i want to be able to give him that.

A lady at work calls me super mom, I don't think i am that...i just want what all mom's want their kids to be happy and experience new things.
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Because i work in a Video store you would think that's all i would talk about right?
Well i really haven't been keeping up like i should be..
But here i go.
On Tuesday
"Stick It" -----If you have teenagers...this movie is highly recommended..It's about gymnastics with a comedy twist to it.

"Fast and the Furious tokyo" -- you know who i recommend this too...to the men! Fast cars...everyman will be glued.
ok...
movies that are already out
"Brother Bear 2" I actually thought it was cuter than the first one.
"Sentinal" was great from what i heard.

I will try and keep up with my movies ...I might have more time to watch them now that i am not working so many hours.

_____

Still looking for a job here...I will take anything at this point full or part time to make up the difference in hours...
I hope that all is well with you all and that all of you are happily working :)

Anyone hiring?

Well, sorry it's been so long, but it's really hard to keep updating when your looking for work. While i am on vacation i was informed that when i get back my hours are going to be cut in half! My vacation that i earn will be no more, i have exactly one day left after this week. And even better they are taking away my health insurance.

Panic started to set in! And i am still nervous, but with every bad thing has a good thing. Today Frank put an application to a factory and they hired him on the spot. It's great news butttttt....He's not making nearly what he was making, but it will be 40 + hours. Which he is not getting any from his current job. When his job calls, he is going to inform them that he found full time employment elsewhere. He will be getting benefits hopefully in just a couple of months. Now it becomes my turn to go half unemployment. But at least i can look for a job with or without insurance.

I am looking for a full time job, but i will probably stay working for Blockbuster 2 days a week to supplement the loss of wages. I did make a resume..And i was going to post it on here..but it won't go on here for some reason...oh well i tried...

One last bang for the summer

On Thursday was a beautiful day! It was my day off, and i thought what a great day to be walking around the state fair. I couldn't get it out of my mind. I managed to say screw it again and squeeze enough to go...(i know i will regret it) but... I really wanted to go, Amber would love being around the animals. The kids would really enjoy the rides. And it was not so unbearably hot that i would not be able to walk around the fair.

We all had fun, i wished the kids rode a few more rides, but they were afraid of alot of the rides.
I love walking around the craft building, people are so creative! I wish i had half the creativity as some people. Amber loved petting the horses and goats and pigs. She got to pet a baby pig and a baby chicken. Frank loved looking at the police officer working with his attack dog. He also liked looking at some of the new trucks that they had on display. It only cost $80,000! That's a freakin house!

Well as of today at 5:00 pm. i am officially on vacation for the week! I'm not going anywhere, just staying home and listening to the quiet in the house when the kids go back to school! No more sleeping in for me ..which is a very sad thing...but maybe the fighting between them will start to calm down.

well i'm going to bed now...take care all...

Sometimes you have to say screw it

The title means that i did get to take my kids up North to see my best friend and her kids and all the animals that she has gathered in 2 years. My kids had a blast feeding the turkeys and the goats and the pigs and chickens. In her garage she has 11 rabits and and one barn kitten. The house had every indoor animal that you could think of! She has 6 dogs and I don't know how many cats...because I am allergic she made sure to keep those out of my sight. The snakes, birds and (daygus?it's kinda like a squirrel). were all over the house.

Every morning all the kids woke up to watering and feeding all the animals! This takes about an hour with 5 children doing it. They were excited to have Amber and Darin helping them do all this for 2 mornings. After all the animals were fed, all the children were fed their breakfast and were able to play with the animals or walk around the area. We even took them into town and walked around a couple stores. I got to see a store that carried horse saddles and bridles and all kids of feed for different farm animals. You don't see that around here.

I did take pictures, but it might take me a month to finish the camera to get developed. I have some pictures developed that i will be posting just as soon as i get to moms and have her scan and email me them.

Friday and Saturday was so wet and muddy out there in Lupton. It was pretty cold up there also. We were planning on letting the kids go swimming walking the goats and doing all kids of stuff, but the rain did not permit anything like that to happen. We did manage a night time walk by a cemetary...umm don't ask...lol I would not go in, but i would not have minded walking in it in the day time..i like looking at old head stones. The plan was to scare some of the children...yeh...kind of cruel...most of the kids were not phased. It was just some excercise for the kids. We were checking out the stars and hoping to see some deer walking in the roads.

