May 31, 2008

Shipshewana - Our Mini Vacation


My aunt Gail and cousin Jer came in on Memorial Day. We cooked out and made homemade ice cream. My cousin and the boys went on a bike ride and we made a last minute trip to Target to get a couple of things for our trip.

We got up early on Tuesday and left at 8am. We stopped at McDonald's for a quick breakfast and then took the 2 hour drive to Amish country.

My parents and aunt went in my parent's suv and my cousin, me and the boys went in mine. We had fun on the way. We listened to cds and passed a lot of beautiful scenery. Only half of it is highway, the rest is back roads so we got to see a lot of Amish homes and farms. We knew we were getting close when we started seeing horses and buggies and laundry hanging outside.

We got there around 11am and since it was too early to check in to our hotel, we headed straight HERE to the Flea Market. It was a little chilly but we survived. As soon as we walked through the gate I saw a "hair" booth. A Chinese lady was putting hair extensions in a ladies hair and I stopped to watched. She told me to come in and sit down and asked if I wanted her to do my hair. I loved the lady's hair she was doing, so I told her I wanted something exactly like "that". She was awesome at matching the hair color with her pieces and did a really good job with mine. And the good thing is, it's really easy to do, so anytime I want a cute hairstyle but are in a rush, I can do that. We walked around and looked at everything, got a quick lunch there and then walked around again until about 4:00. Right before we left we walked by a jumping thing... anyway, no one would do it but my cousin. I would have, but I didn't want my hair to go flying out.

After that we went to our hotel (Farmstead Inn), unpacked, got ready and went out to get an early dinner. We ate HERE and it was very yummy. Everything was home cooked and it was family style, so they just kept bringing out bowls or plates of whatever we needed. We got chicken, baked steak, corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, noodles, a salad and bread. It was all so good!

After we ate we went back to the hotel and went swimming, sat in the hot tub, played basketball and ping pong. Then we went back to our rooms, sat and talked and decided we needed a late night snack, so we ordered Pizza Hut. Then we went to bed.

We all met down in the lobby at 8:15 am for breakfast. Our plans for Wednesday was to leave right after breakfast and go through all the little Amish shops in town. However, I had looked at a super cute Coach knockoff at the flea market the day before and decided I didn't need it. Well, after sleeping on it, I decided I needed it. So, me, my cousin, and the boys went back to the flea market. We got right by the gate where the purse vendor was and I went in and picked up the purse in less than 5 minutes. However, T2 saw an alligator he had his eye on the day before, so he got that and T1 bought a picture for his room that he had looked at the day before. I also found a Louis Vuitton headband so I picked that up also. It's a good thing we went back! :)

After that we headed for the little shops, found my mom and aunt and walked around with them. We went in one shop and there was a little Amish woman who walked by and told us to make sure we came upstairs and visited her, and that she had some things for us to try. So we walked upstairs and way in the back of the room she had a table set up of all these dips. We tried a bunch and they were all very good. I bought 3 of the mixes... a spinach dip mix, a BLT dip mix and I also got a strawberries and cream dessert dip mix. They're all real easy to make, you just add the mix to either sour cream or cream cheese.

Next, we went HERE and went through all the little shops and rode their restored 1906 carousel. Then we started getting hungry so we ate at a little Amish ran restaurant called Daily Bread. Then we rode the carousel again, went to Aunt Millies to pick up some candy and left. But not before we almost got stuck in the elevator. But we won't talk about that.

After that, we made one last stop at Antique Gallery. T2 collects old cars and he got an old Greyhound bus. I got two old Presidential spoons.

Then we were on our way home. We got home, went out to eat, sat and talked, then went to bed. My aunt and cousin left early the next morning at 7am and 2 hours later it was back to work for me.

It was fun and relaxing and we spent most of the time bent over laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. We had a great time!

Enjoy the pics below...

Shipshewana Pics - Where We Stayed






Shipshewana Pics - The Fun We Had






Shipshewana Pics - More Fun and My New Hair






May 23, 2008

Life Insurance

T2, who is 11, is laying on the living room floor. I am sitting here at the computer and he says "Mom, do I have life insurance?" (Btw, the tv is off, no commercials, nothing about life insurance is being talked about.)

