Heartbreak

Who knew it would happen so soon? That my little girl, my princess would break my heart? Shatter is more likely. Into a million little pieces. But that's just what she did at the ripe old age of 3 and a half. She wants me to ask my boss if I can stay home everyday with her so I can watch her grow up (her words, not mine; I have a very mature 3 year old). She wants me to tell my boss that I'll keep working for her but that I won't be physically coming into work anymore. I never imagined a life where I wasn't working and now my child has me questioning it and questioning whether or not I'd be good as a stay at home mom. I've always been one of those mom's that would take a bullet for my children but who also wants a little bit of time away from them and work allows me that freedom. But as they are getting older I realize that I may be missing important milestones because I'm at work. I missed my daughters first step because I was at work (and it wasn't really a step seeing as how she walked clear across the kitchen to find her grandmother), I missed my son's first word because I was at work. And now I'm trying to figure out a way to get my daughter into a pre-K because she wants to go to one but I haven't found one yet conducive to my work schedule. How do you say no to that?

Christmas can be free.......

It is known about me that I can be a very frugal person. I don't like spending money I don't have to. That doesn't mean that I have a lot or a little of it. It means that I have enough to live a life I want to comfortably. One of my goals this year is to not spend a lot of money out of pocket on Christmas. My family is HUGE so this is a big deal (I have 5 nephews and a niece, a goddaughter and her brother and soon to be determined sibling, a best friend, my kids, my parents, my in-laws, and oh yeah did I mention that I also have 2 nephews, a niece, a Dad, and my son's birthday thrown into the month of December as well? 1st, 20th, 26th, 30th, and 31st.....whew.) I would love it if there really were trees made of money that I could just go and "borrow" from whenever I felt the need but since there isn't I look at alternate ways to avoid having to use those priceless pennies. A few of the ways that I "earn" cash (it's not even really cash but giftcards since they are so much more practical for me) is through a variety of rewards sites. Here are a few that I enjoy and have worked very well for me over the year. Be careful on a couple because there may be limitations to how much you can redeem in a month (make sure you read the terms and conditions if you're not sure)

Swagbucks- Swagbucks is a search engine like Google but this search engine allows you to get swagbucks when you search and accrue bucks. Then when you're ready you can redeem those for prizes such as $5 Amazon gift cards or $5 Paypal cards. There are other ways to win on swagbucks and the administrators do a great job of offering out random codes to earn more. Every Friday is Mega Swagbucks day where you have a chance to earn even more than usual. I would suggest signing up for all the possibilities for them as there are often codes lurking in the blog, newsletter, twitter, and their facebook page. Make sure you read the conditions on this one as there are certain things you are expressly prohibited from doing (such as tweeting an actual code or posting it on your fb page or blog) and they will cancel your account. Head on over here to see what new things are going on with Swagbucks 3.0

Mypoints--- I love mypoints. I've been a member since 2006 and have traded in points for numerous giftcards. Mypoints sends out emails (that you pick the amount you want) and just for looking at them you can earn 5 points. They also have the mypoints daily deal that allows you to shop from their site and earn points per dollars spent. This year I'm stockpiling my points until probably October when I'll start redeeming them so I can utilize the giftcards for birthday and Christmas gifts. If you are interested in this please leave me a comment with your email address so I can send you the invite.

Inbox Dollars - This is another one that I've been a member of for awhile. It is basically what it says. They send you emails you click through them and typically you'll earn a couple cents. There is a $5 sign up bonus and when you're ready you can cash in. You do have to have $30 in your account to request a check but still they will send you a $30 check. This works similar to mypoints in that they send you emails to read and you can also earn money by shopping through their site. If you are interested in this one check out the right hand side of the blog for the graphic that will take you to their site.

There are several others out there these are just a few of the ones that have worked very well for me. And who doesn't want something for nothing?

######################### FCC DISCLOSURE ########################

To the FCC dude who might be looking at this. No I didn't receive any compensation from anyone for posting this. These are all my own opinions and thoughts.

live like the pioneers

While watching Arthur with my daughter one morning, Francine had to write a book report on what it must have been like to be a pioneer and just then there was a massive blizzard and everyone had to work together. They had to get by without modern day conveniences and got to see how cool it was to NOT have all those conveniences. This is almost what I felt like this morning when I woke up at 5 am to no power in my house. The only reason that I knew it was 5am was because the power was intermittently unavailable last night and I brought my cell phone to bed with me for fear that I would oversleep and not have an alarm. And as I was emailing my boss from my cell phone it made me think of how dependent I am on conveniences such as the telephone, the television and the internet....Oh Lord the internet. I basically felt non functional yesterday without it. I couldn't tell you anything without it. Thank goodness for my internet enabled cell phone but still that didn't do justice when I was trying to write emails from a tiny touch pad. Maybe I need to get reacquainted with simple living where all these electronics aren't necessities. I think I'm longing for the simple way of life again where for fun you went to a person's house since that was the only way to get a hold of them, where you played cards against other people not computers, where you went to bed when the sun went down because there wasn't anything else to do without light, and where all you had to get by was your family. What do you do without power?

