Oh, Scrap It!

Yippie!!! I had the slightest of breaks in the madness that is my life, so I jumped on the opportunity for a little "creative therapy." Feels so good to scrap again - I'm looking forward to the relative quiet of summer so I can do some serious catching up.

Still Here, Still Crazy

Thought I should make a quick post to let you know I have not fallen off the face of the earth. To summarize:

- A&P test today

- lots of cleaning last week, yet no visible progress

- our bank has me seriously irritated (and stuck all weekend with a -$400 balance b/c they tried to post the same check twice and didn't fix it before the weekend)

- Jeff loves his job!

- Braeden is frantically learning sight words so he can get into the principal's treasure chest

- Jeff is, as usual, procrastinating and will probably depend on me to help him out (never mind that I'll be studying for my own classes)

- I have lost 6 pounds in the last two weeks!

- on Saturday we're going to see Thomas the Tank Engine (again) at the railroad museum

- we just squeezed through the bills at the middle of the month

- it's time for me to get ready for church

Susan Boyle

By now, you've probably heard of Susan Boyle, the woman who blew away everyone at Britain's Got Talent tryouts. If you haven't, look her up on YouTube.

Someone sent this link to another song she recorded several years ago - I am blown away by this woman. So sad that the outward appearance has kept her talent hidden all this time!

I like Adam.

I swore off American Idol when Melinda Doolittle got voted off. But you can't really avoid the AI machine, and I have to say, I am really impressed by Adam Lambert. He's goofy, and I don't always like his version of some of the songs - but he is one heckuva performer. I don't think it matters how far he gets in the competition. The man is guaranteed a record deal, and at the very least, is quite entertaining to watch.

Handsome Boy

When you're six, and your mean mommy is making you help with the housework, it's easy to find distractions. This is especially true when you are instructed to clean your room - lots of treasures can be found under the bed.

It's so tempting to play with the previously forgotten toys, but you know Mommy won't like that. What you can get away with, however, is playing with the wearable items. So by the time you are finishing cleaning, it's perfectly acceptable to be wearing a too-small ball cap, Transformers sunglasses, black gloves, and a Thomas watch.

And naturally, you want feedback on your fashion sense, so if you say to her, "Mommy, don't I look handsome?", of course she won't laugh.

Or will she?

He Is Risen!!

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." - Matthew 28:1-10

It's taken me a while, but I finally got a page about Bebo's birthday scrapped. We started the day with chocolate donuts and "special chocolate milk" (aka, Yoo-Hoo). I had planned on making cupcakes, but then I got sick the day before and decided it wouldn't be such a great idea. So the night before, we headed off to Wal-Mart to pick out cupcakes... except that Braeden wanted a cake, not cupcakes. I begged and pleaded, because I really didn't want to have to cut up a cake, but he was adamant. I gave in and carted home a somewhat ugly yellow birthday cake - but hey, it's what he wanted.

We had the school put Braeden's picture on the marquee, which he thought was the coolest thing in the world. Friday afternoon Jeff & I headed off to school with the cake, Transformers napkins, and Capri Sun in tow. Braeden was so proud to see us. He was wearing a little sticker that said "It's my birthday!" The kids sang to him (one little girl was totally off-key, and naturally she was the loudest). His reaction was just hilarious - he closed his eyes and got the funniest look on his face - you could see the internal conflict between being totally embarrassed and loving the attention at the same time.

It was then that we understood the obsession over the birthday cake. His teacher asked him first thing that morning if he was six, and he said "No. Not until the birthday cake!"



He got home and opened his gift from me & Daddy. The Leapster was a huge hit. Later we went to Grannie & Peepop's, where he got a bike and a play tent.

The original plan had been to go to Mom's last weekend, but he was still running a fever so we stayed put. Mom sent his package, and we got it yesterday - his very own Cuttlekids die cut machine! The child was in heaven. Jeff was - shall we say - concerned that it was too girly a present for a little boy, but Braeden really enjoys all things art. Mom had picked up a set of alphabet dies and some with trucks and motorcycles. When I showed Braeden how to use it, he exclaimed in utter delight, "Mommy, this is just the bestest birthday ever!"

Love that kid!