Sunday we got up early to go up to the high school to see some of the children do their cheerleading for the football games and one of the kids was in a game of football. Three football games later and one bad sunburn to the face it was time to head home! Yeh..the last day up north and the sun finally showed up! Sucks! Funny thing is, by the time i got home its been doing nothing but raining here! Geesh!

Times are tight, which sucks, but what can you do. I still don't know what they are going to do about my job. They have snuck some hours away from our crew to give to me....but if they get busted on it i will be going down in hours. I have been looking everyday at other possibilities...if i do get another full time job i am going to try and keep blockbusters part time. Every penny helps ya know. Frank worked 3 days last week and he did work today and we know he is working tomorrow, but other than that its a who knows kind of thing.

Next week i am on vacation for a week! I like to take the first week of school off so i can take care of anything that the kids need in the first week. I got everything on Amber's list of things for school in her backpack and ready to go. Darin did not have a list, so i got him what i know he will need for starters, like pens, pencils, erasers, compositions books, paper. Anything else will have to wait and see what he is going to need. Amber's list had baby wipes and antibacterial wipes....i can understand the antibacterial wipes...but why the baby wipes? I will have to see what Amber says they use those for.

Well...I am getting tired...and i have to get up early for work.Later all!

I want off the ride

I finally have a day off, I just worked the hardest 6 days straight! On Saturday they even had us come in at midnight for a mandatory meeting, then lucky me got to open the store the next morning. :P At least i am still working, but not sure how long. I talked to my district leader and she says the only thing that will save my hours and my benefits is if i moved up to Assistant Store Manager. I am not too crazy about all the responsibility that comes with. Mostly more paper work to learn about, but not much more than what i am doing already. Unless i can find a job that will help me like soon i am not sure what else to do. I have to make a living.

Frank's job works him so sporadic that it's getting ridiculous, some good news maybe is that my neighbor knows someone hiring and is going to put a good word in for Frank. It is a guarantee 40 hours a week...so let's all hope.

The kids are not looking forward to school in just a couple weeks, although i think they are just a little bit bored. On the 25th i am taking them up north to Lupton, Mi. to visit with my best friend and all the animals. I am hoping that i can make that possible.

I went to the Salvation Army and bought Amber some clothes for school, we looked at alot of jeans and pants. I actually found some with tags still on them. I walked out with 5 pairs of pants and 2 shirts and 2 belts for only $22.oo. I am getting a lay-a-way out at Walmart for socks and underwear and a couple outfits on Friday, so at least my kids will have some clothes when school starts. I was really worried about Amber because she is growing like a weed and none of her clothes that fit her last year will fit now. Darin's still wearing the same size pants as last year so he still has some...but i wanted him to have a different variety this year...you know how kids are with the trends.

I have alot of the kids school supplies already put up. I caught alot of good deals, like notepads for a dime and colored pencils for .88 cents markers for .88 cents and crayons for a dime.
Amber also needed a tri-fold presentation board for a science project, i found that at the local dollar store for $2.50 instead of $6.00 at the local office max.
Somehow i find the way to make a twenty dollar bill feel like a fifty...lol

I helped mom pack away the swimming pool since noone seems to be using it. I can see why she did it because it does cost alot to maintain it.

My son turns 12 on Wednesday the 16th! Time flies! Darin was born at 10:29 in the morning weighing in at 9 lbs. 11 oz. and 21 inches. Now he is 5'4 and I won't say what he weighs now..lol That will only embarrass him. But he is difinitely built for football. He does not know what he wants for his birthday. At first he wanted a new game but now he says he's not sure. So he has until Friday to figure it all out. Yeh, i know he has to wait for his present and all. Well that's what happens when you live from paycheck to paycheck.

Well goodnight all...take care

I hope i don't babble on

The only thing i really have to talk about is my deep depression on what life has to keep throwing at me, I know I am not the only one that is in trouble but this is my blog and my worry. I'm so worried about things its really making me sick to my stomach. I have to talk to my district leader to see if either a) when i am going to lose my hours or b) how can i save my job.
I only have experience in retail, or the restaurant business, and i don't want to do that again, and no one is going to pay me near what i am making now. Plus i have to have benefits! My pills alone will put me into severe debt.
I wonder if life will get better? Can a new president turn things around? what a difference life has made for it self since our current president has been in office. Am i the only one that feels this way?
Sorry i am venting...I will try to talk about something else.
_________________________________________

My dad had the week off for vacation so i really did not have to go over and take care of mom this week. I did go over with Darin and he helped me mow the lawn really fast before the heat got to be too much. Darin really loves riding the lawnmower and he gets to earn a few dollars.
We will be bright eyed and bushy tailed come Monday to visit grandma, we miss her and i am sure that my dad has about drove her crazy!

