Still Around, Just Not Here

Check me out at my new blog. I am not really a "housewife" anymore, although I am STILL AT HOME! So..I've made a site based more on my business, but will still have plenty of "mommy" posts as well!

TAME THE FLAME

I'm BAAACCCKKK!!

Oh it's been so long..I'm horrified! But we have been BUSY here! My son started Kindergarten, our puppy got Parvo and we chose to do the treatment ourselves(he SURVIVED, YEY!!!), and last but not least..I STARTED MY OWN BUSINESS!! WOO HOO!!!

Its taking off at full force and all I am working every. single. day. to get all of my filing systems, and supplies organized and ready to go because I have entered this business in the BUSY SEASON!! I launched on the 4th. Since then, I have sold over $300 in product, booked a total of 5 bookings, the first one is underway right now as she is having a catalog party with her co-workers. I also have sold product to my Schwan's man, and to a woman at a garage sale I was shopping at! Seriously!

SO..what is it that I got involved in?? SCENTSY!! And for where I live..it is just started to spread into our state, I am 1 out of only 2 consultants in my town of almost 20,000 people..AND..I am the only one working the business full-time..so I see myself going up, Up, UP!! And very quickly!! But..I am committed to updating here much more often, and hope you won't mind that I document some of my successes with the business, because I want to be able to look back someday when I'm AT THE TOP and see my humble beginnings!!



To learn more about what me and my choice to join Scentsy, visit my website. And make sure when you're there to click on the "Interactive Catalog"..it's really neat and give you the best look at our products!

If you have any questions for me about the Scentsy business, or products, you can message here, or email me and I'll get back to you ASAP!


I will slowly be catching up with all of you..and I can't wait to see how you all are doing!! Thanks for being patient with me!!

A Day Off, SAHM Style

Everybody deserves a day off from time to time. Even a stay-at-home mom deserves one. The bad thing about it is, you can't just call off or play hooky. The kids are ALWAYS there. There's no such thing as weekends or sleeping in as a parent, stay-at-home or not. Am I right? But yesterday I got a half day off and I can tell you I needed it! I am rejuvenated, and re-energized this morning! Hallelujah!

It all came about in the daily morning email my husband sent me. He mentioned that he was not feeling like being at work. My husband works hard, let me tell you. He works 7 days a week, 10 hours through the week, and 6 hours on weekends. Rarely does he take a Sunday off, and I can't quite remember the last time he took both a Saturday AND a Sunday off. It had been about a month and a half since he had even taken off a Sunday. So I knew that he must really be burnt out to mention that he didn't feel like being at work at all. I emailed him back and suggested that he just take the day off after lunch. Being in a union he can miss 2 days every month with out any repercussions, so going into his boss's office and saying "Hey I'm not coming back after lunch." is perfectly acceptable, no questions asked. He did exactly that.

He got home, and stretched out on his recliner. Ducky was napping, Punk and Twinkletoes were each on separate computers playing computer games, a rare treat for them. I spent about 2 minutes talking with SB, and then said "I'm going to sit in the sun!" I took a book with me and didn't move for over 3 hours except to refill my ice water. It was heavenly! SB got to doze, I refreshed my tan, the kids felt spoiled, and all was calm!

Then Ducky woke up and our world turned upside down again, as she is officially into her "terrible two's", but for those few hours, SB and I were able to recharge and hit the ground running this morning. Again, Hallelujah!!

Our Family Has Grown

I had a wonderful birthday, despite my frustrations the days leading up to it. Everything worked out and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. My husband installed a cd player into my van, and got me both of the Taylor Swift cd's that Twinkletoes and I had been dying to have. We've been singing non-stop since then!! My mom got me new phones for my house, since the ones I had were crap and always went dead without warning after 15 minutes of conversation. And she also got me, The Sims 3 game..which totally explains my absence from this blog..I'm totally addicted!

We spent the 25th (the day after my bday) at my mom's to celebrate. We had good food, games, conversation, and family bonding. It was wonderful. The kids were getting tired, and I was itching to play my new game, so we headed home around 8pm. The kids wanted to go see if the neighbor girl was still outside, so as we were unloading everything from the van they ran to the backyard to check. Next thing we knew, Twinkletoes comes screaming and crying around the corning, shouting, "TAG GOT LOOSE!!!" (Tag is our shed-crazy, totally wild dog, who likes to run away any chance he gets, and kill small wildlife.")