I told him that yes, he does have life insurance.

His next question was, "Mom, if I have a little baby, will I be able to get them life insurance?"

I said, "Yes."

He said, "Now, will I still have life insurance?"

I said, "Yes."

He said, "How much per month will the baby's life insurance be?"

I said, "I'm not sure, you'll have to see when the time comes."

Not sure exactly why he was thinking about that, but nothing like early financial planning!

May 21, 2008

Carrie Under---- (AI)

I'm losing more respect for you every day Carrie DIDYOUHAVE Underwear on! Wow, what a trashy outfit you were wearing tonight on American Idol. How about you cover it up, sweetie. I'm sure the cameraman enjoyed it. I, however, was very disappointed in you.

Not Much To Report

What a week. My mom is sick so I'm doing daycare by myself. Today was easy. Tomorrow will not be. I did something to my neck and shoulder picking a kid up yesterday and now I'm starting to get a headache from it. I really need to go to the chiropractor.

Two more days and I will be on vaca for 5 days. I am so excited! I really need a break! As long as I'm not sick, I don't care if it rains or shines! I'll just be glad to get away!

Someone egged our house Sunday night or Monday morning. Seriously, how immature do you have to be to do something like that? I have an idea of who it could be and all I have to say is, I don't even have time to analyze that psyco. And thank God I dodged that bullet!! Grow up!

I was flipping through channels tonight and I stopped on QVC... they were selling "The Firm"... for HALF of what I paid! UGH! I was so ticked. BUT... it got me to finally put a dvd in and work out a little!

T2's allergist appointment went ok. We were only there for an hour this time. I was very UNimpressed with the lady we saw. She just sat there looking through a catalog so she could make sure his insurance would cover everything. She SAID the 4 prescriptions she wrote would be fine. 3 of them were NOT! Do you know how much I hate the words "prior authorization"!! Every time I hear the pharmacy say that I want to punch someone. So we're waiting the 2-3 days for it to go through, which would be ok if my son, who is suppose to have a 125 lung function, wasn't at a 77!! He's almost down to half lung function and has nothing but his albuterol to help him. Umm, we have albuterol up the yingyang, it's the other 3 prescriptions that we need. I will be calling the doctor's office again tomorrow and I'm hoping they've done something. It's a holiday weekend, we're leaving and my son REALLY needs some help. I guess the thing that bothers me is that I told the NP that I would be happy to pay out of pocket for whatever would work best so he could have what he needed asap, but she said everything would be fine and everything would go through. I don't think we'll be seeing her again.

Well, I'm going to bed. I'll be up early tomorrow and it will be a long day.

May 16, 2008

The Firm

Did I tell ya'll that I got "The Firm" last week? Did I tell ya'll that I was starting it this past Monday?

Well here's my update:

Monday morning I ate a healthy breakfast of only 415 calories. I had a bowl of Kashi cereal with cut up banana and strawberries (and of course milk in the cereal). Water to drink.

For my AM snack I had two Mentos candies. They were 10 calories each. (They were a Mother's Day gift from T2 - who by the way, has eaten most of the rest of them.) Water to drink.

I went on a bike ride that morning, so I considered that my exercise for the day and didn't get the weights and dvd out.

For my PM snack, I was with the daycare kids so I had 17 whales (cheaper version of Goldfish cracker and better if you ask me) and those were 70 calories. I also had half a banana, which was about 65 calories. Soon after that I had a piece of Big Red gum, so add another 10 calories on to that. More water to drink.

That was 940 calories.

Since I'm just starting out and don't want to put my body into some kind of shock, I decided instead of trying to only do 1500 calories a day, I'd give myself 1700 to start out.

I'm pretty sure I may have gotten all 1700 calories in my dinner... spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, 2 pieces of cheesy garlic bread and a big ol' glass of Coke. Then... (OH there's more)... my mom decided it would be fun to go to Dairy Queen. Yeah, I could have gotten a small vanilla cone or something, but no, I opted for a Reese's Cup Blizzard. But I did get a small, does that get me any points?