Amber is starting to do what i have asked her to do for a long time. She is wearing a headband to bed now...Not because i told her to, but because my best friend Barb told her to do it! Aunty Barb has more clout than I! If there is anything that i want done i just have to call Barb and somehow she is able to work her magic on her. What is great about it is that it's actually helping with the acne.

Well all...i gotta get some sleep..
Ya'll take care and i hope life is treating you better.

The Trip

On Friday i had to make the decision that there was not going to be any way to afford a hotel room the night before the trip. So about 4 a.m. we all got up to make the 5 hour drive down to Cincinnati, Ohio to King's Island. (Mind you that i really made it in about 41/2)

I could not sleep Friday night at all, I tried about 4 times to lay down and go to sleep, but it was just not going to happen. I felt like the Walt Disney commercial that said "I'm to excited to sleep". That and I am too stressed out about bills and such. So I got no sleep at all and drove all the way there.

We made it down there just as they opened the park. We mapped out our course and went to town on all the fun rides. Darin went on his first roller coaster and his daddy said that he was gonna puke. I love roller coasters and I wished that i could have done them with him, but alas my fat ass could not fit in the roller coasters seats. How dissapointing! How embarrassing! I did get to go on the White Water Rafting ride. That would be alot funner if you can go barefooting so your shoes don't get wet. The kids LOVED this ride! They went on it two times. They also loved the Scrambler, that's always their favorite at a carnival.

We went on the replica of the Eifel Tower, it's only a third the size of the real one. All i can say is that i don't want to even attempt the real Eifel Tower. But we did get a beautiful view of the whole park and some of Ohio.

We also went to the water park there and they had a blast in the pools and the slides and the large fun water activities they had there. They were totally soaked and having so much fun. I just waded my legs in the water, i was not up for swimming .

We did make it to the last show of what they called the "School of Rock". It was a concert and they played alot of rock music of the "80's", Me and Frank were rockin it out. lol The kids really enjoyed the music also and they pretty much said that was their favorite part.

We stayed at the park from 10 in the morning till 7:30 at night. We were all under the same sun and I am still wondering why i was the only one that got fried! My face looked like a huge tomato! My husband has nothing my son and daughter has nothing...just me! God just hates me i guess.

So after that we decided that we better start heading home. I drove all the way back home on zero sleep! It was a hard feat but i managed. I am glad that i had packed pop and chips for the ride home. Luckily the cooler kept everything cold. I made it home in only 4 hours! Only had to make one potty break! It was great to get home into our air conditioning and fans, it felt so nice on my red hot face. All in all we all had fun. But i think we would have had more fun at Seaworld, watching the animals do tricks.

In other news...I was just told today that in probably a couple of months they will be cutting my hours in half. When one of our managers returns to our store, supposedly we both will get 20 hours. I pray that won't happen...but I have to start looking for a full time job, so i am not lost if it does happen. This really sucks!!!! I'm really worried about losing medical, all my pills.
Hopefully everything will turn out alright. Pray for me..
Thanks

what do you write about when there is not much to say

I'll be the first to admit i am a slacker when it comes to my blog. But is it really being a slacker or just don't have anything exciting to tell you all? I think it's a bit of both.

Work has been a big pain in the arse lately, they are pushing us to get everyone on the online movie pass...I'm saying why?? Won't that put me out of a job? Why would i throw myself on the unemployment line? Frank is already on the unemployment line about every other week. He just had 3 weeks off and is back to work currently. When he is "unemployed" he is looking for a job that is a little more stable than this. It drives him nuts to be home doing nothing.
My job has been trying to give my shifts a little variety. At least i am not closing all the time. Between Frank and my mom I have been able to do different shifts.

As of Friday i have a 3 day weekend! wooohooo I don't know if i have enough money to go down on friday and spend the night in Ohio to go to King's Island, but i do have enough for tickets and gas and some food. It only means that we will have to drive down at about 5 in the morning. At least i am off on Friday so if that's the case at least i can go to bed early.
The kids are so looking forward to going, they keep asking when and here it's almost upon them.
There is so much to do and see there. They have rides, shows, characters, and a great water amusement area. I have got to take many pictures!

