TITANS TEAM

2010 Fall JPW Titans!

(Thankfully this is not their actual team photo!!!!)

Goings on.....

Boy am I forever playing catch up these days. It seems like the minutes fly by and I am doing absolutely everything I can to enjoy every single second of it all.

All our spare time seems to be consumed with Jaxi's football practice and games. I never realized how much work it was going to be just by volunteering to be the team manager. I love everything I do for the boys, but I know that my other two littles are seriously getting short changed when it comes to Mommy time! We have been working on that in a big way!

We finally said good-bye to Tommy's squad A crew with a going away party. Our favorite cake baker made custom cakes for Tommy and Roberto and to be honest, I was so done with his transfer and adjustment and saying good-bye and waiting I just wanted it all to be over and done with. His process was the longest testing process anyone has ever seen and I was sick of it all. We had to put off Brinkley's birthday party because of the squad party so I was beyond over it all!!!! Good bye to the boys and girls of squad A and hello to the boys of night traffic.

So with all that said, we celebrated the big 9 for Miss Brinkley over the course of a few weeks! As usual, she bowed out of a big party with friends. We let her play hookie from school the day before her birthday and took her to see Vampire's Suck. She thought it was funny. Then we took her shopping for a new stereo system. That was her big ticket item that she chose. It was a great day with Daddy and Binky and Mommy. She stuck right in the middle of us all day. Even though it is almost our fall break from school, we still owe her a night out to P.F Changs, for her big birthday dinner. I am sure we will be able to squeeze that in pretty soon!!! I did manage to bring in donuts and juice to her class on her birthday. We had a great time dancing and boping around!!!! Happy Birthday as always Binky Noodle!!!

With Brinkley and Justice having birthday's so close, I did the unthinkable, in my eyes, and made them celebrate their days together. I took full responsibility for making sure each of them felt special for weeks before and after their big day!!!

Trying....the bright side~

That is probably the word of the week around here.

We are trying our best.
We are trying to be the best we can be.
We are trying to change our habits.
We are trying to make amends.
We are trying a different approach.
We are trying to look outside the box.
We are trying to keep our cool.
We are trying to look forward.
We are trying to forgive quicky.
We are trying to forget even quicker.
We are trying to restart fresh.
We are trying to forget we restarted once already this week.
We are trying to learn a lesson.
We are trying to take responsibility.
We are trying to own our actions.
We are trying to swallow our pride.
We are trying to look on the bright side.
We are trying to even find that bright side.
We are trying ...... and it is trying.

I took Brinkley out for a girls night last night.... with swollen eyes and a stuffed up nose.
Retail therapy was not really helpful.
I woke up this morning with swollen eyes and an even stuffier nose.

I can't remember a time when I have been pushed this far.
Tommy worried I would yell and scream and spank until it got ugly.
I am pretty sure everyone felt like that. Jax held the phone, just in case.
That was not the case at all. I cried. A lot.
He thought I was faking it and even said that to me.
That was, until he saw the tears falling down my cheeks.
That was when he realized how severe it really was.
He cried. A lot. Until he shook.
I didn't yell.
I never spanked.
I actually remained calm.
I said what needed to be said.
It was quick and painful and over.
BAM
That was when we decided to start over again.
That is what today is.
A DO OVER!
And I am so thankful for that.
Every 24 hours we get to Do it Over again!
And this morning we are doing just that.
We hugged goodbye and he agreed to work hard at everything today.
Especially his actions and his words.
Because he knows better.
And he is better than that.

And all we can do is try.

MORTIFIED....

I hate having to answer the phone to find my children's principal on the other end of the line...

only to find out that for the second time in three days...... my four year old has ended up in the principal's office.

Pretty much ended any shot at a good afternoon...............

Callings.....

I have never in my life ever used that word until we moved to Gilbert.... but not being Mormon is not what this is about.

Tonight I got more acquainted with the heads of the football league and their spouses. One woman's husband is a Gilbert motor so of course I gravitated to her and him. We chatted for a few seconds and when I told him I am a retired motor he knew who I was, instantly. Law enforcement..small world... seriously. So we chatted a while longer... and then the women from our team wanted to hear "my story." I told them I might cry but after they read my blog, that took six years to write, they were astounded that I even help with football, let alone actually workout with the boys.