So I guess Monday was a wash, huh?!

Well, tomorrow's a new day, right?! So moving on to Tuesday...

It started out good with me only having 240 calories for breakfast. I got out the measuring cup and measured my cereal, so that was only 110. My half cup of milk was only 65 and then my half banana was 65. Again, water to drink.

Then came my morning snack. A chocolate cupcake. Ohhh, I'm guessing that was 200 calories.

Do I even need to go any futher?

Well, lunch was pretty much a repeat of Monday's dinner (minus the DQ).

Yep, lost cause.

I have not even cracked open the dvd, I have not taken any more bike rides, I don't even know where the weights are at this very moment and I've had McDonald's at least 3 times this week.

However, I can justify the one trip to McDonald's... I was doing research! Yesterday they had their new southern chicken sandwich for FREE!!! And yeah, it's nasty. It's basically the fish-o-filet bun with chicken and 2 pickles. That's it. Sooo not worth $3.00. Sooo glad I got it for free! Won't ever get one again. And isn't food that's free, free of calories? Isn't that how it works? I think I heard Oprah say that.

Anway, I think I have a better diet plan... tan a little more and color my hair a little lighter.

Works for me. :)

May 15, 2008

Counting It Down and Drinking It Up

A little over a week away until my family comes to visit and we leave to go on our mini vacation. Yep, I'm counting it down. I'm so ready to get out of here for a couple days. I love mini vacations and I love where we're going!

It's working out that I may only be working Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, for at least part of the summer. This is going to be a nice break and will give me time regroup and figure out where I'm going with the daycare.

T2 is going to the allergist on Monday. I know they are going to give us tons of meds so I'm not looking forward to it. Maybe I'm a bad mom, but I dread all the meds. And I find it hard to talk to them about what I want since it's all about T2. (And it should be!) They don't seem to be open to "natural" methods. I guess I'll give it another try and ask again.

I bought "Mad Money" last night and watched it this afternoon. Good movie!! Makes me want to go out and rob a bank. Loved the ending.

Here comes a vent...

There is a "daycare" in our small town, and when I say "daycare", I use that term loosely because NO ONE has anything good to say about this place. They are illegal, unlicensed and honestly, they need to be shut down. And from what I've heard, there's not a lot of "care" going on in this place.

I have a little girl in my daycare right now who got let go without notice from her last daycare and her mom had to take her to this place a few times before I could take her. Her words about their experience there went something like this: "It's a place that you take your child to and hope and pray they're alive when you get back." Nice.

It's a "drop-in" daycare so they take anyone without notice and she had to go to work and had no where else to take her. This mother stood in my doorway on the first day in tears, thanking me over and over for being able to take her daughter. Nice.

Anyway, the owners of this "daycare" just started a new business in our little town. A bar.

They have a myspace site for their bar. I took a peek tonight and I have to say that I would be absolutely disgusted with these people if I were taking my child to their "daycare".

I mean, is it me, or do bars and daycares just NOT go together? I can't even imagine seeing your child's daycare provider or teacher out drinking it up at a bar, let alone having the person who is caring, teaching and molding your child each day own one.

It's not that I have a problem with drinking necessarily, but I find bars immature.

Their myspace page makes this place look like a skanky dive. They've got pictures of the daycare provider with her boobs sticking out of her shirt singing karaoke. They have another pic of some chic laying on the floor in super SHORT shorts with her butt hanging out and her boobs are practically out of her shirt and she's clearly passed out with her cell phone laying next to her. They make a joke out of the pic because they offer free rides home to anyone who gets too wasted, in their 1980's white limo. Hmm, wonder if the chauffeur is wearing a baby blue polyester suit?

I guess I'm just a lame old woman now. But rest assured parents, the closest thing to alcohol this daycare provider is drinking tonight is Welch's Grape Juice.