The kids are really starting to get on eachothers nerves, not to mention mine! Blood is seriously starting to be part of a daily ritual. lol... It's always around the one month off that it starts to get a little rough in this household. I start to pray that school starts soon and at the same time praying it takes a little longer because i have not got their school clothes and things ready yet. Amber's list of things she will need for the 5th grade is tremendous! I really hate to see what Darin's list for the 7th grade will be.

Darin's birthday is coming up next month, August 16th. My baby boy will be 12 but he looks like a 15 year old. Today my mom and I took the kids to Taco Bell for lunch and mom notices that he is getting some peach fuzz under his nose. He says he wants to grow a mustache, not just any mustache...the handle bar kind. I had to laugh! Then he said he was going to grow a goatee. I don't know about you all but i love men with mustaches..but can't stand a guy with a beard.

Amber has been getting a sense of humor about her J Lo butt. She even teases herself about it now. Girlfriend has been developing! She is looking more and more like a young jesabelle...I mean lady...lol I'm kidding ya'll! She is getting so beautiful...Today i begged her to let me put her in pig tails. She actually let me and she kept them in long enough for me to take a picture of her in them. Does anyone know what do do about some serious acne on the forhead for her? I keep telling her it's because of the oil in her hair to try and keep it off her face with a headband. And i have been buying stridex like crazy. Any other ideas? The stridex i can get her to do..but the headband thing she refuses.

My best friend Barb came down on Saturday and spent the night. It was so much fun to see her kids and play some games. I love playing Domino's and I had not played in a long time, in fact it's been a long time since i sat down with adult's and actually played anything. Well anyways she was down so that she can put her son on a plane to Boston for some special summer school for the extra smart kids. Her son Mason lives for school! He actually hates summer vacation...Isn't that the weirdest thing you ever heard? He went to Washington and visited the White House, he was suppose to meet the president if he was not busy at the moment. I don't think he did get to meet him because he never said anything about it. Well anyways, I am supposed to go up north and visit her and her little zoo in August.

You know i am kinda nevous about meeting all her new friends up there. I don't have any new friends...sure we are close with the neighbors across the street..but i don't connect with her like i connect with my best friend Barb.

I have not been feeling well the past few days...yesterday i felt like i had to puke all day. Today has just been feeling a bit weak but i just keep doing whatever has to be done. I don't have time to be sick.
Well i guess i am going to quit babbling now and take my ass to bed.
take care

Mom's got a new do!

Mom finally is trying something different with her hair. She has never had her hair so short, i guess you can say that my hair inspired her. She finally spent some money on herself! She deserves it.
I really like it on her. And as far as i know she likes it too!





























Next thing ya know she will be wearing hootchie clothes like daisy dukes and tank tops...lol just kidding mom...love ya!

HELLO!

Well everything is back to normal now on the old computer...thank God!
But where do i start?
How was everyone's 4th of July? I was working on the 4th so we celebrated it on the 3rd by going on a picnic to our favorite park. We woke up extra early and had breakfast in the park. I thought my father was cooking breakfast for everyone..but guess who got stuck with that! Yep, me! After breakfast my husband and my kids went fishing at the lake. I could not go :( because i have not yet got my fishing license. Amber caught a few sun fish and hubby caught a few too. Poor Darin, the one that wanted to fish the most did not catch anything.

Amber wanted to go swimming before we started to make lunch so off to the beach we went. All of a sudden Amber was talking to a girl, as i was wading my legs in the cool water. I was thinking "man that girl makes friends easy"...until she came over to us and said "Mom, this is olivia from school". Amber really loves to swim and i was glad she had someone to talk to and play with, the water was nice..but not nice enough for me. When we went back to the picnic area i found my son cooking lunch. He really was enjoying flipping burgers and shucking corn.

After the picnic, i had to go to work for a meeting. I was pretty tired when i went and I really hate going to work on my days off. I can't plan anything for the whole day because i have to go in for an hour, just to hear all the complaining about this and that. :P

But in the evening we went to the Hazel Park race tracks fireworks for a spectacular fireworks show. They really did out do themselves this year, the fireworks lasted at least an hour. I love the fireworks that go up in the air and looks like someone thru a bunch of silver confetti.