After a while one mom asked about seeing the light... all the typical questions I have been asked millions of times. And then she said the phrase that runs through my head every day... hundreds and hundreds of times over and over....

"GOD HAS BIG PLANS FOR YOU, THAT IS WHY YOU ARE ALIVE TO DAY!!!"

I told her that I truly believe that too.. but dang it, I wish God would just come out and tell me what that plan is.

She looked me square in the eye and said, "This is your plan DeANNA, you are here to help your children. To help Jax become the great football player that he is already aiming to be. To teach your children and to be their mom everyday. THIS IS YOUR PLAN."

I kid you not, it was like she had just smacked me across the face. I have heard that millions of times and heck, I have said it over a million times myslef, albeit....very sarcastically. I had always known how lucky my kids and my husband are that I get to stay home and keep track of homework and shots and shoes and uniform lanyards and shoe shine kits and mechanical pencils and clean underwear. I knew that from the day I officially retired, and I knew that I didn't like it one bit.

Tonight was different. Something clicked when she asked what it felt like to be on a ventilator and what goes through your mind when you can't breathe on your own. How you learn to walk again and if I really saw the light everyone talks about. Not only did it click, it was like a fire alarm going off in my ears that would not stop ringing.

I looked out to Jax on the field, just as he dove and caught a pass. His team ran around him and were so excited ... cheering and yelling and smacking helmets. I looked at Pudgie and Brinkley playing on the jungle gym, laughing.

I would have missed this moment, and a million others if it weren't for that one bee that changed my life that day.

And I wouldn't change that for the world. This is what I am meant to be doing. Today is the day that I finally accepted it and opened my heart to listen to what God has been telling me everyday, for a lot of years. Let's hope I didn't take too long to listen!

Just fine....

When did my daughter grow up and become 9? For me, 9 is not fine.

I can't even believe that she is past 3 let alone old enough to be sporting braces and a cell phone. Just yesterday she was one of the chubbiest babies I had ever laid eyes on... SERIOUSLY... at 6 months, my chunk-a-saurus was sporting 4T clothes.

I fight with this little girl all the time. She is stubborn and hard to get along with and has her own ideas about how life should be lead. And I am thankful for that. She is not like other little girls that do everything everyone else is doing. She is one independent little chickie.

I feel so bad that she is tucked in the middle most days. We have had such a crazy schedule, at best, but she is adjusting.

So quickly, I will tell you, I love you more than life my little girl! We have tons planned over the next few weeks... so let's celebrate!!!! And I will update as we go!!!!

Fingers crossed, again

Ahh another Sunday.

One still sleeps. Which is probably better since he crawled into bed about 0530 this morning... and we were not exactly on speaking terms last night, when I went to bed.

I vented. Not about him or anything in particular..... yet everything under the sun.... just typical MOM stuff that everyone deals with and gets tired of and wonders when it will get through to everyone.......and how many times I need to repeat myself and ask to pick up this and that and, well, you get the gist. I vented... and it turned ugly and now, well, now he sleeps, and I finished my first workout of the day only to come in and find the dog chewing a pack of gum, my little munchies playing Madden '11, while eating everything that they shouldn't, for breakfast. It is Sunday so I will pick my battles wisely. I am going into hiding.................................and no one will care or miss me.

I retreated to Jaxi's hole of a blacked out room. Container of strawberries in one hand, rented movie and computer in the other. I can hide out here all day. No one will notice I am not in the room until there is a fight of some sorts over something inconsequential. For now I get to relax and re-evaluate and plan and plot. It was somewhat ironic that I read an article this morning about the reversal of jealousy that a mom felt about the stay at home mom that gets to spend lazy days of summer with her kids and how she would love to be able to choose a lunch date after the summer movie morning rather than trying to find every available summer camp, under the sun, to ensure her son was safe and having fun....... while she went to work everyday. I miss those days. I used to feel like I was accomplished and that I was balancing everything perfectly. I can't say that I feel like that I accomplish much of anything anymore. I have been told my balancing act isn't so spiffy and well...... my organizational skills are truly lacking, again and again I have been told. Makes for one happy Mom!!!! Funny thing is, everything and everyone else in this family is balanced and supremely organized, thanks to my dysfunciton of not being able to get my own act together.