What did you learn?

Welcome to my super late edition of What I Learned This Week.

I learned that even though my 3 year old begged me to take her to Ash Wednesday, she will not be quiet or sit still for the whole service. She also will not know how to use her whispering voice and will say in her regular voice (which echoes throughout the Nave) "Why are you always yelling at me?"

I learned that working from home with a 1 and 3 year old is a million times harder than going into work in a blizzard.

I learned that giving up soda for Lent will lead to a major caffeine withdrawal headache but that after 3 days of not having soda I really don't miss it.

I learned that my husband will go out and buy me the things that I tend to put off. Like a new glasses prescription that I have been putting off for about 5 years.

I learned that said husband will do that because I can no longer read the info on the television without being right on top of it.

I learned that spice cake made with an apple filling and homemade cream cheese icing is the best cake ever, even though I don't particularly like cake.

I learned that if you take a 3 year old birthday shopping they will then spend all their time trying to tell you what was bought.

And the most important thing I learned this week is that after years of birthdays with friends that were a blast and most of the time held at a bar, the birthdays that I'll remember the most are the ones I spent with my family.

What did you learn this week?


You can head here to find more.

Mistaken Identity?

I remember when I was younger and I had a serious case of mistaken identity. Honestly it was really not knowing what identity I wanted to be mine. Was it the loyal follower, astute leader, easygoing laid back along for the ride, or something else? I got my answer on April 17, 2006 at 4:45am; I wanted to be MOM. My children have enriched my life so completely that I can't and don't want to remember a time without them. Everytime I have a conversation it inevitably turns to my children. I have elaborate hopes and dreams for them and aching fears for them. I know that in the end it's in God's hands but I want to know that I gave them everything they would need while here. I think that mother's as a whole are an entirely different breed; we ache for others children (of people that we have never met), our heart skips a beat when we hear that announcement in a store that a child is up at customer service even though you know you left your child at home, we pray that all the children in the world have parents who love them as much as we love our children, we would step in front of a speeding semi if it meant trading our life for that of our childs, and to me as a mother my greatest fear is that somethign will happen and I won't be there to see my children make the biggest decisions of their lives. Or the smallest for that matter. And for that reason I cherish every single day I have with them. Even when I'm arguing with my 3 year old (who I'm sure is already eyeing the top spot on a debate team) or feeling exhausted just by the weight of it all, there is no place I'd rather be than exactly where I am.

She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along. ~Margaret Culkin Banning

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

 

 

Works for me Wednesday

Kristen over at wearethatfamily has a great idea going called Works for Me Wednesday (WFMW for short) where all kinds or bloggers link up something they do that works for them and it turns into a learning experience. Here is my WFMW:

In our household there is an abundance of movies and little fingers don't always work when trying to open DVD cases (who am I kidding, sometimes big fingers don't work) and so that little girls (I mean you Emily) who can't make up their mind have the ability to flip through DVD's without Mommy having to open every single one, we took a CD carrier (one that's used to hold about 150 CD's) and put our DVD's in it. This way she can flip through until she finds that one movie that she's been waiting a week to see (words straight from my dramatic three year old)and Mommy doesn't have to open any DVD cases.

 

Divide and Conquer

I'll be totally honest and let you know that I hate housework. With a passion. A HUGE passion. Now it's not that I don't want my house to be clean, I just don't want to be the one to have to clean it. There are certain aspects in every marriage where spouses argue.. the one that stands out in my marriage? You guessed it HOUSEWORK!!! My husband and I both work full time and while he "technically" works more hours for which he is paid, I do more of the "mama" work. Case in point: I do almost all the laundry, when my husband needs clothes for work he does do a load of wash, but of ONLY his clothes. Last time I checked there were three other people in this house who need to wear clothes. Preferably clean ones. I take the kids to and from daycare so while my "real" job doesn't actually start until 8am and ends at 4pm, I'm up and out the door by 6:40am and home no sooner than 5:20pm. Did I mention that I also get those two little grumpy morning people (I mean RAYS OF SUNSHINE) dressed every morning? My husband has apparently an allergy to loading or unloading the dishwasher (that seems to be reserved for me since he will WASH the dishes by hand before he will unload the dishwasher). He doesn't empty the diaper genie, instead he will leave hints for me that it's full(the diapers on top of it) Well now that I've gone off and stepped up onto my soapbox of things my hubby doesn't do, I should point out that hubby does a majority of the cooking (because in all honesty I'm not very good at it and he likes his cooking more than mine), he painted my kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedroom all by himself (I went shopping), he's installing my lighting fixtures in my kitchen and dining room (I'm going shopping) and he's a wonderful father and I love the fact that my children's faces light up when they see him. I just want him to empty the dishwasher!!!!

Got Giftcards????

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