I've been trying to keep the kids busy with things. And i do have a small trip planned at the end of the month. I am trying to save some money to take them to King's Island for the day. King's Island to me seems like a small Disney World. Rides made for the whole family to enjoy and it also has a huge water park. It will be lots of fun. Then in August I have a weekend planned to take me and the kids to my best friends house up North in a city called Lupton, to see her zoo! She has so many animals, turkeys, pigs, chickens, goats, dogs, snakes, many reptiles that i just have to go see them and her family!

Frank is bored out of his mind these days. Yep, he is back to unemployment for the time being until his job gets busy again. Damn permits! He has been looking for a job that he may stay working, but as you know, that's really hard.

A few days ago we took the kids to Walmart to put some clothes in lay-a-way for school. They really did not have much for Amber in the way of pants out yet so i may have to go back and put another in a couple weeks. Amber is in a difficult size now and that makes it hard to find clothes in her size. She is out of kids and not yet into adult..so i guess she is in junior miss? I put some underwear in lay-a-way and i had to guess her size...i started out holding size 5 up against her and that looked ok...but then i thought with her j lo butt i better go a size 6...lol
Darin is maintaining his sizes...He don't need to get any bigger, do you all know that at the age of 11 he is staring into my eyes!

Well i guess i will hit the hay.

HELLO!

Well everything is back to normal now on the old computer...thank God!
But where do i start?
How was everyone's 4th of July? I was working on the 4th so we celebrated it on the 3rd by going on a picnic to our favorite park. We woke up extra early and had breakfast in the park. I thought my father was cooking breakfast for everyone..but guess who got stuck with that! Yep, me! After breakfast my husband and my kids went fishing at the lake. I could not go :( because i have not yet got my fishing license. Amber caught a few sun fish and hubby caught a few too. Poor Darin, the one that wanted to fish the most did not catch anything.

Amber wanted to go swimming before we started to make lunch so off to the beach we went. All of a sudden Amber was talking to a girl, as i was wading my legs in the cool water. I was thinking "man that girl makes friends easy"...until she came over to us and said "Mom, this is olivia from school". Amber really loves to swim and i was glad she had someone to talk to and play with, the water was nice..but not nice enough for me. When we went back to the picnic area i found my son cooking lunch. He really was enjoying flipping burgers and shucking corn.

After the picnic, i had to go to work for a meeting. I was pretty tired when i went and I really hate going to work on my days off. I can't plan anything for the whole day because i have to go in for an hour, just to hear all the complaining about this and that. :P

But in the evening we went to the Hazel Park race tracks fireworks for a spectacular fireworks show. They really did out do themselves this year, the fireworks lasted at least an hour. I love the fireworks that go up in the air and looks like someone thru a bunch of silver confetti.

I've been trying to keep the kids busy with things. And i do have a small trip planned at the end of the month. I am trying to save some money to take them to King's Island for the day. King's Island to me seems like a small Disney World. Rides made for the whole family to enjoy and it also has a huge water park. It will be lots of fun. Then in August I have a weekend planned to take me and the kids to my best friends house up North in a city called Lupton, to see her zoo! She has so many animals, turkeys, pigs, chickens, goats, dogs, snakes, many reptiles that i just have to go see them and her family!

Frank is bored out of his mind these days. Yep, he is back to unemployment for the time being until his job gets busy again. Damn permits! He has been looking for a job that he may stay working, but as you know, that's really hard.

A few days ago we took the kids to Walmart to put some clothes in lay-a-way for school. They really did not have much for Amber in the way of pants out yet so i may have to go back and put another in a couple weeks. Amber is in a difficult size now and that makes it hard to find clothes in her size. She is out of kids and not yet into adult..so i guess she is in junior miss? I put some underwear in lay-a-way and i had to guess her size...i started out holding size 5 up against her and that looked ok...but then i thought with her j lo butt i better go a size 6...lol
Darin is maintaining his sizes...He don't need to get any bigger, do you all know that at the age of 11 he is staring into my eyes!

Well i guess i will hit the hay.

Miss me?

I'm still here, sorry but due to circumstances beyond my control..my computer caught a virus, don't know how it happened...but now it's fixed and it's back to normal now.

I will be posting shortly..but its really late now...so i think i will post tomorrow

Happy Birthday's

As of June 8th, I got a year older....they are really starting to rack up now! 36 big ones came up against me. I have to say a couple HAPPY BIRTHDAY'S...To MrsDof...turned 50 on the 10th and I know Monica over at Pieces of us has a birthday coming in June also! Gemini's are the greatest ever, don't ya think?

