Book Fair Bis-nass

Yesterday I was MIA. This week has been rough. The book fair is my busiest week of work. I have to be at school at 7 am. When you have a baby it takes extra work to get out of the house in the am. I've been waking up at 4 am-yep 4. A. M. CRAZY! It's Thursday and my body is beginning to adjust so I might just keep up this little habit. Of course, I am having to go to bed at 9 to be able to manage Anyways, enough of my sleeping business.
So book fair.
To all parents of school aged children-please listen! I am going to tell ya how to make sure your children don't drive the librarian crazy at the book fair.
Please do not send your child to school with a plastic bag full of change! Even worse-this:

Yep! A kid brought this for me to deal with. 

Please work with your child on counting money. One poor girl walked up with $42 worth of books and then hands me a plastic bag of change with $7.42. I had to break that poor girls heart. She was so sad. 

Also teach your child about taxes. Here comes a sweet little face with a crumbled up dollar. He grabs 2 pencils at 50 cents each and then I have to say "your total is $1.09". Of course, I let the child have the 2 pencils but sometimes the tax was too much just to let go. They ask "taxes?" I always answer with "it's the American way". 

I have to say I'm tired of asking them how much money they have so I can help them find something they can afford. It gets old. When you have a school of 800 and these 800 come to the book fair more than once-it gets old. I've counted my fair share of change this week. Tomorrow is the last day of the book fair and I'm so thankful. 

I'll leave you with one do. Have your child bring the librarian a note like this one I got today.

Gotta love kids!

Pinterest Envy

Sometimes in life we get into funks and I'm here to tell you I'm in one of them. It's like I WANT stuff but I don't WANT to actually do it. Here are some examples:

I want to cook this:

But we will be having this:

I want to make this:

I'm really doing this:

I want to think this:

But I am really thinking this:

I want my house to look like this:

But it looks a lot like this:

Okay it isn't nearly this bad but when you have OCD you feel like it does.

I want to be this wife:

I feel like this one.

I want this husband:

This is more like it:

Pinterest is a lovely thing. How would I ever know all the things I can't have?

Back Home

Although I'm all grown up with a house and family of my own, it's nice to go back to your mama's house from time to time. I spent Saturday and most of Sunday at my parents. They watched Jack Friday night while me and the girlfriends got together for a long over due night out. My husband was busy this weekend so it was a great one to see friends and go back home.
Since my mom broke her leg (7 weeks ago now) she can't cook her amazing food that I usually get when I'm there so instead I made salads and baked potatoes. We sat around talking and watching tv. We even sat on the front porch for awhile because it was so nice outside.
Here is a picture of Jack wearing his cousin's Arkansas Razorback cap:

Here is another picture of Jack chillin' on the front porch:

A picture that shows his first teeth:

Going back home is nice but it is sure nice to be back home.

I'm gonna go ahead and say I may not do a great job at blogging this week. The book fair at the school is all next week and as the librarian I'm in charge. I'll be exhausted every day when I get home and will still have to do my house business like that stupid cooking and cleaning crap. I'm gonna do my best though. I'm going to try and not spend the paycheck I got on Friday at the book fair. Now that I have a child I can't help but buy books for that cute face. I'll be sure to do a post on the ones I buy. 

Friday's Letter

Dear Dad,
You saved us once again. Wednesday morning as I was leaving for work I couldn't help but notice that our yard was full of water. Since it hadn't rained, I knew it was a water leak. I called my dad right away. He gave me some instructions and said he would be over later and for me to just go on to work. It was fixed before I even got home from work. Crisis over!

Dear throat, ears, and left eye,
Why are you turning on me? Between my massive sore throat, my stopped up ears, and a left eye that looks yucky I could really use one of you letting up. I was suffering from sinus headaches so I started taking allergy medicine and then this happened. Serious! I could use a break from feeling ill.

Dear neighbors,
I think it is serious cool that you have a miniature horse in your backyard. Here we are right in the middle of town and you have the cutest horse just chillin with your dog in your yard. I wouldn't have noticed this gift if I hadn't went walking this week. I wish Jack was old enough to really appreciate it.

Dear Walking Shoes,

Since my post last week about rearranging my schedule I have managed to walk once. It's a start and I refuse to beat myself up about it too much.

Dear Summer,

You are a mere 27 days away from being all mine. Now I don't know the official date for summer (nor do I really care) because my summer will officially start the first day school is out for the summer. My ultimate goal is for Jack and I to walk every morning after J leaves for work. I have at least 30 pounds I want to leave my body before summer is over. 

