One Boy and One Girl...

There once was a girl and a boy who even though they knew lots of the same people, they had never met each other. The girl worked at a retail store with a friend right next to a grocery store. The girl and her friend would get bored at work and people watch out the front window. One day the girl saw this guy and said he was cute. The friend ran out the front door and apparently knew the guy. She worked her magic and set the girl and boy up on a blind date (I say blind b/c the girl only saw the boy from a distance). The girl and boy went on their first date and have never went a single day since without talking to each other. Four months after their first date the very nervous boy asked the very excited girl to marry him. Three months later they said "I DO".
It has been ten years since I married my best friend. Ten very long short hard easy blessed years! We have been thrown lots of curve balls and have had just as many hard times as we have good times but yet here we stand...together. Life means so much more when you walk through it with a partner in crime by your side. Not just a spouse but a person you can count on, believe in and trust with all your heart!!! To this day I still look forward to seeing my husband every day after work and still get a smile on my face when he randomly text "I Love You" in the middle of the day. NO ONE can make me as angry as he can nor as happy has he can. He can change my whole mood with a single comment...be it good, bad or aggravating. He is so very special to me and I totally plan to never live a day in my life without him (he promised I could die first:).
Our anniversary was actually yesterday but this whole job thing is kicking my butt so I am just now getting around to it plus Rylee had soccer practice last night so there wasn't much extra time. Tonight we went out to eat to celebrate and believe me these days going out to eat is celebration in its self b/c my husband is obsessed with the Dave Ramsey plan so eating at home for every single meal is the new normal. We went as a family of four and Rylee asked why were we taking them with us, I replied that the two of them were our greatest accomplishment in the last ten years of our marriage so we wanted them with us.
When you have a wonderful man by your side, life is good even when it is bad!

Jumping Through Hoops

I have spent the last three days of my life sitting in Hospital Orientation for my new job. Those are three days of my life that I will never get back. The first day there was a parade of supervisors coming in and out of a room filled with half asleep people telling us how super nice and helpful everyone is that works there. Unfortunately it is yet to be seen if everyone has pride in their job like they say they do. I do believe that they should send some of there long time employees back through the orientation and re-orient them as to what that hospital stands for.
The next two days I spent sitting in front of a computer learning one thing after another and taking one quiz after another. Eventually it just got to the point where I quit reading the info and just went straight to the quiz. I mean a little common sense can go a really long way:)
I was suppose to have to work on Friday but I finished up all my orientation early so I am off today and tomorrow. I have to say that I really needed it. Being at home and having my own routine for four years makes for a huge adjustment when re-entering the workforce. Add the "lose an hour" time change on top of a Mama who is not a morning person and you got one lady that would literally fall on the couch the second after walking through the front door. I head back Monday to start a more specific training for my job and the next couple of weeks will probably prove to be brutal but at the end of this training awaits a nice little job that is only two nights a week so that I can have a little of my life back during the week. I have to say that over the last four years I have totally forgotten how I use to do it. I use to work, take care of one child and a husband, keep the house somewhat clean (by my standards, not June Cleaver's:), go to the grocery store and still manage to not run out of toilet paper. Unfortunately this week we have ran out of paper towels which I can't live without, toilet paper and my beloved Diet Coke. Needless to say I made a mad dash to replace those things today.
Don't get me wrong, there are some bonuses to heading back to work but right now my tired eyes are having a hard time seeing them. The biggest bonus of all is that I get to wear scrubs to work...I know, it doesn't take much to please me! The other is that for a little while during the day I get to be just me. I love being Mommy but these people don't know me as Mommy and therefore do not ask me to pour them a cup of orange juice every 3 minutes nor do they call for me to wipe them after they poo! I know...that was a little much wasn't it but so is the days of my life!!!