I didn't do much for my birthday...that was planned in advance. I usually work on my birthday because i really don't care about my birthday that much. But this year i told myself take it off so some idiot don't come in the store and piss you off on a day that should be fun. I literally did not do much of anything...no housework...no cooking...just chill! I wished i had more of them.

Can I list 36 things that i am proud of out of my life?

1. Darin, he is the first and he gives me more reasons to list to be a proud mother
2. Amber, i love that she speaks her mind, and don't take crap from people...not even me and that makes us bump heads. But to know her is to love her. She loves to help others and I am proud of her for that.
3. Frank, He has been there for me thru the worst of times and I do love him!
4. House....I can't believe that i have owned a home for 8 years.
5. Cars.....Able to afford a new car if i need one.
6. My job...I'm so proud that i had enough nerve to quit one job to go to another that is less stressful.
7. Barb, I'm so glad that she is my best friend...thru almost 20 years we have been thru alot and I am proud that she is still there for me even tho she lives 3 hours away.
8. I'm proud that during hard times when i was younger that i was able to help my parents in their time of need.
9. Mom...I have the best mom ....I know there is nothing she would not do for us.
10. Dad...I am proud to share the same birthday as him...yep..i was a "gift". Thank god he did not "re-gift" ...lol
11. Proud to be an American.
12. Proud to be a mother
13. Proud of the fact that i can type as fast as i do.
14. Proud that every job that i have had ...saw management material out of me.
15. I can't believe how much i am able to accomplish when i put my mind to it.
16. Proud of the fact that i have never spent a night in jail...and don't plan to! lol
17. Proud to know who the father of my kids are...I was just thinking of how many times i watch maury and they have to prove who the father is.
18. Proud of graduation.....It was hard...but it felt great to accomplish it.
19. Proud of myself when i had a car in the drive way 3 months before my 16th birthday.
20. proud that i can cook some descent meals..... I'm no chef...but noone here looks like they are starving.
21. Proud to volunteer for all school activities.
22. Proud of my daughter making captain of the safety squad.
23. Proud of the wedding that my husband and I had....that was alot of hard work, and we did not have much..but it was beautiful and will always be great memories.
24. Proud that Frank asked me to marry him before we found out that i was pregnant.
25. I'm proud of the fact that i can work on some things on a car. I can change a tire, battery and wires...plugs, plug wires...small simple things...but i know alot of girls that have never opened the hood. I even used to give my cars oil changes.
26. Proud of my high score in bowling
27. I am proud that i can go fishing and catch a fish, i can even bait my own hook.
28. I am proud that my kids look up to me and know that i will do anything for them.
29. proud not to be a drug addict...
30. Proud that i am not an alcholic!
31. proud that i quit smoking...cold turkey.
32. Proud that i survived a heart attack.
33. Proud that I made it to 36 years old and i don't feel the need to lye about it.
34. I am proud of being 36 and don't have a head full of grey hair yet...there's a couple of them...but not very noticeable.
35. Proud to be able to support my family
36. proud to share my life with all of you.


There...the last few was hard...
when your tired...so off to bed all...gnight

Just thought i would update

Well Frank recieved one check from unemployment. Yeh, at least he got it! His boss called him back to work the Tuesday after Memorial day. Thank god he still has a job! I won't care if he gets laid off from time to time as long as there is a unemployment check to count on.

The kids are getting excited about summer! Their last day is the 15th and they only go for a couple of hours! I'm not too excited about it...but i am excited about sleeping in! I can see it now...everything will be fine for a couple days and then boom...bam...bang...fight after fight!

Mom and I opened the pool a few days ago. Hopefully that will keep the kids from fighting so much. I can't believe the kids went in the last couple days...to me its still too cold. We had two days that i had to turn my air conditioning on, i can't stand the heat...it makes me sick. I was glad that i could shut it off and open the windows again. I am trying to keep my bills down to catch up on them.

I make the first payment on the truck this month. I put in some overtime the last couple of weeks. I snuck in an extra hour here and there. Not without any reason...we have been trying to transfer all the dvd's back into original cover art it's not easy when you have almost 5,000 movies on the floor area. We have only been able to work on it here and there. Putting the movies back in their cases saves us so much time when we put them for sale or send them back to distribution. Frank and I both have done what we can to survive during the hard times.
Frank took on a roofing job over the weekend for some extra money. The guy said he would call Frank if he has another roof in the area. He does them on the weekends only, which would be the only time he would be able to do it anyways.

