The Cutest Dog in First Grade

Sean is a dog for his first/second grade play (I will post pics of the play if I can take any decent ones after it is done). To make his costume, I just cut out spots with regular paper and taped them to my brother's old t-shirt. (Yes, I know Anthony has been gone for a while. I don't know why I still had this shirt.) The ears were stapled to one of my headbands. He did most of the coloring (white is just too boring).  I love this boy!

Eric and Sean About Thor

This morning Sean was telling me that next Halloween he wants to be Thor. I explained to him that as long as I could make it, that was fine with me (heck he'll change his mind several times between now and then anyway).  He told me that he would need two metal plates on his chest. Eric asked him what he was talking about. Their conversation proceeded like this:

Eric: "If you have metal there that would make you a woman."
Sean: "No, it wouldn't."
Eric:"Yes, because only women need to cover up there."
Sean:"Well, Thor isn't a woman, but he is a hippy."

More Good News

I knew that I had lost a little over 10 pounds since the departure of John. I didn't  think about what that meant when it comes to clothes until last week. I was trying to find something dressy but not fancy to wear to court on Friday.  I went into my closet, looked at a sweater I haven't fit comfortably in about a year, and decided to try to wear it.  The really exciting part is that it fit and looked nice again.  I think I am getting some curves that aren't as lumpy again! Today, I put on a shirt that buttons up the front.  In the past, I have had to either tape or pin it together for the gap in my chest.  Today I forgot to do that.  When I got to work, I was worried that I would be showing off a bit too much. I checked in the bathroom mirror. NO GAP!  I love that my clothes are fitting better!

WooHoo!!!!

I haven't weighed myself in almost 3 weeks because I thought that with how much binging I was doing the scale would not be nice to me.  I, also, have had very little fast food in the last 3 weeks.  Last time I weighed myself I was about 180.  This morning I thought, "What the heck?" and went a head and stood on that dangerous contraption in my bathroom...the scale.  I am down to 174!  I couldn't be more exited!  It was a great way to start off my busy week with a new schedule!

A Week Of Pictures

Yes. I let the dogs on the couch.  Aren't they so cute, though?

We made pizza for dinner about a week ago.  Noel "decorated" this one. I am still looking for the smiley face.

Eric and Sean "decorated" this one.  One side is fire and the other is an explosion.

Noel fell asleep watching tv Monday right after dinner.  Jasper joined her.

I just thought it was cute that they were sleeping right next to each other.  Jasper seems to always wake up when the camera comes out.

Noel made her own tuna sandwich today.

She cut the middle of her bangs a couple of weeks ago because she was tired of growing them out.

I tried to even it out the best I could by cutting the rest of her bangs.  They are a bit crooked, but I'll fix them as they grow.

My New Baby

Jasper

Jasper is a full bread Chihuahua. The kids love him.  The best part for me is that he is a little over a year old, so he is young enough to be puppylike, but old enough to be potty trained.

The Boys at Bedtime

My Pretty Girl

I made this dress 2 years ago.  It finally fits!

She loves to have curly hair.

The prettiest little girl ever!

Getting Back on Track

I have made some decisions lately that make me feel like I am getting my life back on track.  I think that if I can get me straightened out, it will make life easier for my kids. These are the decisions I am starting to make:

1. I am going to pay tithing.  I have struggled with this my entire adult life.  I fee like it is something I need to do however.
2. I starting having family home evening with my kids.  I am realizing that they don't remember the basic stories that they learned when they were little.  They seem to not remember how to be reverent during prayer either.  I am also using it as a time to play with the kids and answer questions that they may have (last night was all about them wanting a puppy).
3. I am putting more effort into my job.  I don't want to be there forever, but since I don't have another job in sight, I am trying more and hoping for a promotion or schedule change.
4. I am trying to find more time for alone time with each kid.  They need the attention and are asking for the alone time.  It is the least I can do for them.
5. I am scheduling my personal chores throughout the week so that I make sure everything gets done.  My poor dog doesn't get bathed as much as she should be and I am not good at keeping track of what I have and haven't done.  Most people would probably say that this is simple and easy to do, but I have never been the best at keeping my house the way I really want it.
6. I am going to budget each paycheck and pay attention to my spending.  I have done a lot of listening to Dave Ramsey's pod cast in the last year or so.  I wanted to implement changes in the out goings of money before, but didn't get much cooperation.  I now have no one else to answer to or someone that would have to answer to me.  The more healthy my budget gets, the better I can get the things for my kids that they need like clothes and food.

I am hoping that by making these changes life will get easier for the kids and me.  I am feeling positive about the changes I have already put into place and the ones that I am just starting. My kids are more important to me than anything in the world, and I know if I take care of me, I will be able to better take care of them.

My Poor Girl

Last week, Noel had the flu.  She was running a fever off and on for a few days and had a cough. She went without a fever for three days (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday). Then, yesterday when I was making her lunch and getting her ready for school, all of a sudden she had a fever again and the cough was worse than it was last week.  I took her to the doctor and found out that she now has pneumonia. I was quite concerned when I was told this and felt awful for not taking her to the doctor last week.  The doctor assured me that the wouldn't have done much last week because she had the flu, which is a virus, at that time. They gave her a nebulizer treatment to see if her oxygen levels could get up to a more acceptable level.  When that worked, they gave me prescriptions for two antibiotics and one for the nebulizer (thank goodness I still have one from 2 years ago when she was sick).  Last night was difficult, but she seems to already be perking up.  I am hoping that when I take her back in today, they will say that she is improving at the rate they want or better.