The kids have all their school clothes in color coded order. Pencils are in color coded order, papers are filed, projects in the calendar, toothpastes in order of which child uses which paste, food is organized by snack preference, and backpacks are hung by the garage door with care. Daddy's clothes magically appear in drawers and on hangers, under armors are miraculously waiting on the railing to be carted to work....daily, food finds its way into lunch boxes and money into wallets..... and on occasion... the tooth fairy even remembers to make fairy dusted appearances.

They are all organized and ready to roll every single day. Maybe that is my biggest downfall. I organize them so well that I can't even fathom attempting to find a care in the world big enough to organize mine. I am figuring that it is about time I do that. We are finishing up three really, really trying weeks and things may just actually start to fall into place in this house.

A little dude woke me up this morning... again.
I took it as a sign that I needed to get moving in order to earn the lazy Sunday we all need.
The sweat felt really good this morning.
I was sucking air hoping that I didn't pass out.
It cleared my head and I am pretty sure it wiped out my bad attitude.
I hate running but it brought out the high I needed to kick my own self into days ahead.

I already feel like the week is in the bag and I can get another workout in tonight.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out the way I am planning it.....

TEAMS AND WORK

I am Jax's team manager for his tackle football team. They don't call it the team mom because it is seriously a job. If I have the weights on the boys off, or their information is not correct, their pictures are blurry or anything... a game if forfeited to the other team. It is seriously crazy busy keeping all the stuff right on track for these boys. More so, the real problem, is keep parents on track. It should be pretty easy to figure out why I need your medical insurance paperwork seeing as that we have already had one lil guy go down with a broken arm. Alas, I have to chase down parents like a kindergarten teacher rounding up her students after recess. SAD.


So, a few nights ago, I got a phone call from a concerned parent, and it made me sad. His son is and or was, being singled out, for whatever reason, by two of the boys on the team. Dad felt more comfortable coming to me than the coach, which might be understandable... no not really. At any rate... the word TEAMWORK came up a lot in our house after I had this conversation with the dad and then at our practice. (SADLY, AFTER THIS DISCUSSION AT PRACTICE, THE SAME LITTLE GUY BROKE HIS ARM... PURE COINCIDENTAL AND ACCIDENTAL) I was somewhat angered that anyone on a team would intentionally hurt another child when he was working at being a better player. It happens all the time, I know.


I asked my guy about it. Had he seen anything bad going on or heard anything. His answer was no. He doesn't lie so I was sure that he wasn't really paying attention to anyone but himself during these times.

The truly ironic part about learning that there is no "I" in TEAMWORK, this week, is that my other biggest boy is dealing with this issue as well. And since I won't go into the dirty details. I will say that our family has really gotten schooled on this subject a lot in 4 measly days.

I stressed it to everyone since they seem to think that no one needs to pick up their school work, or their shoes, or worse yet, boy parts of their football uniform. I had to make threats (which I will go through with them no matter how gross it is going to sound) to put all their crap, junk, garbage and items that have kitchen cabinet item names.... (yep, I am talking my 10 year olds football cup) on top of them or on their face while they sleep... if I find them on my counters, kitchen or dining room table, in the downstairs bathroom, on any furniture downstairs or remotely close to food items in the pantry.

We either work as a TEAM or I will punish you all as your Coach.

In reality, I am too tired to care this week... but for the time being, they don't need to know that!~

~TASMANIAN MONDAY~

As you can see, this was a post for Monday. I AM TWO DAYS LATE AND IF THIS IS ANY INDICATION OF HOW THINGS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH A NEW SCHEDULE AND LIFE, I AM UP A CREEK.............

I am pretty sure I am like any other Mom in my neighborhood when it comes to schedules.

Mondays... we don't veer off course at all. We have a system and it does not get changed in any way shape or form or Momma is nuts for the rest of the week.

The kiddos know.... if they are Jax, he wakes up anywhere from 0500 to 0600 to have his own time to do whatever he wants.... like play his video game uninterrupted or read or whatever.