I blame my cravings for that stuff on all the Nazarene communions I partook in as a child on Sunday mornings. You know, the ones where they give you grape juice in those little plastic shot glasses. Later on in the week I would get out my mom's wine glasses and the leftover bottle out of our fridge, invite a friend over and we'd play "bar". Sometimes we'd even sneak those plastic shot glasses into our little purses, get our bathing suits on and play "spring break".

My My... nothing like playing "Girls Gone Wild" with the "blood of Jesus".

Please forgive me, Lord!!

May 12, 2008

Ever Have THOSE Days

You know, where you should have just stayed in bed? Actually my day hasn't been that bad, I just get sick of working. I envy all the stay at home moms of the world and yet I'm not sure if I could be really happy if I didn't work. I like making my own money. Maybe it's the kind of work I'm doing? I have a couple of really hard kids right now and I've been spoiled by really good kiddos so I'm just not use to it.

I started "The Firm" today. I'm a little grouchy at the thought of so many foods being taken away from me. BUT, I know it will be better and something that I just have to get use to. I haven't done my workout yet (dvd) but I did get a bike ride in before I started working this morning. I would have liked to have gone a little longer but T2 was with me and his asthma was acting up.

He's having a lot of issues with his asthma right now so we're going to be doing breathing treatments with the nebulizer twice a day and see how that goes. I tried to get his Xopenex refilled from last year but his insurance company wouldn't do it. So Saturday I get a letter from the company AND a call from the pharmacy letting me know he can no longer have the Xopenex but albuterol instead. OH MY GOODNESS... that's what I wanted last year! I fought and fought to just get the albuterol but his insurance company wanted the Xopenex instead. Guess I finally got my wish. I hate asthma! And I hate that my child feels bad and thinks he "ruined" our bike ride because he couldn't breathe. Poor thing! I told him I was cold and wanted to come home anyway and that we can always go out again tonight. Oh magical cure... I'm looking for you... come on out!

I had a good Mother's Day. My kids were very good to me. T2 picked out a fountain for the living room. It's got a little waterfall with stones at the bottom and a candle that is battery operated. T1's gift was $40 for tanning. (And yes, I did go tanning today.) They didn't need to give me anything, I'm happy just being their mom! :)

May 9, 2008

Happy NPAD!

Did you know today was National Provider Appreciation Day? I actually forgot myself until I got a call from a former dc parent who mentioned it. I had the day off, so I'll consider that my gift.

I really wanted to sleep in a little this morning, but that's almost impossible when your daycare is IN your house. I tried, but was fully awake by 7:50 so I decided to get up and get breakfast for me and the boys. I watched some tv then got ready for the day.

Then it was off to run errands. The boys and I went to get gas, Aldi's, the newspaper office, Walmart and Bath & Body Works.

Isn't it weird when you see someone out and about that you know and you know that they know who you are and you both look straight at each other but neither of you say anything. Not a "hi", "hello", "how are you"... nothing. Why do people do that? It happened to me today, twice. I'm never sure how to handle those kind of situations so I usually say nothing and just walk away.

We got Chinese for dinner tonight. (vegetarian T1 got Subway) T2 and I split and order of sesame chicken, white rice and crab rangoons. It was good, but spicy. We haven't ordered from this particular place in probably over a year and they've really spiced up the sauce on the sesame chicken. Hopefully that will clear up my sinuses.

I got a call this afternoon from a former daycare mom wanting to know if it would be possible for her to bring her daughter back. I would be so excited for them to come back! I was really sad when they left as they were really good dc parents! And well, of course I just love their daughter... talk about a FUNNY little girl! She kept me in stitches daily. And the mom... just a doll!! Loved the family and will totally welcome them back! "K" is starting Kindergarten this fall and needs somewhere to hang until mom can get her. I hope it works out.

I'm over the "beautiful" rain (yesterday's post). It's cold today, and wet AND cold don't mix.

"Home Alone" just started on FX. T2 and I are going to get our blankets and cuddle up on the couch together. I love that movie and I love cuddling with my kid so it looks like it's going to be a good night!