Blessings

They just seem to be rolling in lately. I've been really worried about money - the middle of the month is when all our bills come due, but at the moment there are more bills than money. With Jeff starting a new job, we had no idea when the first paycheck would hit, or how much time would elapse between the last Domino's check and the first Memorial check.

As usual, God was watching out for us. He'll have his first check next week. Some of the bills will be a couple of days late, but at least I will be able to pay them. We're going to make it. Things are going to be just fine.

More Good News

Jeff is in orientation for his new job today. We had expected him to get about three 12-hour shifts in a two-week period, and maybe he could pick up some extra hours along the way. It didn't sound like much, but it was more than he is currently making at Domino's.

Well, he just called to tell me that they are going to train him in CICU (cardiac ICU) and MICU (medical ICU) - and he will get three shifts a week! The pay is great, and I am ecstatic. Three shifts are manageable for him, even in school. Plus he'll be working nights, so he'll actually see us more than he would have otherwise.

You can't imagine how much pressure this will take off of me. I'm finally going to get a break and not have to be the main breadwinner for the family. Plus he's going to have benefits, which will allow me to back off my hours when school starts in the fall. There's no need for me to quit, but I am looking forward to slowing the pace a little so I can focus more on my studies.

God is good!!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" Psalms 3:5-6

Catching up

Jeff's orientation for his new job is tomorrow. Even though he'll be working nights, orientation is earrrrrlllllly in the morning. He has to leave the house by 5:45, which makes me laugh just a little. He's always griping about having to get up at 7am, but I'm out of bed every day long before he is! I admit, the time change between here and Chattanooga is a little irritating.

My piano has finally come home to me! We didn't have an appropriate trailer to move it when we moved the rest of our stuff, so it's just been sitting at the old house in a pile of unwanted junk. While I worked to clean up the mess at the old house, Jeff and Peepop moved the piano - and two others. It's a little more crowded in the living room, but I'm glad my baby's home. (No, it's not a baby grand.) It sounds soooo cool in this house, too. :)

Braeden, while over his headache, is still puny. The fever seems to be gone (finally), but it's obvious he just doesn't feel well. Poor guy. I wish he'd just get better already!

Did I mention that I got accepted in the nursing program? ;) I am really excited, but it now time to kick my butt in gear and lose some weight. Should you be interested in daily blather about my weight loss journey (or just bored with nothing better to do than count flowers on the wallpaper), you can mosey over to my weight loss blog and see how it's going.

And with that, I have work to do - homework, housework, and exercise, to be exact. Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

WOOO-HOOOO!!!

I got accepted!!!!

Rough Night

There is nothing in the world worse than seeing your baby hurt. Nothing.

Wednesdays are Braeden's day to go "up da mountain" to spend the afternoon with Grannie & Peepop until time for church. He played hard all afternoon, and when I met them at services last night, he was unusually lethargic and quiet. He even curled up in Peepop's lap and went to sleep - something he just doesn't ever do. I decided I would take him home early, and by the time I pulled in the driveway, he was in tears from a headache.

Naturally, the clinics were all closed for the night, so I called Jeff at school and he said to go on to the ER. By the time I got there Bebo was nauseated and couldn't quit crying. He said he had a "brain freeze" headache - like when you eat ice cream too fast, only it wouldn't go away. After two and a half hours, a doctor finally came in to see him. (Oh, and don't get me started on the receptioninst. I asked her for a pillow for Bebo, and she said she'd have to get one from the back room - and then went back to reading her book. I have never been so infuriated in all my life!)

But I digress. Turns out Bebo was having a migraine. The light was hurting him so much that we just sat in a dark room with him and tried to get him to go to sleep. The really bad part was when they had to draw blood. NOT a pleasant experience for mommies and daddies. :(

He's okay this morning, although it was 3am before they finally came home. Once I knew he would be okay, I came on home so I could work today - made me feel like I deserved the Bad Mommy of the Year award for leaving, but Jeff insisted there wasn't anything I could do anyway.

Ugh. I am so ready to get on with the nursing program thing already! I felt so woefully inadequate last night.

Now that the boy-child is okay, I have some serious studying to do to catch up with for this test - if I can stay awake....