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. J has clinicals all weekend so I'm not sure what Jack and I will be up to but I'll figure out something. I also wanted to tell everyone that I've done better with staying on top of the cleaning. It isn't perfect but it's better and I'll just settle for that for now. 

Got a Wild Hair Up My Butt

You know how sometimes an idea pops in your head and you start doing before you think-well that is what I did. We have a den that use to a garage (before we moved in). The room is useless to us and I had enough. It is the biggest room in the house and it's only purpose is holding furniture and junk mail. It is the room you walk in from the outside and it looks awful. When I first looked at the house to possibly buy the owner had it as his man cave. After I moved in (I was single at the time) it became a wasted space. The tv and the couch was in the living room. I put my treadmill in there, a bench, and a chair. Basically it became a catch-all. After my man moved in we made one wall a chalkboard wall and put up a dartboard and then added a folding table. Now that we have Jack and we no longer played darts the room needed a purpose. I decided we would make this room into a playroom for Jack/office. Saturday morning (while everyone was still asleep) I moved out the furniture and started pulling up the carpet. Thankfully when my husband woke up and after saying "what the hell are you doing" he started helping. Here are some pics.

After painting 

Did you know you can get mistinted paint at Sherwin Williams for $5 (you just gotta ask to see it in the back)

Another after painting pic

My husband pulling up the strips

Pulling up the carpet

It started with me doing this

We were able to take the carpet up and remove the strips around the wall and we also were able to finish painting the room. Our next step is putting down new molding and finding vinyl to put down. Eventually this will make a great playroom/office!

Adventures of a Mama

My parents have asked to keep Jack for the night which I hesitated about when they asked. I kept putting them off saying "I needed to see if Jeremy wanted to do anything". I really miss him when he isn't with me. Plus as a working mom I don't get to see him as much as I would like. I finally agreed because they do rarely get to see him and it would be nice for us to get to have a date night.

During the day we start a house project (check out the post about that tomorrow) but that night we finally went to check out the new Italian restaurant in town. Let me tell you a little something about where I live. It's a small town and there are not many places to sit down and have a nice meal so when this place opened everyone was excited. I don't even actually know the real name, we just call it The Italian Place. Here are some pics from our dinner out:

So yummy!

The pic I took after asking if I could take a pic

Before we left the house

The pic I took without asking

Best cake ever!

After dinner we decided to just go back home (we were so full). Some friends were getting together but I decided to just lay in the bed watching Gilmore Girls and playing Candy Crush (discovered it last night) and he watched tv in the living room (we don't agree on good tv). Isn't that what married people do? I took 2 Tylenol PM and slept all night. It was fabulous!

My Horrible Birth Story Part 2

For Part 1 Click Here

So there I was stuck 2 hours away from my baby who was having trouble breathing. I wasn't in my right mind. Frozen was how I felt. It became all business. I have learned that during trying times I become all business. It was all about answers. How do I get in touch with doctors to tell me how my baby is doing? When can I leave? Who will be there with him since I can't? How will I get there when I am released? What needs to happen for him to get released?

I disconnected. For me it felt like I was living outside of my body. I wanted to sleep and wake up with everything fixed.

Baptist Hospital did an amazing job with keeping me informed. I could call at any time and get information. My parents were wonderful also. They would send me pictures and video letting me be able to see my baby. I was scared that I wouldn't get to hold him first but also scared that  he wasn't getting held. I told the hospital to let my mom hold him but they said they would wait for me. I was so worried that he didn't feel loved. 

Honestly I'm not sure how I survived those 2 1/2 days until I was finally freed. My parents stayed at a nearby hotel in case they needed to get to the hospital quickly. They were there so much. They were able to take our place. 

During this time my husband was ill. He was at the doctor most of the day after Jack was born. We were worried he wouldn't be able to go into the NICU the next day when I would be released. I had an amazing friend who stayed at the hospital with me during this time. She literally stayed up all night with me that first night. 

Finally got released that Friday mid-morning and we high tailed it the 2 hours to Little Rock. I was so sore and swollen but I didn't care. As soon as I saw him I started crying. I couldn't stop. The nurse was worried about handing him over to me because I couldn't stop crying. She kept asking me if I was okay. My husband snapped pictures like crazy. 