Two other little crumbsnatchers get to sleep until 0705 since they took their baths on Sunday and we have breakfast and we are good to go and in phenomenal moods for the remainder of the day, unless big brother scares the living daylights out of little sister as she is walking to the staircase....half asleep and he screams "raaarrrrrrrr" at her from around the corner and she bursts into tears and runs back to me as I am tugging at the little man to get out of bed... and the dog is biting me for tugging at the little man........ and now barking because his girl is crying and she is confused as to who to protect..... GET MY JIST? We have our Mondays down to a science.

Until today's Monday.

Daddy is home. For all eternity, or until he is promoted, on Mondays now. And I am now considered the devil. Or the Tasmanian Devil, to be exact. He watched me doing the laundry and vacuuming and dusting and dishes and picking up after everyone and getting football gear and drinks ready.........

I can't deal with change very well. I admit it. I am an OCD human when it comes to that. I can't veer off course with Monday's either. It is too hectic and I have to play catch up to everything that slid by the wayside on the weekend... and this weekend...everything slid. we had 8 children here playing video games and swimming and jumping and spending the night and my house shows it.

Having Daddy home is gonna take some adjusting to on Mondays. Or I may have to chain him to the chair at the desk so he does his homework while I do house work, like the Tasmanian Devil, as he called me...............Can't wait for our first Tuesday of the new schedule!!!!

212 degrees - The Extra Degree

THE KIDDOS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HAS SORT OF TAKEN THIS ONE ON AS THEIR MOTTO THIS YEAR. WE HAD THIS ON OUR BLOG 2 YEARS AGO FOR MOTIVATION IN OUR WORKOUTS. I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS STILL EXTREMELY APPROPRIATE FOR ALL THE HARD WORK JAX HAS BEEN PUTTING IN ON THE FIELD, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.

I half JOKED WITH HIM....... NO MATTER WHAT.. YOU PUSH FOR THE EXTRA DEGREE AND YOU WILL BE AMAZED HOW FAR YOU CAN GO!!!! WE WILL SEE HOW MUCH PRACTICE CHANGES THIS WEEK!!!

Facing the Giants

I was shocked at how amazing this movie was. In the beginning I could tell that Jax was not very into it. It was very "churchy" but Tommy and I told him to listen and to watch and give the words some real consideration.

By the end of the movie, I was in tears, Brinkley was actually liking the whole movie, and Jax.. Jax he "GOT IT!!"

I was so excited when Tommy randomly threw out there, "what do you think the meaning was behind the movie?"

Jax immediately said, "NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!!"

'nuf said!

Pity Party

Well, truth be told, I had one tonight, and I am so not proud of it. Seriously.

I acted like a kinder having a meltdown and no one really even noticed... seeing as that there was no one here to really notice and the ones still present... were too busy with friends to have any idea anything was going on so I am guessing it was really no big deal.

SWEET!

When I got my "smart phone" I never fathomed all the goodies I would get to do with it. My biggest lifesaver... the emails directly to my phone. I am horrible about checking my home computer email so I have one email that I give out to a select few, to send things directly to my phone..... for important stuff.. you know PORN... I am kidding peeps!

At any rate, the last two weeks have taken its toll and by Thursday, our kinder was beyond melt down. He had hit complete disaster mode and could no longer even function. He stayed home from football with daddy and had an amazing night. Brinkley should have stayed home but I let her come to hang out with the girls, who were not even at practice. She was beat down by practices end. I think the fact that I make her run drills with the boys and at the end, she runs the suicides with the boys as well, just adds to the sheer exhaustion at the nights end.

Today we fell out of bed and laughed at the fact that it is Friday the 13th. Jax keeps repeatedly reminding me that he wants to watch that series of movies. I am pretty sure I was about his age when I started watching them. It will take until he is in high school to even finish them since there are like 897 of them now. The day went beyond smoothly for all of us.

Tommy and I spent some much needed together time at Paradise Bakery having brunch and adult conversation about his new job and the kids and catching up, literally, on the past two months that he has been presently absent for. I am not exaggerating about that at all either. It is so easy to see why cops are amongst the highest divorce rates out there. Most women can't deal with the daily menage a trois of work and family and death and court and dirt bags and phone calls and everyone else's problems and text messages at all hours of the night and blah blah blah. Seriously... people really wonder if I exaggerate that I only sleep 3-4 hours at night... come play with me!!!! You will see. With my boys position at work I always joke, we have taken on 8 new families consisting of 7 wives, 19 children, 7 husbands, many animals, psychiatric problems, scheduling dilemmas that would make your head spin, court dates, conflicting court dates, car issues, blah blah blah. It is all fun and games around here!!! Until someone pulls out one of the cards that is keeping everything balanced and then we are up the creek!!!! But we keep it all together and pretty darn well!! Until I melted down today...