*crap*

SB got the kids calmed down and took off on foot to look for him. First stop, the church camp across the yards. About 25 minutes later he came back and got his truck. About 45 minutes later he came back home because it was too dark. The dog never came back. He isn't at the pound. My theory is that he managed to make his way 3 miles up the road to the country and is living his dream life stalking and killing animals in the woods..but who knows. Probably some poor family found him and was suckered in by his sweet face and kept him, not realizing what they are getting into like we did when we adopted him from the pound.

The kids were surprising not upset at all after the initial shock. Twinkletoes proudly announced that "Now I can get my kitty since Tag won't kill it." And Punk just immediately started asking for a new dog. Ducky was not as understanding and for 3 days afterward kept taking his collar and pointing to his dog run asking "Where Tag?"

We really didn't waste any time replacing him. We knew for sure that Twinkletoes would be getting the kitten we promised her before we adopted Tag and then found out that he didn't like small animals. So I checked the paper and found inside litter-trained older kittens. Perfect!! The kids and I hit Big Lots for all the supplies we needed for our new addition and then picked up our new orange & white long-haired baby boy, Harry. (Punk and Twinkletoes named him..)

SB and I talked about the dog situation. "Ducky really needs a dog." we agreed, "she's such an animal lover, but because she is so young, she can't love on the cat, because she runs and screams after him like a little troll, and the poor thing runs scared every time! "

We decided not to do the pound rescue this time. Last time we thought it was the right fit for us, getting a 1 year old dog, and skipping the puppy training, but we ended up with a dog that was impossible to retrain to stay with us in the yard, and we were never able to enjoy when outside because he had to be tied at all times.

So we found black Lab/Walker (a hound) mix pups and scooped up our new 6 week old baby boy, Hunter. Named appropriate because the Walker breed dogs are used for hunting, but don't HAVE to be. My mom's beloved dog, Cosmo, who died last year was half Walker. She fell in love with Hunter and we took her out yesterday and she adopted his sister, Bella. (Named after Bella from Twilight!)

Here's some pics of Hunter the day we brought him home..

The Sun Will Shine

I'm feeling MUCH better today..because I know you all were SO concerned about me, right? I hate being down in the dumps and some days it feels like I can't seem to dig myself out of the hole I'm in. But today, I'm feeling like I'm out of it. Finally. (Before any of you try to give me advice about anti-depressants, don't worry, I got that covered! I've suffered from PPD since I had Twinkletoes, and almost 4 years later, I still feel like I'm battling it..oh the joys of motherhood, right?)

Anyway..enough about my medical history. Let me tell you about the "gorgeous" July weather we are having here. I tried to take a picture for you, but it just did NOT capture the dreary, dread that is covering our small Ohio town. So I Googled "dreary day" and found this image that TOTALLY captures what it looks like here:



The rain has been falling for over 24 hours now, the air is thick with humidity, even though it's just over 60 degrees, and my basement is mildly flooded. I went down there this morning to put in a load of laundry, and because i wasn't paying attention got my feet soaked in slimy water when I got back to the corner where our washing machine is and where water always leaks in at when it rains hard. I should have known better, but hey, it was only 6:15 and I hadn't had any coffee yet!

I'm not going to let the weather get to me. The rain is actually much needed. My grass was turning brown, plants were wilting, and my pumpkin patch seemed to be at a stand still. As of this morning, there is a newness to the grass, my plants look much happier, and the few pumpkins that I have on my plants tripled in size! Rain, is truly nature's renewal.

I intend to spend my day finishing catching up the laundry I started yesterday. Watching "Elf", again, with my kids (they're obsessed let me tell you!), and getting psyched up for my birthday tomorrow. A day all about me..I can handle that! So long as my husband sends me romantic emails and my kids tell me I'm the "bestest mommy around"! And I know they will..because THAT is one thing they are good at doing for my birthday, and really..why should I even want to ask for more??

Its My Birthday And I'll Be Pissed If I Want To!

So I mentioned yesterday that Friday is my birthday. One year closer to 30. Believe it or not, I am actually VERY EXCITED to turn 30. As of Friday I'll have 3 more years to wait. I'm not wanting my life to fly by or anything, but because I started my family at 21, I am not living the typical life of a 20-something. I have responsibilities, and on the infrequent occasions that I do get to go "party", I am always paying for it the next day because a hangover + 3 kids is NOT very much fun.

