September Pics

I know I am a bit behind when it comes to pictures.  I forgive me at least.

Fist off are the pictures from pack meeting last month.  They had a car race. 

Eric in his car.

Noel's and her car.

The starting line.

Getting ready for the race.  Sean's car is the big one with the yellow license plate and yellow "wheels."

Next,  I have pictures from Sean's birthday (yes, someone let him turn 7).

The Cake

The Birthday Boy

Morbid? Maybe...

Last week, I felt a great need to find my mom's and brother's obituaries.  It took a lot of looking to find a website that not only had obituaries that old, but also didn't require a monthly subscription.  I did find one that I only had to pay per obituary  that I wanted.  I was glad to find them.  This what I found:


Rocky Mountain News (CO) - September 7, 1996
Deceased Name: SANDRA LEE CRAWFORD
SANDRA LEE CRAWFORD, 43, of Broomfield died Aug. 30 in Las Vegas, N.M. Services were Sept. 6, with burial at the Golden Cemetery. Mrs. Crawford was born in Lincoln, Neb., on March 4, 1953. She married Robert Mitchell, 1976. She was a homemaker, and member of of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Survivors include daughters Rosa Mitchell and Marleah Mitchell, both of Westminster; sisters Linda Dale of Arizona, Sharon Bolt of Nebraska; brothers Gale of Washington, Gary of Nebraska.

Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Date: September 7, 1996
Edition: Final
Page: 14B
Record Number: 9609110142
Copyright (c) 1996 Rocky Mountain News


Rocky Mountain News (CO) - September 10, 1996
Deceased Name: ANTHONY ROBERT MITCHELL
ANTHONY ROBERT MITCHELL, 19, of Denver died Aug. 30 in Las Vegas, N.M. Services were Sept. 6, with burial at the Golden Cemetery. Mr. Mitchell was born at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. He was a printer at C & M Press. Survivors include his father Robert of Westminster; sisters Rosa and Marleah, both of Westminster; fiancee Rebecca Hardendorf of Arvada; grandparents Lewis and Ila of Michigan.

Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Date: September 10, 1996
Edition: Final
Page: 22B
Record Number: 9609130027
Copyright (c) 1996 Rocky Mountain New

School Pictures 2010

Eric - 3rd grade

Sean - 1st grade

Noel - Preschool

My New Toy

Mine looks a bit different, but I couldn't find a picture of the newer one online.

Depressed

I don't know what is wrong with me lately.  I am so tired all of the time, and I don't have the motivation to do really anything.  I am always yelling at my kids.  Sometimes I feel like I can't even stand to be around them.  I long for the 3 half days that I get to be alone telling myself that would be the time I get things done.  In reality, I don't even shower on the days I am off of work until at least 10am most of the time (I probably would wait longer if I didn't have to get Noel to school in the afternoon on 2 of those days and myself to work the other day).  I failed to get much laundry done at all last week meaning almost twice as much to do this week (thank goodness I am the only one that was inconvenienced in the underwear department).  I am almost caught up with that, but am lacking the motivation to do the last 2 loads and probably won't get much of it folded before I have to collect and sort it all next week (most weeks I get it all washed Tuesday and Wednesday and fold on Thursday).  I hate my job.  Because of the fact that my company and another one are in contract disputes and the customers are inconvenienced, we all are forced into overtime until further notice.  The real fun part of that is the customers that call in act as though I personally caused the problem when in all actuality I know probably less than they do.  I am just a girl that answers the phone and gets belittled call after call for reading the same script over and over since last Friday.  While having to go through this at work, I don't get to see my family much.  Could you even imagine leaving for work a little after 6am knowing that you won't be getting home until the kids are in bed?  When I did laundry this week I came across clothes that I didn't remember my kids wearing and realized I only got to see them on Saturday for about 5 or 10 minutes before they went to bed and that was only because I called John on my way home from work and asked him to wait until I got home to send them to bed.  I have been considering dropping out of school because it is the only thing that I can think off that I can give up.  I can't quit my job.  I haven't found a new one yet, and we can't just live on one income (we tried.  it didn't work), plus I am the one who carried the health and dental insurance (this is the first time in our marriage we have had dental insurance, and Sean makes sure that we use it).  I am so overwhelmed that I don't even know what to do with myself.  John has been more helpful since I told him, and I am grateful for that.  He is doing his best to help fill in where I can't.  I just wish I could do it all, and it is breaking me apart that I can't.