This week was tight for us, I had to renew my plates to both our vehicles because my birthday is the 8th...I get paid on the 9th so ...i went and did it because with my luck me or frank would have been pulled over. The cost of my pills were outrageous...so it did not leave much for us to squeak by on. Frank said the guy for the roof was going to pay him Monday...that will get us thru the rest of the week.

Amber is having like her 8th field trip on thursday...The school is treating her out to C. J. Barrymores because she was on Safety Patrol all year. Guess what!!!!!! She is going to be Safety captain next year! This means she gets to do the flags and makes sure all the safety's are on their post. She is so geeked that the teacher that is in charge of safety's gave her this honor.
The teacher, Mrs. Fischer, is such an excellent teacher...Darin had her for 2nd grade and she really turned him around on the reading. When teacher's week came i gave her a bouquet of flowers and a really nice note. Do you know that she keeps that note and shows it off to all the rest of the teachers.. She said that it made her cry.. I sincerely meant every word that i wrote. She told me that when a parent is complaining to her about their kid, she will pull it out and read it to make her feel better. I thought that was sweet.
When Amber was going into the 2nd grade i insisted on having her teach Amber. She loved both my kids.

All of us at my work just found out that we re getting a new store manager on Monday. Everyone that has worked with her says that she is a sweetie...cross your fingers ya'll!
We are having a meeting tomorrow with her, just to get to know eachother. I think it will be fine. We handle things rather well, and we will just have to see what she will be expecting from us.

Well, bed time awaits...

Amber's Theatrical Debut

Amber in the grey sweater with her classmates just before the show started.
Amber was one of 4 people in the entire 4th grade at Roosevelt Elementary to participate in a show for Michigan week. Her responsibility was to talk about Bay city Michigan. The night before she was a nervous wreck and practicing her speech to anyone that would listen to her.

Many of the shows were interesting, informitable and imaginative. One school performed a talk show type theme. One school performed a newscast type of skit, and one school used Gwen Stefani's song "hollerback girl" to perform a skit on camping, i think everyone enjoyed that. You can see the nervousness in alot of kids. One girl did her whole thing while standing on her tippy toes. lol Another kid was figiting with his shirt the entire time. It was a total blast to watch the kids perform.











Never thought i would see my daughter's name up in lights but there it is...Amber Yetnick :)
They talked about a couple major city's in Michigan.















For their months of hard work they all recieved a trophy saying "Michigan week 2006 Education Day presenter"
She was more excited about being excused from any homework for the day...go figure!
















This is Amber's teacher Mr. Turner!
I don't know why but i think he is super cute. lol
Amber seems to like him also.


The spotlight was on my daughter today...see everything balances out.

HONOR'S NIGHT FOR DARIN

Monday was a big day for my boy. Remember me saying that he was on the honor roll all year?
Well on Monday they had all the students that were getting awards and honored for special achievements at this special gathering at the school's gym.

Here he is coming into the gym












coming in front of us...he looks a bit nervous.











Here's my boy going on stage to get his special certificate. I couldn't have been more prouder. They didn't do this when i was kid.









Of course Amber was bored! The spotlight was not on my little girl. Buttttttt...On Wednesday my daughter is going to the high school auditorium to perform a special presentation of fun facts of Michigan...Amber was chosen to do Bay city, Michigan. Only 5 in her class was chosen to do such an honor, she is so nervous! She has been practicing and practicing and i think she will do just fine. I got the camcorder all fired up and ready to go.

When did i lose it?

I always thought i was a fun mom to my kids. I thought my kids thought i was cool. I listen to the kind of music that kids today listen to. I like hip-hop and rap and rock and all that and my kids and i would sing to all kinds of music together.

But today i was singing and dancing in my seat in the car, having a great time, when my daughter yells at me to "STOP DOING THAT"!!!!! I asked her" why?" and she said "your embarrassing me"! " Moi! embarrassing you?" She said "yeh! Everyone can see you!" I was like "soooooooooo you never cared before" The only answer she had was "I do now!" I've always been the mom that kids want to hang around. I am always the mom that the kids around me want to talk to and get advice. Have i lost it? Or simply misplaced my coolness?lol
Will i ever get it back?

I didn't feel that old until today.....another birthday is coming up on me in June....