We had a new schedule to deal with for work, and then a new revised football schedule that was going to save some serious family sanity and I was already ready to handle the next two weeks with some serious energy.... until the email hit the phone.

I wanted to fall over. (Going from 5 days a week for the first two weeks to 3 days a week was like snow in summer in Phoenix. We were amped to drop down to that and then we were told there would be no Friday practices due to parks with lights constraints. SWEET. I could handle 2 practices a week for 8 hours gone from the house time frame. I was oozing happy.......) We were switching back to the regular schedule to enhance conditioning and ensure athletic performance.....5 days a week again....4 hours a night. AAAAGGGHHHH! I updated my calendar, which might scare some people to look at right now, sucked it up, did a workout, and got over it. I had to break the news to Jax. It went over like a lead balloon in a kindergarten classroom. We will survive.

Then, while waiting for the house to fill up with every ones friends for our very, very impromptu sleep over... I started watching Dr. Phil. Yeah, I felt like a total D-bag dumb ass for even thinking about a pity party, let alone having one. Of all nights to complain about anything, Dr. Phil has on a couple having marriage strains due to the fact that they are the only couple ever documented with triplets that are blind and deaf. They then explained all their struggles and the scheduling and teaching issues and inability to educate the girls on their own without the help of professional assistance, how the husband felt very inadequate as a father for not being able to fix everything and please his wife and remain completely successful at work. Basically he thought he was slowly failing and the house of cards was falling in around him as he spoke. I choked on ice as he was talking.

Yeah, I have no room to whine or complain, to bitch, moan, or be anywhere near disgruntled. Tired is fine, but I sucked it up and onward we move. We have it good. Seriously. I play single mom more days than not around here, but unlike one of my friends... she lives it. Her husband is preparing to deploy, yet again, to the most dangerous area in the middle east, to continue his job of loading and off-loading the bombs to the bombers and boats and planes to transport them. And by loading them, I mean he readys them to explode. Yeah, who's complaining now? She is single mom more than she is not. Her kids don't know what it is like to have Daddy around more than 30 days a year. Her boy doesn't get extravagant pay nor does he get hazard pay. Damn skippy, that boy keeps all of us safe at night, and day! 'nuff said, I'd say.

And damn skippy, this girl has no right to bitch that she gets to take her kids to football practice at a beautiful green park, in a very expensive Escalade with more t.v.'s in it than most homes, watching 2 of her healthy kids climb tress and laugh and play with new friends while big brother does drill after drill to expand his agility and knowledge of the game, four hours a night all week long. No right to complain at all that I am tired and my house is not spotless and someone left a dirty sock under the dining room table where we never even sit at, let alone take our clothes off at, or the fact that said kiddos have been eating fast food 3 nights a week because it is just to late to cook when we get home and they need to get their tiny tired rear ends into bed.

YEAH, NO WHINING HERE.

It is Friday the 13th here and to celebrate all our good fortune and fun and crazy madness, we opted into a very impromptu sleep over. It all happened so darn fast that I am still wondering exactly how it happened. Happy Friday night!!!

"TITANS"

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONE IS JAX????

(I have yet to admit to anyone but....alas, when the kiddo is all geared up and ready to go, he is taller than me. That has to stop!!!)

As it goes, the past two weeks have been nothing less than havoc in our family. Four hours every night has been devoted to football practice. MANDATORY football practice. The kind where, I as the team manager, takes roll and if you are absent, we choose days for make up practice, on the weekend, because they take it that serious this season, that you are in shape and prepared for the traveling and are ready to go at it.