Preschool Licence

Full Name: Noel Kaitlyn Crumpley  Birth date: November 22, 2005  Likes to be called: Noel  Some favorite things: painting fingernails, babies, chicken nuggets  Wants to learn: how to write her name, how to read, how to cook

John helped Noel fill this out the first week of school.  She brought it home a few weeks later.  (I know.  I really need to work on getting these things scanned in faster.)  I love how she had him write that she wants to learn how to cook in preschool!

Sean's Work

 Sean wrote the first story in Kindergarten.  (Yes, it has been sitting on my desk to be scanned for that long.  Why do you ask?)  The other one he brought home today (in first grade.)

"Ounce upon a tome ther was a jedi named Sean. He was the yungist and goodist jedi ever! One day he went to Fite butt hed.  And just as the battle began Sean ct butt hedd into pesis.  The End"

"I would like to have puppy and scatbord because the bupy is cute and the sc8tbord is fun." (fun was on the back of the paper so it wasn't scanned in.)

A puppy on a skateboard.

I Made It

Noel loves to wear dresses and skirts.  The problem is that the ones she has are seeming to get smaller.  I saw online an idea for making skirts out of old jeans.  I thought to myself, "I have some old jeans that the boys used up and grew out of.  I can do that for Noel!"  Then I made her a skirt in a very short (for me) amount of time.

It is a bit long, but she loves it!

Noel's New Friend

In the past Noel's friends have been girls a lot older than her.  For a long time Sarah was her best friend.  That was fun, but she is 3 times older than my sweet girl.  In the past year or so Adriana, our neighbor, has been the main girl she plays with.  Again, not a problem, but Adriana is 16.  That is quite a bit older than my 4 year old.  There is now a little girl that is watched by her grandma a few doors down.  Avery is in preschool just like Noel.  Noel loves going over there, and I love knowing that she is safe and having fun!  The boys have had a few friends that they can go play with for most of the time we have lived here.  Now, Noel has a friend, too!

Mr. Clean vs. EverydayLiving

Upon my Sean's request, I bought some Mr.Clean Magic Erasers about 6 months ago (he gets sucked into commercials the way my mom did).  I was very impressed with them and was sad when they got all used up.  The next time I went to the store I got some EverydayLiving Erase Its.  I forgot that I even had them while cleaning until yesterday when I happened to be taking out the trash and cleaning at about the same time (they were next to the trash bags under the sink).  I decided to get one out to assist with cleaning my difficult shower, as task that he Magic Eraser was more than happy to help out with.  I was greatly disappointed.  It didn't have any cleaning product in the thing like the Magic Eraser.  It was just a foamy thing that wasn't much better then a regular sponge.  Sometimes the generic version of a product is just as good, but I guess that is not true in this case.

My Baby Goes to School

Monday was Noel's first day of school.  Unlike the boys, she gets to enjoys preschool (mostly becuase I have to work now).  John took her to not only her first day of school, but her first day of daycare, too.  She was so excited!  I got the joys of her telling me about the other kids in her class and the snacks that she ate and the things that she did.  John was wonderful enough to take pictures before taking her.

Another exiting thing...Noel's hair is finally long enough for a ponytail again!

First Day Of School

I can't believe how fast time has flown by! Is it even possible that I have a third grader and a first grader?

Is it possible that my little girl will be starting preschool next week?