The fun part for Noel is the dinosaur mask they gave her for the nebulizer.

The End of an Era

When I was 16, my mom had a Toyota Tercel.  She bought it earlier that year brand new.  In October, she decided that she couldn't make the payments and told me that if I could pay for it, I could have it. I worked a lot for the rest of high school to make the payments on my little car. 
Now, here I am, 32, with my little car sitting in my driveway, not able to run safely. I have put about $2000.00 into it to try to get it to run properly (I have a suspicion that the mechanic may have something to do with that).  I gave up on trying to get it to run almost a year ago.  Due to my emotional attachment to the darn thing, I talked about selling it, but never did anything about it.

 Last night, a man came to my door to ask me about my car.  He said that he used to have one and would like another one.  I told him how long it had been sitting and the reasons why.  He still wanted it!  Before I knew it, my precious little car was sold.  I am more excited about that than I expected!  It is one big step to getting rid of more clutter.

Valentine's Party

Noel was sick today and very upset that she was going to have to miss her Valentine's parties in school and daycare.  I told her that we could have one just the two of us.  We went to Target and found pink frosting with Valentine sprinkles, went home, and made cookies.  It was a lot of fun!  I miss spending this kind of time with my kids.

More Fancy Noel

Eric Gets His Wolf Badge

Last month, Eric earned his wolf badge and enter the bear den.

Noel's Picture

Noel made me a picture this morning. She said that the one on the left is Daddy, the one on the right is Mama, and the one in the middle is Noel.

When Times Were Simpler

Eric was very excited to have a new sister in 2005.

Sean had the best "curlies."

Noel made a mess of everything she ate.

Super Bee, Superman, and Pebbles costumes were made with imagination.

Super heroes were often found in my kitchen.

Of course, the goofy poses for pictures is something that will never change.

Sean Wins

I didn't even know there was an awards ceremony until Sean got home from school last Thursday and showed me the awards he got with a proud smile.  I couldn't have been more excited for him though!

Fancy Noel

Noel loves Fancy Nancy books.  She lately has been wanting to be "fancy" as well. The result is her being picky about her hair and wearing a lot of dresses or skirts.

Dinner at My House

A week from Saturday my kids will be spending the night at their grandma's house.  That means I get to have a night without children!  I have to work the next morning, so I can't do a big girls night out/in.  I am going to have a dinner at my house though. Just us grown-up girls.  I will make the main course and take care of drinks.  I would like anyone coming to bring either a desert or side dish (please no chocolate since I am allergic to it).  Here is your official invite:
When: Saturday, Jan. 22 @ 6pm
Where: My House 

Please, let me know if you are planning on coming so I know what to plan.

The Faith of My Girl

I must start this off by explaining that about 2 weeks ago a family member (I'm not sure if I am still allowed to call him my nephew) lost his battle with cancer.  Since the funeral, the kids have asked me several questions about death and his illness.  I have done my best to let them know that they can ask me any questions about it or anything else that is going on around them.
Just now, while eating lunch, my sweet girl says, "Mom, I know what a casket is."
I calmly responded, "Yes.  Unfortunately, you do."
She looks at me seriously and says, "What?  Jesus will resurrect him."

Eric's Birthday

Eric got what he wanted

and frosted and decorated his own cake.

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Christmas Pics

I didn't even realize that I had forgotten to post Christmas pictures until I was getting the pictures of Eric's birthday from my camera and the Christmas pictures were still on the camera.  Oops!

So Far...

So far since John told me he was leaving I have lost 6 pounds.  Most of that was from not really eating for the first week.  The last 2 pounds were just a miracle.  I have tried to do my Biggest Loser game a few times.  It gets hard.  The fact that I have a broken toe that was not healed very well yet and did jumping jacks with the game didn't help.  (I never realized how important my little toe was until about a month ago.)  I am doing my best to try to get at least some exercise done once a day.  I accomplished at least 5 minutes 3 days this week, so I am counting that as an improvement.
I have found that I am getting worn out and cranky earlier lately.  I think I am pushing myself too hard, but I guess I have no other choice.  I have to work and life as a single mom is now my reality.  The funny thing is that when it comes to home life, it isn't a whole lot different.  In some ways it is less stressful because I am not worrying about where my husband is and what he is doing.  It is a bit easier to push myself to do certain things like cleaning and putting the kids to bed because there is not another parent in the house who should be helping do it.  I am starting to feel overwhelmed by all of the responsibilities that I have, but I think that once a routine is in place that feeling will calm down.
I have days where I am so depressed it takes all I have to get out of bed.  Other days I feel so good about my future that I am upbeat and energetic.  I don't think I will get off of this roller coaster anytime soon.  I hope it gets better once we have filed for divorce and especially once it is final.
I will have something less depressing next time I post.  Eric's birthday is coming up, so be ready!

The Future Me

I got a Wii for Christmas with The Biggest Loser game. I am feeling more motivated to get up and move.  I set up my avatar for a 12 week program.  I know it will be hard, but hopefully I can do it for that long.  I am going to try to concentrate on one week at a time.  I hope that by the time I finish the 12 weeks, my divorce will be final, and I will be ready for a new life and a new me.  I am starting to feel more positive about my future the more and more I am away from him.  I have noticed that when he is around that I am more stressed out and beat up.  I know I have to have dealings with him for the rest of my life because we have kids together.  With any luck, however, I will either find a new job or get a schedule that is more conducive to being a single mom in the next few months.