We could only hold him for short increments because he needed to be monitored. My parents got us a room to stay in so we would be close by. Two days later they moved us to a transition room. If all went well there then we could go home. We would be on our own to take care of him. The nurses still would come in every 2 hours and he still had to be hooked up. Oh those damn machines. They beeped so much and would freak me out. I quickly learned that every little thing made them go off. So annoying! 

Well that is part 2! There is so much more to come. It took me a long time to write part 1 and longer to write part 2 because this was all very traumatic for me and my family. It was not a happy time for us but more a constant state of fear. 

Friday's Letters

Dear kiddos,
Giving the Benchmark has been so nice this week. Getting to work with just you 8 instead of 800 was nice on my nerves. I got to know you better and we had the most fun we could. The student who drew an actual table (like one you sit and eat at) instead of a table for information, you made my day. I love kids!

Dear Husband,
Sorry for snapping at you the other day. I hate that I scream when I get frustrated. Remember I am only taking it out on you because you love me regardless. Won't you be so happy when Jack's teeth actually come in?

Dear Den,
Some big changes are coming your way real soon so don't get too comfortable. We hope to start work on you this Sunday. Look out!

Dear Ears (especially you left one),
Could you please stop hurting???

Jack,
I know teething sucks and I am so sorry. Wish there was something I could do. You will not chew on your toys. The meds don't seem to help. It hurts mom to see you in pain.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I Need to Rearrange My Day

A typical day runs like this for me:
6:00-6:30//get myself dressed
6:30-7:00//get Jack up fed, dressed, and changed
7:00-7:15//get stuff the day ready
7:15-8:00//drive to work and drop Jack at daycare
8:00-4:30//work, pick Jack up, and drive home
4:30-5:30//blog while Jack naps
5:30-6:00//play with Jack and start supper
6:00-7:00//eat supper, clean up, play with Jack
7:00-8:00//clean up, play with Jack, bath, laundry, just random house stuff
8:00-8:30//feed Jack and get him down for bed
8:30-9:30//watch tv or take care of things I didn't get a chance to do

As you see there is no fitness whatsoever in that schedule. I use to be a walker. Every day when I got home from work I would walk. Getting pregnant stopped that immediately. I spotted a lot early on and was too scared to exercise. Plus I had worked all day and wanted to sit.

Jack is now 5 months old and I'm still holding on to 30 lbs. I need to put exercise back into my life. I'm the kind of person who can't just eat better and lose weight. Exercise is a must in order for the scale to budge. I just don't know where to put the time it would take to workout for at least 30 minutes a day. After much thought about how my day works, I decided that I need to start walking as soon as I get home from work like I use to. During that time I've already been up and moving so what's 30 more minutes? Plus Jack is asleep during that time and if it is nice out then I can pop him in the stroller. If he is asleep, I can jump on the treadmill. 

Now I say all of this without actually doing any of it yet but it's a nice thought. I'll keep you in the know and tell you if I'm able to stay on track. Of course, my new problem is when will I blog. My plan is to do better about writing posts for the week on the weekends. At night before bed I can read my favorite blogs. I'll hopefully figure it out and lose those 30 lbs!

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How to Keep Your Job with No Sleep

Jack slept maybe a total of 3 hours last night. At 5:18 am when I heard him crying again I pushed the husband on the arm and said in my most desperate voice "will you please go get him, I can't". I was on baby duty last night and it was hell. Poor baby is cutting teeth and it has rocked our world. Just as we were getting into a nice routine. BAM! Sad thing is I wasn't even the one to notice. The daycare worker (shout out to Ms. Jennifer) sent me a text. Seriously! I didn't even notice my own baby got some teeth.
Daycare 1 Mommy 0
I know it happens but still. Shitty moment for me. That's the life of a working mom.

So today I thought I would share with you some ways to keep your job while you work with no sleep.

1. Post throughout the night on every social media out there about how miserable you are, how you are so sleepy, and how your baby is keeping you up. Your co-workers will read it and spread the word (especially the moms that have been there before) so they already expect less from you and even feel sorry for you.

2. Come in just right before you are suppose to be there holding a large coffee.

3. Dress for work but don't cover the bags. The bags keep the "I've been up all night" in the spotlight so they will not forget and will continue to feel sorry for you.

4. Randomly yawn (which probably doesn't have to be faked) when people are looking.

5. Ask your co-workers how they survived a newborn. People love telling their own stories. They will relate to you. Their own memories will be resurfaced and they will have empathy for you.