(I don't think my kids know how to have pictures taken without making goofy faces)

Writing

I would not consider myself a writer by any means, but I have decided to go out on a limb and try my hand at writing for the public.  I joined HubPages about 2 weeks ago with the idea that I would be making money for my writing.  I turns out I only get money if people click on the ads on the pages.  That's OK. I can deal with that.  I am starting to see it as a way to publish the research papers that I write for school and get some opinions of people who are looking at the work I completed because they are interested in the topic rather than from a grading point of view.  So far I have posted 5 "Hubs," but only one of them has been a school paper.  One was about some weight loss websites I have frequented.  One was kind of a rant about phone etiquette.  The other two probably should have been put on this blog instead of being posted as articles on the other site.  I'm learning about this process, and I will continue to post on both sites.  I hope to be able to make at least a little money.  I am enjoying the few unbiased opinions given though.

I Miss My Kids

This summer has been going by way too fast.  With only a week left before school starts, I have realized that I haven't done as much with my kids as I wanted to.  I wanted to take them to the zoo a lot, but we have only gone twice this summer (I am hoping to take them tomorrow though).  I wanted to take them to the museum this summer, but we haven't gone yet at all (maybe next Tuesday).  I wanted to take them swimming, but we only did that once.  With my crazy work schedule, I will be lucky to find the time to do this kind of stuff after school starts next Wednesday.  I am really worried that my kids will think that I don't care about them once school starts.  I already  miss them because I have to be gone so much. 

Trying to Change Habits

I have been listen to an audio book lately that my friend Jami said was a good book in one of her blogs (yes, I know you said reading it would be better, but I listening to it in my car is the only chance I get for stuff like this).  So far it is a good book.  I am happy to say that I am about three quarters of the way done.  It had a slow start, but now I am at the part that talks about how to change eating habits that have been formed.  I REALLY want to be able to do this.  I have decided to only work or one or two at a time however.  I am trying to replace most of the sugary drinks that I drink with water while trying to also make sure to drink the recommended amount per day (something that a few years ago was not a problem for me).  I am also going to cut chips and french fries out of my diet.  I don't do well with greasy foods anyway.  I am going to work on each of this goals for a month and then hopefully add to them when I am done.  I am not saying that I will never eat chips or french fries again, but I am going to try to teach myself not to eat them in excess.  I think the best way to do this would be to completely cut them out for a little while.  I don't know what I will work on  when I am done with these.  I am just hoping to make myself healthier and not lose steam in the process.

Work, Work, Work

I feel like all I do is work lately.  It doesn't help that instead of having Sundays off I now have Thursdays off.  I had to get a letter from church to even be considered for having part of Sunday off.  Even with that, I have to work a split shift on Sunday just to be able to go and the last two weeks I wasn't even able to do that.  I had to work.  They claimed it was because there were too many calls coming in and sitting in a cue making the people who were working have to work extra hard.  They will now have a VERY hard time convincing me of that.  For the last two weeks, I have sat for up to 3 minutes between calls (for anyone who hasn't worked in a call center, that is a very long time and not "cost effective).  They have made us take an extra half hour for lunch and sent us home at least an hour early because of the low call volume.  They have also scheduled us for madatory overtime on Wednesday mornings.  When we get there, the call volume is slow and we get sent home 15 or 20 minutes into the shift to have to come back at noon to work our half day shift.  This is so frustrating!  Also, I am now hearing that they are adding graveyard shift of sorts again.  ARGH!!!  Anyone know of a smaller company that is hiring.  This working for corporate America sucks!

Where Did June Go?

I know...June has basically passed and no one knows what is happening in my world.
To start off, we were blessed by the generosity of John's brother and sister-in-law with a new vehicle so that we no longer had to share the one car that didn't even fit the whole family (just in time so that would have to figure out the bus schedule from Brighton to Thornton).  Now we have two reliable vehicles including one that fits everyone!  It feels so go to not be stranded when John is at work!