Plus, with 30, there seems to be more an acceptance from other mothers. Well older mothers, that is. Sure I have friends my age who have kids, but a lot of the mothers I encounter at my children's activities are in their 30's and honestly, they treat me as "less of a mother" because I am still in my 20's. They do. Have any of you other younger mother's experienced this snobbery? It's not fun. Nor is it fair. And THEN when they find out that my husband is 11 1/2 years older than I am..well that always brings a whole new level of interesting looks and comments directed at me.

So, back to "Friday is my birthday." You see, I am big on making sure everyone in my life has a great birthday. Last year I threw a surprise party for my husband, just family, but he had never had one before, and I thought it would be fun to surprise him. I put a TON of effort into it. All the way to hiding homemade pizzas in our basement freezer, and buying the beer and liquor and hiding it as well. This year for my mom's I planned a fantastic menu and proceeded to give her "the best gift she had ever received."

Since I put so much effort into the birthdays for the people I love, is it so much to ask that they do the same for me? I love my husband to death, but being handed a gift still in the bag from the store it came from and a steak dinner (when I'm not even a huge steak fan) is not exactly putting much effort into it for me. But I know my husband, and I know that he really does try. He just doesn't quite "get it". Its my mom that is letting me down this year.

She stopped by last night and in the midst of our conversation she says,

"So, what do you want to do for your birthday?"

"Um..I don't know. Whatever."

"Well, do you want to go out? Do you want me to make something for dinner? What do you want me to get you. Just tell me," she proceeded to say.

"Mom, I don't know. I really don't. To be honest I hadn't even thought much about it. I've had a stressful day today."

"Well, you'll have to let me know so I'll know what to do."

Okay, I know it's nice that she is wanting to do something for me. But why do I have to plan it? I didn't ask her what SHE wanted to do for her birthday. I just said, "You need to come over here at 1pm, we'll have some appetizers, play some games, and then eat an early dinner." I mean it was HER day..she shouldn't have had to be worried about planning anything.

So, I'm just a bit down this year over my birthday. I found it incredibly discouraging that I am in charge of planning my own birthday. Again. I don't get why the people I love can't take notes from the birthday's I give them and give me the same in return. All I really want for my birthday is to be with my family and NOT have to plan anything. But that doesn't seem to be flying with them this year.

"Happy Birthday to me.."

PRAISE THE LORD..a little quieter please!!

I woke up this morning and actually one of the first thoughts on my mind was "what should I blog about today". I didn't really have anything new to share. My kids are still in residing in "Crab-O" land. I'm still thinking about starting up a new home business. I'm still working on transferring home videos..nothing new really.

I thought, maybe I'd share that my husband is working 12 hour shifts this week, but really, that's boring. He's only working about 2-3 extra hours / day. Nothing blog-worthy about that.

I have no more poop updates other than Twinkletoes is more regular now.

Hmm..what to blog about?

I poured a cup of coffee and went to sit outside on our breezeway to get away from my loud children and their movie that they have insisted on watching non-stop since yesterday afternoon, Elf. Yeah, that's right, the CHRISTMAS movie. I have "Baby It's Cold Outside" stuck in my head, and the fact that it's chilly here at the end of July is making it seem colder since I keep singing that song. So I went outside to get away from all the "Christmas cheer" and drink my coffee in peace.

I had just sat down and started to take a deep relaxing breath when I was startled almost out of my seat! By what do you ask? LOUD LOUD LOUD church music being played on a piano over probably the loudest loud speaker I have ever heard. And it has been going on non-stop now for about 30 minutes. Not that I'm against church music. I mean I love the Lord, and music played for Him is fantastic, but I really don't want to hear it at 8:15 in the morning while sitting on my breezeway trying to enjoy a cup of coffee.

You see, if you walk across our street and through our neighbor's yard..their property adjoins with a large church camp. And this church camp is held this year from July 23 - Aug. 2nd. (I had to go look it up to see how long I'd be enduring morning disturbances.) Our neighbors have warned us about this week since this will be our first summer living in this house. They said it's loud, the kids that attend it sometimes wander up onto our street and into our yards, and to make sure we keep our vehicles locked, because there is usually some thefts around the surrounding neighborhoods when this camp is going on. Great, huh? I personally couldn't see myself going to church camp and then robbing the neighbors, but I guess not all "Christians" have learned the "Thou Shalt Not Steal" commandment!

So..it looks like I'm in for an interesting week. Probably won't be much peace and quiet around here. Oh and I turn 27 on Friday. I'll blog about THAT tomorrow!