PS- BTW, the hair... it's brassy. But not enough to have to wear a hat. :)

May 8, 2008

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Almost every one of my daycare parents came in this morning and mentioned something about the rain and what a lousy day it was. I woke up to the rain and when I went out to get the paper, I said "What a beautiful day!". Do we forget that we need rain? Our grass really needs the rain. Plus it's actually cooled down some and it feels good. I was up at 4am the other night because it was so hot I couldn't sleep. I'm still refusing to turn on the A/C. I figure it will be a nice break on the bills to not use the heat or air for a couple of months. Anyway, I thought it was a great day.

Right at this very moment I'm coloring my hair. Click here to see the color. It claims on the package that it has a "Pure Blonde Guarantee", even on dark brown hair. Well, most of my hair is light brown/blonde so it better work. Mr. R told me to make an appointment at the salon and it would be his Mother's Day gift from him (or rather from the boys) but I don't trust salons. The last time I went to have my hair colored blonde for my best friend's wedding, it ended up a nasty light brown. Now I do it myself. They've really come a long way with packaged hair color, you don't have all the brassiness with the newer ones. And, if I have to wear a hat for a couple of days, oh well. :)

I got it... Monday I start "The Firm" program. I looked through the menus and I can't say I'm excited about that, but I'll try it and see. I have to do something or I'll be wearing a parka all summer.

Kathy Lee Gifford is still the same train wreck she was when she was on Regis. I don't know WHAT The Today Show was thinking. She still talks nonstop about those freakin kids. I swear, I turned it on yesterday morning to watch HER interview and within 5 minutes Kathy Lee was spewing out Cody's name. Then I SWEAR it was only 5 minutes later and she had to bring up Cassidy. GOOD NIGHT lady, we don't want to hear about your dang kids anymore! And the funny thing was, she was all against Heather's blog giving out info on her daughter Leta, and how that's so unsafe, and yet she's been talking about her kids for how many years now? Remember every Christmas when she'd make them come out and perform? GAG! Good job NBC, you just ruined your ratings. I mean, you put Kathy Lee up against Ellen. Not the smartest move.

Well, I'm now 8 minutes past the time I was suppose to rinse my hair so I guess I'd better go do that. I'll let you know how it turns out and if you're lucky, you may get a pic. I know the excitement of that makes you weak in the knees, but try to contain yourselves. :)

May 7, 2008

One More Day

So glad I have Friday off. This week has been busy. My mom went to visit my grandparents in Michigan so I worked all day today. It wasn't bad, as I just had all the girls and the older two are really good. The younger one was a handful, but it wasn't too hard, so I can't complain.

Why am I stupid? I've had this guy (Mr. R) in my life who is just the best guy and yet I just can't make a commitment to him. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think I've just been alone too long. I mean, I grew up alone as an only child, then when I moved out into my apartment, it was MY apartment. I didn't live with girlfriends or boyfriends, I lived with myself. Even when I had T1, I was basically by myself. I was engaged to their father, but I was basically a single mom. Then T2 came along and I left and moved out of state, lived with my parents for a little while and then again, moved out and lived alone. (Well, with two kids, but you know what I mean.) I've come to realize that I might just like being alone. I mean, I'm rarely "alone" (remember, we homeschool) but I don't have another adult to worry about or have to think about when I make any decisions. I basically do what I want to do and I like that. Maybe I'm afraid to lose that independence?

Anyway, when Mr. R found out that I was working alone today and basically would be stuck home all day, he made sure to let me know he'd be bringing me and the boys lunch. And that he did. He even understands that I don't think it's right to have friends or boyfriends over while I'm working, so he didn't mind just dropping it off and leaving after a few minutes. He didn't even stay and eat with us.

Sunday, when he found out that my parent's second car (that they rarely use) still wouldn't start, he made sure to come over the next day and charge the battery. Then, when it didn't start right, he went and bought them a new battery. And he refuses to let them pay for it.

He does this kind of stuff all the time... worries about us, makes sure we're ok, makes sure anything we need is taken care of... who wouldn't want someone like that?

Do I need a shrink? Possibly.