My last week on the graveyard shift, I tried to have fun with my kids.  We set up the pool in the front yard , went for a picnic lunch in the park, watched the seeds sprout, and went to the zoo (which would not have been possible without the generosity in the above paragraph). At the end of the week, we had a huge hail storm that killed just about every thing we had growing as well as damaged our windows (that part was not fun). 

That brings us to June 12 (aka. the day we had ticket for the U2 concert).  Since the U2 concert has been postponed for about  a year, John and I went to the Renaissance Festival, and my sister was nice enough to take the kids for the day.  We all had fun.  John was able to get a musical instrument that he had been eying for years, and I got a pair of handcrafted boots.

Since then we have been getting used to my new schedule.  It has not been easy.  The first week of me waking up at the time I was used to getting off of work was an exhausting and cranky week.  Now that I am in week three, it has been getting better.  John has been getting used to being the one getting the kids ready, dropping them off  and picking them up.  He also has to take care of them by himself on Saturdays (poor baby).  The kids love going to Asher's and Rachel's and playing with their Aunt Rachel, so the real hard part for them has been waking up at 6am

The exciting thing that happened was Eric and Sean finally learn how to ride their bikes.  I took them out that first Tuesday on the new shift.  Eric took to it right away.  I had to steady him to get him started for a little while, but he even got the hang of that after a little while.  Sean was so scared that he would fall it took him a bit more practice, but he had the hang of it by the time John got home from work. I had worked with them a lot last summer until they had flat tires, and Eric was close, but I was starting to think Sean would never believe in himself enough to do it (that was really all he needed).  I am so proud of my boys!

Ray Stevens Pirate Song

Better Late Than Never

I have been wanted to get something planted in my almost empty flower garden for about a month or so (you know since around the time I needed to start planting).  Today I took the kids to Wall-Mart to get a few groceries that were much needed and decided that today was the day to get those seeds. 

I like planting seeds because I feel a sense of accomplishment when they start showing their flowers.  It is so exciting from the time the start sprouting to the end of the season (I do get sad when they die).  The kids seem to be excited about the process too.  I let them each pick out their choice of flower seeds.  I wasn't real excited about the Mammoth Sunflowers that Sean picked, but I told them they could pick what they wanted.  Noel chose some red sunflowers, and Eric picked marigolds. 

The part that I am most excited about is that I will actually have a vegetable garden this year!  I put some potting soil in some paper cups and planed corn, carrots, tomatoes, and watermelon (I know watermelon is a fruit, but it goes in the same garden).  My next plan of action is to start clearing and readying an area in the back yard for these.  I will hopefully get that ready in the next few weeks.  I cant wait until I can harvest my own food!

New Shift

I was told my new shift on Friday when I got to work.  I am a bit excited because I won't be as tired anymore, but I am nervous as well for many other reasons.  I was chosen for the flex shift meaning I will be working four nine hour days and be scheduled the other four hours on one of my days off.  My regular shift will be 7am to 5pm Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off.  I am glad that I will have time during the week to be with my kids (it think).  I am really glad to be getting Sunday off, but I am worried that my random four hour shift will be on Sunday while I am supposed to be at church with my kids.  I really want my kids to have the benefits of going to church, and I am the only one that takes them.  I am worried about feeling like I don't get to see my kids on the days that I am working because I will be getting home only an hour and a half before they go to bed.  I need to get the information for the after school program before school starts back up.  I know that is two and a half months away, but it will drive me crazy if I don't at least try to get things started for that.  I really need to know if got into the preschool program at our elementary school so that I know how to plan for the future (not knowing yet it driving me crazy, so I will be checking my mail box daily until we get that letter).  I hope my kids will do OK in this transition.  I know that John and I can adapt where needed.  I am very grateful for my sister-in-law that will be once again watching my kids this summer!