Someone got a cane? better yet a power scooter? If i am getting old i might as well do it in style.
_________________________________

Frank filed for unemployment today. His boss said that he could because of the down time. Hopefully he will get it.

On Monday morning before the kids went to school and while Frank was shaving his face to go job hunting. We all ran out and stuck every one of the signs that my mother helped me make into the ground. Thank God it stopped raining long enough to do it!

When we were done the kids called Frank to come out, he was totally suprised! He did not know what to say. He looked at each and every one of them. They all had something different on them. My yard looked so colorful...they were all on flourescent colored poster board. People drove by stopping to see what they were all about.

I would have gotten pictures of them but the rain came back before i could snag my mother's camera for a shot. The signs got ruined from the rain, darn it.

_____________________________________________

Frank still has not been working, it's on 2 weeks now. I am very scared, but Frank is looking for a job. I just don't know what happened. For two and a half months they worked him like a dog. Now to not have any work, just don't make any sense.

Why is it when i feel like i take one step forward something makes me take 2 or 3 steps back? I know i am not the only person suffering in this day and age. But you just always have to ask WHY?
I do know why...but i am not going to get all politcal now.
____________________________________________

I want to thank you all for your prayers.....
I had a customer come in and ask why i have not seemed myself. I told him that i was stressed out about my hubby not working. He asked me to write his name on a piece of paper and he was going to get a prayer chain going for him. I thought that was totally sweet! And if God seems fit to work a miracle for my family i know he will.
____________________________________________

gnight all

Happy Mother's Day

I hope every mother had a wonderful day! Other than working on Mother's day, my day was pretty nice.

I woke up to a gigantic card that my my son bought for me, he very nicely added his sister to the card. My husband and my son made me breakfast before i had to go to work, that was really nice of them. And when i got home from work, dinner was waiting for me. What a nice day, don't ya think?

I stopped at my mother's after dinner and gave her the cards that i had gotten her. I had planned on getting some flowers to go with them but by the time i had went to the place their flowers were already picked out :(. Yeh i know, bad planning. Sorry Mom!

______________________________________________

I haven't been posting so much lately because, I have not been feeling quite myself. When i am depressed or stressed i tend to keep to myself.
I guess it's another bad cycle for me again. Things just keep going wrong. My washing machine just broke down. Remember the wonderful job that my husband got, well....for some reason they did not need Frank to work ALL of last week! I say Great! Right after i take the plunge and put myself in debt with another new vehicle. If i had known that was going to happen i would have held off another month or two. Can ya help me pray that Frank starts working again without so much time off? It's appreciated.
_____________________________________________

Frank's Birthday is Monday. My mom helped me make signs to put all out on the front lawn, but who knew that we were going to get all this rain. Hopefully, Frank will work on Monday and it stops raining long enough for him to come home with the yard all decorated. I originally planned to do it in the middle of the night and he would wake up to it. But they will get ruined right now.

I'm going to make him a birthday cake in the morning.

He will be the big 4-0 ...yep 40,,,he said to me today that he was going on 28...if i had my say,,,i would say 2 ...lol
Doesn't 40 sound ancient? But since i will be 40 in another 4 years , i guess it's not as bad as it sounds.

___________________________________________________

Darin goes on a field trip on Monday to a place called C.J. Barrymore's because he has been on the honor roll all year and has no points against him. The points are what you get if your bad in school. He is such a good boy and really try's hard in school. They are having an awards night at the school and we have been invited to honor Darin because he is getting more than one award in school. He was allowed to invite up to 5 people. He asked his grandmother to come, and she was happy to be asked to come. I'm sure Grandpa would come if he wasn't so tired after work.

Their are many field trips planned for this month. Darin is going to the Detroit Zoo at the end of the month and Amber is going to some kind of camp for the day in just a few days.

I am so proud of my kids, they work hard!

well all, I'm getting tired...
Again,
Happy Mother's Day to you all

BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER DEAR!!! SHE IS 57 ON SUNDAY MAY 7TH!
SHE IS THE GREATEST! LOVE YA!!!!!

MY NEW BABY

Me in my new truck. Thanks to Frank's new job
we are hoping to be able to make the payments














This thing has all the bells and whistles on it! I love all the new Onstar toys on it! The hands free phone is the whip!!! I car that can talk to ya! It's a 2005 Chevy Colorado, It's brand new but just did not sell in 2005. We got a great deal on it. After haggling a bit we were able to bring the price down almost $5,000 .