WORK TIME

Tomorrow begins the journey of a new job. I strongly dislike starting out and being the "girl who knows nothing". But as always I will survive. My biggest fear is that I haven't done this in almost four years....what on earth was I thinking. Say a little prayer for me that I can make it through these first few weeks. I have a final at school this week,then learning a new job, Ry's soccer practices, two kids, a husband and a house...that is a lot for this mama to take on. I just keep telling myself that I "got to get through it to get to it".

Headaches Be Gone!!!!

I have always been a headache person. I can remember being in elementary school and coming home with headaches at least twice a week. In my adult years that seemed to get worse and some days I was taking up to 8 Tylenol a day. When Tylenol quit helping I started taking lots of Advil and Excedrin migraine. That is until all that stuff started to mess with my stomach and I'm afraid the damage is done now. I can honestly say that I would have anywhere from 3 to 5 days a week that I would have a headache. Some days I could still function but then I would have what we in the south call a "Sick Headache" or better yet...a migraine. I would literally just have to stop functioning, lay down and feel like I would throw up at any minute.

I have to say that when a facebook friend told me to try wearing a certain kind of necklace, I thought she was crazy but when you have lived with bad headaches as long as I have you will try anything. So I went and got me a Phiten Necklace. Now I know this is crazy but I will never go a day in my life without wearing this darn thing again!!!!! In fact the one I have is starting to look a little worn out and that is what I am asking for if my husband decides to get me a Mother's Day gift this year:) Now you can google these and get the details on how these work but basically lots of athletes wear them and they are suppose to help with aches and pains and plus give you energy. Now I can't say that I have any more energy now than I ever have (which isn't much these days) but as far as the headaches go....AWESOME!!!! I have went from 12 to 25 headaches a month to TWO headaches a month and those aren't that bad. Usually medicine wouldn't help me, now it does. I can pinpoint and tell you that the only reason it isn't helping my two headaches a month is b/c those are "time of the month" headaches and I don't think there is any cure for those. But in all honesty I have had this necklace about six months and to say it has changed my life would NOT be an overstatement. I love it...I live by it! I also want to mention that even when I have had a few colds that would normally make me miserable, I swear they haven't ever gotten to bad b/c of this glorious necklace. These necklaces are sold at sports places, we got ours at Academy Sports and they start at $19.99 and go way up. I just got a $19.99 one and it has been great!
If you have headaches you have got to try one of these. I promise, you won't regret it!

I Guess It Is Time....

When I had Rylee, eight years ago, I hated the thought of having to go back to work but I did. It took a while for us to have another child and then that little boy was born with an illness that was incompatible with life. So I am sure that you can only imagine that after such a great loss, when I became pregnant again I would hyperventilate at the thought of having to leave my third child just so I could head back to work. I prayed a lot and mostly asked for peace that we were a two income household. Then the good Lord threw me a curve ball and put me on bed rest only half way through my pregnancy. Of course I was going to be out of work for 5 to 6 months and there was no way that my employer could hold my job that long and I wouldn't dream of asking them too.
Turns out God knew what he was doing (as always) because Tegan had some early issues that involved me running to doctors and therapy appointments for the first year of his life. Then I decided to go back to school. Somehow it has already been four years since I last worked and that seems a little unreal to me. Well it is all about to change. I am in waiting mode with some of the programs at school so when I came across a job at a hospital that would be perfect for me, I decided to go for it. So I got the job!!! It is going to be a little strange for me b/c I have never worked while having two kids but the hours are going to help out with that.
This is the part where you are going to tell me I am crazy but my hours are Sat. and Sun. 7 pm to 7 am. Now at first thought this may sound crazy...I have never worked night shift and I am giving up my weekends with my family. But when you look at it my way it is perfect. First of all I will still have half my weekend with my family. The best part about the hours is that we don't have to depend on anyone else to keep our kids while one of us is at work which was a huge plus for me since the kids will be out for summer before you know it. I am excited to get back out and connect with co-workers again but very nervous about the whole thing b/c for the last four years if my kids needed me I was there and there was nothing that told me I couldn't be at home with them. I guess it does make me feel better to know that their Daddy will be with them and he is MORE than capable of taking care of his own children. I think the worse part about the job is that I have to work week days for a few weeks to train and we all know that I am not a morning person so I just need to make it through these first few weeks and then all will be right in my world...for now anyways! So think about me next week as I head back to work and especially think about my youngest over attached child as his Mommy changes his world!