I seriously dragged at work today which makes me feel like The. Worst. Worker. ever but hey I made it there and that shows commitment or at least my need to pay my bills.

I saw this while I was up in the middle of the night. It describes me perfectly so I had to share.

LYLAS (love you like a sis) Remember this....oh how nice to be that age again. 

Okay seriously I have reached a new level of delirium. 

Laters!

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Jack at 5 Months

Most mom's would be upset that their little baby is 5 months old but not this mama. I love it! Not upset at all that he isn't a little baby anymore. I'm loving this new phase. I get more sleep. He is so much fun. He is developing a little personality. I'm more at ease. It's just an overall better situation. Newborns are fun and all but I am loving where we are heading.

What's up with Jack?
-Celebrated his first Easter

-Found his toes

-Held his bottle (doesn't happen all the time)
-Loves "The Wheels on the Bus"
-Got his 4 month shots (we were late getting them due to antibiotics)
-Had his first fever and rash (thank you shots)

-Loves daddy and son time

-Finds Lexi infatuating

-Will grab toys and put them in his mouth
-Wakes up once in the night, eats, and goes back to sleep (most nights)
-Puts himself to sleep
-Enjoying the taste of carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes (we just let him have a few bites for practice)
-Loves when mom tries to sing and really likes "you are my sunshine"
-Still hates tummy time

There are 34 more days of school until summer and this mama is counting down because I can not wait for this summer. No daycare. Just mom and son during the day. I can't wait to spend that time with him. I'll get to spend 3 months being a stay at home mom!

Why Do You Have To Be a B?

I work at an elementary school so everyone there is super friendly and sweet. Not! One woman in particular is a real B. Now I'm sure someone out there (probably her mama) thinks she is sweet as pie and that is great and all but personally from what I've seen she is an unhappy person who throws her problems at other people like bombs and today I got hit. I like to think I got attacked today because I had nothing to post about and she came to me so I can share with you.

I am doing a reading contest at the school and I post the stats of the contest on the bulletin board about every other day. Well I had just posted Friday afternoon and she said "you aren't doing a very good job at keeping up with the points". I was stunned. She called me out in front of several teachers and was just so blunt. If you are a teacher, well a human, you know that if you wanna say something you can go about doing so in a nice round about way. Now for one (which I did explain to her) I just updated the points Friday afternoon. Two, it is Benchmark week and woman I'm busy and kids are testing and not reading in the classroom.

She always walks around with "that face". You know the one I'm talking about. It makes me think she may not be getting any lovin' at the house. Usually I'm able to dodge her but today I just happen to be talking to a fellow teacher when she just stunned me with her meanness. After the fact, I had a million come backs that I wish I had said. My good friend at work (who I told about what happened as soon as I could) had some really great come backs. Dang how I wish I could turn back time and say exactly the right thing back. Instead I was professional and explained to her that I will not be updating the board until tomorrow.

It makes me wonder why some people are just mean. Is she really that unhappy? I knew she was known for being a B but how do you become one of those people that someone writes a whole blog post about? Don't make me mad-I'll write a post about you.

Friday's Letters

Dear Spring,

 Welcome! Glad to see your face around these parts. You have been missed.

Dear Jack,

You are growing more of a personality every day. I love the way you are starting to hit your toys so they will rattle. You Dad and I love hearing you laugh. Every time we change your clothes you giggle because your neck is so ticklish. So darn cute! Mommy loves singing you “The Wheels on the Bus”. Your favorite part is the wipers going swish, swish, swish.

Dear Work,

As happy as I am to have a job, I am ready for summer vacation. Having to go to you everyday while I really want to be at home playing with Jack is getting old. Waking up at 6 am does not make me happy when I have to rush out the door to get myself to you and Jack to daycare.

Dear Yard,

Can you please clean yourself? I’m not one for working in the yard and I can’t afford to pay anyone to do it. I know you see your neighbor with its grass all cut and yard decorated and you want to be like her but I just don’t see it happening. Sorry! I’ll try-that’s all I can give you.

Dear Husband,

I’m sorry you have clinicals all weekend. Last weekend was so much fun and I’m sorry you don’t get to spend your weekend with us. I promise we will not have too much fun without you.

Dear Weekend,

I wish we had plans that consisted of a mini vacation or at least plans where we could do something together. Instead nothing is planned. I’m sure productiveness will occur but that just isn’t nearly as fun as a road trip.