It has taken its toll on us all in big ways this week, but last night I found myself oozing with Mom pride as one of the Dad's approached me, to talk about Jax. He introduced himself, although, I know all the Mom's and Dad's pretty much, and then he reminded me of his sons name. He wanted to let me know what a, "good young man" Jax is. I was happy with the statement and really didn't feel it would go much farther than that. Then he continued, first, he had to ask me how old he was again, just to make sure....TEN! Then he was overly curious about his shoe size.... mens 12! Finally he said, "I just want you to know what a good boy he is. Monday, when we jumped the gun and started full-contact hitting without the directors approval, Jax was teamed up with Dalton and hit Dalton pretty hard, twice. Each time Jax immediately went over to Dalton, helped him up, did the boys smack the back and asked him if he was ok. At the end of practice Jax again, checked to make sure Dalton was ok, shook his hand and complimented him on a great practice." Dalton then went to his father and told him how Jax was worried about him and repeated the story to his father and ended with, "Dad, Jax is really big and it hurts when he hits you... and I know he was no where near full speed."

I was so happy to see a parent that recognized that Jax is such a good kid. He hates when his own team mates get hurt, especially by his own doing, which is never ever intentional. I am so proud of how hard this kiddo is working at school and then giving 110% on the field every night. It is not easy to keep your cool when your core temp is reaching boiling 4 hours a night 5 nights a week, and then continuously getting 100% on your AR tests, reading to your little brother or your little sister every night, almost completeing that AR goal for the entire first quarter...3 weeks into school, trying to help around the house more, crossfitting with the Mom or Dad when they ask, getting enough sleep to not be a zombie, staying healthy, and growing so fast that in one night he polishes off 4 1/2 pound burgers like they were crackers.........

He is growing up way too fast, but is doing so in such a way that I love him so much more every day and am so darn proud of him I gush when I talk about him.

We can't wait for the big games to start!!!!

JUST DO IT!

JUST DO IT!

Bieber Fever

The night before the kiddos went back to school Brinkley and I had a girls night out to see her favorite little man on the earth, Justin Bieber. We left in time to hit PF Changs for our most favorite, lettuce wraps and won ton soup. And then onto our night of rocking out. I had the lowest of expectations for this little guy, but boy can he put on a great show! Between him and Sean Kingston, I was more than pleased with the money we paid for the tickets. We had bought 4 tickets in the beginning to go with two friends. They backed out and I ended up selling two tickets for what I had paid for all 4.. and then some....... BONUS!!!

We had amazing seats and had a blast. Brinkley passed out on the way home and did just as promised... no complaining about being tired for school the next day!!!! Just to clarify.. I normally never would have bought these tickets if I had known that school started the next day... but I bought the tickets more than 6 months ago before they even went on sale..... and we were not going to back out on this!!!! If my videos were not so long I could upload more... to show what a great Usher-esque with of mix of Michael Jackson moves, entertainer Justin Bieber really is!!!!

T3

CONGRATULATIONS TO SCOTTSDALE'S NEWEST NIGHT TRAFFIC DUI SQUAD SUPERVISOR.

YOU WORKED HARD FOR IT AND YOU SOO DESERVE IT BABYCAKES!!!!!

Shifting............

Ahhh some days I think that I get jealous of normal. Daddy's that come home at a normal time and have a normal schedule and ...well... a normal job. Although I don't know what normal is. A banker, a broker, a sales dude? I don't know. Just normal. My kids rarely see Daddy for more than 1 hour on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Luckily that one hour is dinner and we are pretty strict about all 5 of us sitting down and tuning into us. Some days it doesn't work out so well and they get no time and don't even see each other. Now me, well I get to pack extra dinners and make extra dinners and breakfasts and I get to fly by the seat of my pants most days and.. well it suits me... except the past 2 months have been a little "edgy"

See.. we are in a process. The longest testing process in the history of processes know to man at SPD. Tomorrow it will come to an end. Good, bad or indifferent, it will end and life will go on and I will continue to be a single mom 4.5 days a week. Four and a half days straight of me, myself and I. I don't know any different so I can't even imagine what would happen if there really was a normal around here. I am not sure if my kids would know normal either.

Sometimes I talk to my friends that have the 24 on/48 off and just imagine how incredibly easy that would be. BAM... Done. But then you are on the ever changing shift of weeks and I like knowing what days are recovery days. Then there are the 48 on/96 off-ers. That would be easier than most, for me.