OH yeah... I got my first Farm Fresh order yesterday. Everything was great except my organic milk had a small hole in the top of it and a little bit of milk leaked out, but other than that everything looked really great. They even put 3 yellow tulips in with the order. :)

Here's what I got:
- a dozen organic eggs (the kids thought something was wrong because they weren't white and were all different colors. lol)
- a loaf of organic homemade bread
- a 1/2 gallon of organic milk
- a bag of organic egg spring radishes
- a 3/4 pound bad of organic english peas
- a pint of YUMMY organic strawberries
- a bunch of organic yellow carrots
- 2 organic golden delicious apples
- a bunch of organic broccoli
- a bag of organic red leaf lettuce

Want to know something shameful? We had McDonalds for dinner. So bad!

May 5, 2008

Happy Monday

Boy the weekend went by fast. Only 3 weeks until my mini vacation. We're going HERE over Memorial Day! I'm so excited. I love the Amish culture and it's been years since I've been to the flea market. I can't wait. My aunt and cousin are going with us and it's going to be lots of fun. And I KNOW my cousin is not going to back out! lol Right, Jer?!?! (You better come!!)

Our weekend was pretty fun. Nothing big, but we got out of the house and out of our little town, so that's always nice. Friday night we got take-out and watched tv. We were actually in bed pretty early. Saturday T2 went to my parent's to mow. Their church got a new riding mower and he was very excited to go help out. I did laundry most of the day. Later that night T1 and I went to my parent's to spend the night. T2 wanted us to come and we didn't have anything else to do. We rented "Dan In Real Life" so we all watched that. Sunday morning we got up and went to church. After that we went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch. Yum! They have the BEST salads ever! After lunch, me, my mom, T1 and T2 went shopping. We went to Lowes to look for a new lampshade for the boys' room. Then I took my mom to take stuff back for my dad. After that, I took my mom and T2 back to the house and T1 and I went to Target. I got some new shirts and got T1 and T2 some more summer clothes. Then we helped my mom sort out boxes in the garage. I did her dishes for her and tried to clean the house a little. We ended up staying there most of the afternoon so went to evening church. After that we headed home. We went through Burger King for dinner and watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks". Cute movie! Then I picked up the downstairs and went to bed.

The dogs had me up at 4am to go outside and then I couldn't get back to sleep so I stayed up and watched 3 episodes of Roseanne on Nick at Night. Needless to say I'm tired today. I didn't have to work this morning and wanted to be up by at least 8:00 to run some errands, but ended up sleeping in until 10:00. I had to work at 11:30 so I rushed to get ready, go pay a couple bills and tan. YEP, I went tanning!! Yay me! I haven't been in forever but I really need to get back at it. I got an email that The Firm is on it's way so hopefully I'll get that today or tomorrow. I can't wait to start working out. I just want to be tan and in shape. lol

I haven't been on ebay in forever but saw a Java Blue Vera Bradley waterbottle that matches my backpack and bid on it and won. I want to take it to Shipshewana with me when we go. Then T1 bid on some sunglasses and won those. I looked at some Coach purses but not sure if I want a used one.

I didn't get my Farm Fresh Delivery order last week because they've had too many people join and are a week behind, but I should get it tomorrow.

That's about it for now... I have this Friday off so I'm looking forward to that. I love 3 day weekends.

May 1, 2008

On To Plan B

Trying to get the daycare out of my house is becoming harder than I thought it would be. I really want to get it out this summer and definitely by fall.

I was trying to move it to another town (which is where most of my clients are from) but the town is just not cooperating with me. They have nothing under $1500-$1800 per month and their zoning is crazy. I'm fine with commercial properties, but they're either too small (no square footage) or just haven't been kept up. And they're asking outrageous prices because of the location.

So for now, I'm just going to look here in the town I'm in. Tomorrow I have two appointments to see two buildings. One of them looks like it will be too small, but I'll meet the owner anyway since I already made the appointment. The other one would be really nice, but the whole building is for sale so I'm a little apprehensive about leasing space that could be bought at any time, making me have to go through this whole process again.

Wish me luck! :)