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Oreo Fudge

I saw this amazing recipe for Oreo Fudge over at Artsy Fartsy Mama. Fudge + Oreo = YUMMY!

Every week I try and make Jack’s daycare something yummy. Running a daycare is hard work and I figure a little chocolate makes their day a little sweeter.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 (5-oz.) can evaporated milk
2 (12-oz.) packages white chocolate chips
1 (7-oz.) jar marshmallow cream
3 cups coarsely crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies {about 25 cookies}
Pinch of salt

Directions:

1.     Line a greased 9x13” pan.

2.     Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Set the timer and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

3.     Remove from heat. Add in white chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, 2 cups crushed cookies, and salt. Stir until chips are melted and everything is blended.

4.Pour fudge into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cookies over fudge. Cover and chill until firm

ENJOY!!!

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All Over the Place

What kind of cleaner are you?

Do you have a schedule or do you clean sporadically?

I'm a "to-doer" on so many levels but when it comes to cleaning I'm just all over the place.

I've made the family cleaning schedule (several times I might add).

Ever so often a blogger will post about their cleaning schedule and will even include the printable.

 I'll print that bad boy out and get excited about our new cleaning schedule that I WILL stick to this time.

It works-for a freaking day or two-and then it gets dropped. 

My diets work about the same way but that's a whole different story. 

When I saw this funny I recognized it as me pretty quickly.

I hate this about myself. 

I wish I could stick to a cleaning schedule. 

I clean every day. 

It is just never a scheduled clean. 

Sometimes I do laundry before work.

Sometimes I don't do laundry for days.

That system really doesn't work.

I'll tell myself that I will no longer go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink and by golly for 2 whole mornings I'll wake up with a clean sink.

Then it will be a long day and I will just wanna go to bed so I tell myself I'll just leave them just this once and then the next morning I'm bummed about my dirty kitchen.

I'll come home from work and have to cook supper and then it is too much to clean now that you are all full from the great meal you just cooked. 

That will last until I've had a enough or we run out of cups and then "I am going to stop going to bed with dirty dishes" starts again.

Vicious cycle people. 

What do I plan on doing about this problem?

1. Yell at my husband that he needs to help me out more with the cleaning.

2. Stick to that cleaning schedule on my fridge.

3. Run around cleaning like a mad woman and then stop because now I have to clean out the closets.

Probably 1 and 3 because sticking to a cleaning schedule just doesn't work for me even as much as I wished it did. 

I can't help it I have ADCD!

I would like to know....how do you clean?

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Cara Box!

I got paired up with 2 wonderful gals this month for the Cara Box exchange. 

I made Tienna a box and you can check it out here.

Cheltee made me one amazing Cara Box that I am so excited to show everyone.

It made a slow arrival but Cheltee was amazing by keeping me informed of when it should arrive. I made sure to let her know the minute it arrived to put her mind at ease (I too have had a slow moving Cara Box once and it made me so nervous that it wasn't gonna show). 

So I got the box and I quickly opened it up. 

She was able to master the first letter of your name theme.

I received all things A or R.

Here they are!

This is the sweet letter I received that also outlined the gifts in the box
and
A list of 60 acts of random kindness (this goes with one of my 20 wishes)

DIY Apron
Amethyst Rimmel London Lipstick
Asylum Seeds

Recipe binder with A & R recipes

Andrew's Clothing


Not pictured is an accessory organizer that hangs in your closet (not sure where the pic disappeared to).

What I really loved about this box is that she really worked with my 20 Wishes. I have a recipe binder with recipes to really start working on that family cookbook. Getting these items makes me extremely excited to get started on making it happen. I have also wanted an apron for awhile now but rarely buy myself anything and now I'll get to personalize one just for me. I've already been thinking about what I want to do. I want to do something different-not just my name. Cheltee also included 60 acts of random kindness. These were such great ideas! The lipstick is a perfect color for me and I love that she included something that was just for me. Makes me feel special! Oh and the gangsta cute outfit for Jack. It's still a little big but I'm so excited for when he can wear it. He is going to look so cool. My husband thought the suit was cute too. He said his little boy was going to look pimp (I guess that's a good thing). 

Tomorrow we get to learn the new Cara Box theme!

If you would like to see what others got this month just click here to be transported right over. 

I'm also doing a giveaway if you would like to check it out my clicking here.

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