We are cramming a lot into the days lately. Adjusted hours and new schedules and, "stuff." Actually, we are working really hard to just get along until all is said and done. Some people are rather crabby... and by people, I don't mean me or the 3 munchkins!!! I totally expect that the serious stress will come to an end tomorrow night.......... and then we can relax. Relax and gear up for another schedule change and re-adjust our daily lives or just go back to what we know and love.

Either way... we are surviving and will continue to... and maybe, just maybe... someone will get the office and hopefully, a take home car, he so readily deserves!!!!

We love you Daddy. We know that you are the best one for the job and you wil do amazing tomorrow night. We are 110% behind you and know you will do your best and it will all work out for the best!!!

AND I AM POSITIVE YOU ARE GOING BACK TO YOUR NORMAL SELF TOMORROW.... OR I AM CALLING YOUR BOSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU!

BIG

Just for today, I will allow myslef to be a little more emotional than usual.
Just for today, I get the pity party.
Just for today, I will hug them tighter.
Just for today, I will hold them longer.
Just for today, I race down memory lane.

Today all three of loves of my life will tip toe off to school together.

Yes, the gruesome twosome will have little Pudgie man in tow.

Little Pudgie man will finally walk the halls that he has been begging to visit...for three years.
Little Pudgie man will get a buddy, that is not his sister or brother.
Little Pudgie man will have to rely on someone else for help, besides Mom now.
Little Pudgie man will make a lot of new friends.
Little Pudgie man will play on the cool playground.
Little Pudgie man will learn about lunch lines and rules and the joy that is learning.
Little Pudgie man will take some big strides towards independence, without Mom.

And today, I think I just may lose it a little bit.

Pudgie's ability to grace this family was nothing short of the 2nd miracle in my life and now, I don't get to chose to be away from him anymore.

Normally, I consider myself to be a pretty tough chick.... on that note....I am giving myself two days to catch my breath. After that I will have a hard time expalining why I have turned to mush..........................

(.... sniffle

I can get through this day.........................................

~Wasting Change~

I guess I will own this, not that I am proud of it... but we are quite a wasteful family. Not with everything, but enough so that I decided that it was time to make some seriously drastic changes if these peeps want to take an impromptu and somewhat expensive vacation this year.

We had bowed out of the whole idea of a vacation since the littlest princess got her braces but once I figured out how much food, stuff...aka...money, gets lost, used improperly, stolen, thrown away or goes bad...I figured if I can change this, and right now, we could take some seriously awesome spur of the moment vacations.

I started reading some pretty cool articles and then I found one talking about, "Making the Spare Change." It gave all kinds of ways to find money and save money and keep money and then find some more.

First on my list of "finding money," cleaning out all of my purses and the toy bins and junk drawers and car ash trays. After 3 purses, (and that is all I have cleaned so far) I almost fell off the chair. I had almost $68.00..in change. I told everyone that they are going to need to go through all of their nooks and crannies and find all the loose change. I know it is there, I have seen it. I have 33 more purses and bags and backpacks to go through by Monday. I am figuring that I will most likely, have over $400.00, in change alone....... and for me, that is huge, to clean out all my bags (that, and to have all that change accounted for)!!!! Every penny we have will be going towards the surprise trip.

The second change: Well, I have heard it so many times before but I really have never ever followed it. Pay ME first. Makes sense but I guess I just never did it. I started it this weekend when I went grocery shopping. At the end of checking out, the checker always says...."you saved $XXX.00 amount of dollars today." I decided that, that amount saved will be immediately withdrawn from my account with cash back, and put into another account that only I access. I hope to eventually incorporate the savings when I wash the car myself or do the bug spray thing myself rather than pay someone else to do it. I had stopped using all my coupons awhile back but am getting back into the swing of things with them so that will help even more! My ultimate goal would be to save $2,000.00 a month. I have not explained to everyone that we will be using all the things that we have before we go and buy more, in an effort to cut back and be a lot more aware about how we are living, but I know it will be much easier with them going back to school and not being home 24/7 anymore!!

I think for this week, two big changes should be enough to push me nearly over the edge. I would love to hear from anyone...even the blog stalkers that never leave comments, on how you save and how much is normal to try to save because maybe I am missing a boat and should be trying to save even more with a family of 5????