Seriously

My son seriously has stopped calling me Mommy and has decided to start calling me "Old Crazy". Awesome! He even did it out in public several times today and I could hear people laughing at him.

I seriously saw a girl in her twenties at the grocery store this morning wearing a nightgown, pajama pants and a bath robe. Double Awesome!

I took Tegan to the Dr. this morning for what I had already diagnosed as a sinus infection. Almost 2 hours later, we finally got to leave to come home with medicine for a sinus infection:)

I seriously got busted playing the tooth fairy last night. I played it off as just covering her up before I went to bed but I don't think she believed me. Kind of how she was talking about wanting something in her Easter basket and I told her I didn't make her Easter basket, the Easter bunny did. She giggled, rolled her eyes and walked away...does that mean she doesn't believe in things like the Easter bunny anymore? I just need one more Christmas with her believing in Santa and then I will want one more.

I seriously got nauseous while talking to my sister over the phone as she was talking about the brutal stomach virus that has gotten in their house. Last time I checked you can't catch a virus through the phone but I don't want to take my chances:) Then the very next night in an attempt for my brother-in-law to torture me, we walked right in to my husband's sister's house only to find out she was recovering from a stomach virus. Whew...I'm nauseous just typing it.

I am in serious need of a nap today!

Etsy Has Kept Me Busy...

I have been so very blessed to be able to make a little extra money from home. Etsy has been a huge resource for me and has really helped me to launch my camera strap slipcovers. I have really been busy with these for at least the last six months and what a blessing it has been. You can find my online shop at Polka Dot Pixie. If you make any sort of handmade item, Etsy is the place to be. You basically get your own shop for free. It charges you .20 cents per an item to list something but the listing will stay up for 4 months! Plus I used my shop name, Polka Dot Pixie, as my user name when I created my account so I basically get my own web address to hand out to others which is www.polkadotpixie.etsy.com . There are so many items being sold on there from craft supplies, vintage items to anything you can think of handmade.
What is best about Etsy is that it is not just easy and fun to sell on there but also awesome to buy from.

Old McDonald

Tegan and Paul like McDonald's but Rylee and I aren't very crazy about it. My issue has something to do with a video they showed me in Anatomy class and how the hamburgers and chicken nuggets come to be before arriving at the popular fast food chain. The thought has turned my stomach ever since.
Paul and Tegan had guys night last Friday night and when he asked Tegan what he wanted for supper he answered with "chicken nuggets (yuck) from Old McDonald's". It is so cute to me that he calls it that. Sorry...all the above doesn't have much to do with the blog post but I just had to give background as to why I titled the post like I did.

Do you ever go to a restaurant, fast food or sit down, and have someone wait on you that is just so totally unhappy with their job that they make your experience miserable?? I have been through numerous drive thru's where the employee never even so much as speaks to me much less make eye contact. It makes for a horrible experience. This morning I had to run to get something near an Old McDonald's and since I hadn't eaten I decided to run by and get an egg biscuit (that has to be safe to eat right??). There are two windows, one where you pay and one where you pick up your food. At the paying window the lady was your typical unhappy Old McDonald employee but it was the second window that changed my morning. There was a Hispanic man working at the second window. He was so happy. As he was handing me my awesomely unhealthy breakfast he looked at me, smiled from ear to ear and said "Good morning young lady! Isn't it a beautiful day!". I responded with a smile b/c obviously his was contagious and said "Yes sir it is". Before I drove off he said "you have a blessed and absolutely beautiful day".

Today is a day that I have heard several negative comments about a big change I am making in my life but that awesome man at the second window not only made my experience better but he also reminded me that a smile is contagious and that I can choose to be happy no matter what I am doing!

Noises in the night...

I hear noises in my house all night long. It is nothing for me to wake my husband up one or even two times in the night to see what the noise was. Of course there is never anything there and I end up apologizing all the way back to bed...yes he makes me get up with him. Funny how I hear every little noise and he hears nothing. It is funny b/c I hear the good, bad and funny in the night.
Last week was a week full of "noises in the night" around here. Some made me giggle and others made me shove my body under my husband and shake myself to sleep. The week started when I heard a large thump but didn't think it came from the kids end of the house. I decided to investigate and since my husband was playing dead and wouldn't respond to me I had to go alone. I found my little man laying in the floor with his comforter and all...sound asleep. How in the world you fall off the bed and never wake up is beyond me. A couple nights later I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and could see a faint light shining from the kitchen in to the living room. Arming myself with my cell phone (b/c apparently I was going to call them to death) I was shocked to turn the corner and there stood my little man with the refrigerator door open eating grapes. I scared him to death but I couldn't stop laughing at him when he turned to me and said "I got hungry". It was 3:30 in the morning!!!
Then there is the not so funny. I'm not sure I even believe in ghost but if I did I would place money on the fact that we have one in this house. Anyone who knows my kids will tell you that they have the same exact voice. When my back is turned and one of them say Mama, it is hard to tell which one is saying it. I have no doubt that our angel Cohen would have been the same way. I have these nights when I have had a bad day that I hear something that always terrifies me and then brings me sudden peace. I will hear the voice of my children whisper "Mama". Most of the time it is faint but recently I was laying in the bed wide awake and from our bedroom doorway I heard the voice of my children say "Mama" somewhat loud. In fact it was so real that I sat straight up in the bed fully expecting to see one of my kids standing there. Only they weren't. I jumped out of bed and ran to their rooms but they were both knocked out so I knew it wasn't them. Sometimes after I hear it I feel this sudden warmth coming over me. I'm sure it is just the blood flow starting back up in me after the fear but I like to believe it is the arms of my little boy. I guess you could say that the noises in the night, no matter how funny or scary, are little blessings from God to comfort me when I feel so lost and to remind me that there are always blessings...even in the night!

Where Is Your Head????

I'm outspoken. Sometimes Most of the time I say things that I should just keep to myself. I am pretty emotional and have a very hard time holding things in. Sometimes I feel better when I get it out and sometimes I feel way worse afterward. I don't put my head in the sand about anything. If there is something happening, I'm not a "oh let's just let that horrible thing happen and see where everyone lands" type person.
A few years ago when a family member was seriously sick, I continually tried to relay something to those surrounding him but no one would listen. Over and over again I begged and pleaded for someone to listen after I sought out help of someone else that knew what they were talking about relating the situation. No one listened to me and eventually I got tired of talking. Well the day came when the one thing I warned them of was a reality. Luckily with the help of a lawyer and a whole lot of money, the situation wasn't as bad as it could have been but could have been 100% prevented if someone....anyone would have listened to me.
I feel like I am in that situation now only it is really different. I am talking to people and bringing things to their attention but everyone once again is going to let the chips fall where they may. Me....I'm tired of talking. I'm tired of trying. If the fear of saying something is because there is fear of a wedge in the family then I'm sorry to say that wedge is coming about in a totally different way.
My husband always says to me "you just have to remember who you are talking to and know how people are and accept that". I have a really hard time doing that. Do we just accept how people are and that gives them the right to do whatever they want or do we just stand by while we think someone is making a bad decision??? The problem is that some situations drive me so crazy that I can't be around the people. I can't make eye contact and I put up "Tabatha's wall" to protect myself when the fall out does happen. Sometimes there is such an effort for people to do something that will make them happy while they completely hurt those around them. There in lies the WEDGE. Some days I wish I was oblivious to the world around me. So let me ask....do you keep your head in the sand??

Grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,

the courage to change the one I can,

and the wisdom to know it's me.