Guess Who Is TWO!!!

Well n0t yet. June 3rd to be exact.


But guess who had their pictures taken yesterday?


Presenting Casey June's latest photo shoot.

Need I say ANY MORE about this child?

To think 2 years ago today I was already on bed rest totally unaware that this little miracle was about to come 10 weeks early.

In the words of Casey "UN-WEEL!"

May, May Go Away

Remember how I started the year with "2007 Goals".

I've never really updated how I was working on them so now seems like a good time with May just about gone. I'll score myself on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being the best, 1 being the worst.

1. Spend more time with my family actually BEING with them-rather than observing something we are involved in. This is working out ok. It helps being home so I have more time for this. Even before I was laid off I was doing ok with this so I'm pretty pleased with myself. I'll give myself a 7.



2. Try and be more patient with my husband. - I've tried to explain to him that if he just woke up a Rockefeller tomorrow..I could be a stay at home Mom and the pressure of being gone 11-12 hours a day would help me be much more attentive to him and our home. Again, being home for the last month has helped considering but again, prior to that I was doing well. Carving out time for ourselves was going along fine. I had set up a weekly "chore" chart for us where he picked up the dry cleaning one week and I did the next. If I had to do grocery shopping by myself, he did all the laundry that weekend. He was cooperating nicely knowing that I couldn't do 150% while all he did was go to work. So I'd say I'll give myself a 7 on this one too.



3. Lose the weight- I'm not even going to try and trick myself by putting out a number that is ridiculous. If I could be down a dress size by June when Kyle graduates that would be great. Where I end up at year end...as long as it's ATLEAST 20 lbs less than NOW, for me will be a great goal attained. Well being a size smaller by June didn't work out so well. I'm chalking that up to my family and all the stress of the illness, not to mention my own issues with medications wearing me out and not getting enough exercise. I have been good about walking almost daily with Casey since I've been home so that is helping. If nothing else, I've been MUCH MUCH BETTER about what I'm eating so that should help when things get back to normal with the meds and exercise. I'm giving myself an 8 on this one.



4. Drink more water- One would think this would be easy but I act as though there is a shortage on the stuff sometimes. Hands down this has been the easiest. It's all I drink at home all day long. I have one Diet Rite with dinner and one cup of coffee in the morning. This one gets a 9.



5. Get the finances in shape- This will require me being a bit of stickler with my DH and my dear son. It will require more planning on my part for meal preparation and anticipating nights we will be on the run and having something prepared rather than driving thru or getting Subway. It's a big job but I think I'm prepared and ready to get started. This one I'm VERY VERY pleased with. I do my meal plans for the entire span from paycheck to paycheck, then I make a grocery list and shop. I plan meals I can cook when I know I can be home, I put meals in the crockpot when I know I'm not going to be home or when I know we won't be home til later to eat. We've really only eaten on the run one or two times. Finances are a little out of whack because of graduation and my collecting unemployment but we're still on target for our move in July so that's a good sign. Another one I'll give myself an 8 for.



6. Continue to keep a good mindset regarding my inlaws and their indifference to my husband and our children-This was a a 2006 goal and I may have fallen off the wagon a few times but I've always managed to catch the wagon and hop right back on. I've noticed less tension with my husband on this level and so now when I'm REALLY angry I fight the good fights..otherwise I've really been trying to pick my battles and when it's not important...not traumatize Jeff with my own insecurities about them. I've done ok. Since we're heading up there this weekend and leaving Kyle behind during a really competitive tournament I'm a bit pissed...but it is the way it is. What I'm most angry about is that in 2 years none of them have been here to visit us. None of them have come down to see Kyle play ball. None of them have even mentioned it. I decided I'm tired of waiting so I invited them all to Kyle's graduation party Father's Day weekend. Will they show up? Probably NOT....but I've promised myself I'm not going to take it out on Jeff. I'll give myself an 8 on this. Certain things push my buttons and other things I used to let bother me...don't bother me as much anymore.



7. Carve out more time for myself- THIS is a very hard one. I adore my family and all that it entails..but sometimes I see my books collecting dust or my journal and I just want to cry. I want to steal 30 minutes for myself and hole up somewhere. This one....gets a big fat 10 and mostly due to my non-working status. I could have taken this extra time and filled it with something else besides spending some of it with myself. In a month I've completed a few projects I wanted to get done for myself and read 2 books so that's a big difference.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

Ok..sorry I was MIA yesterday. Dealing with stuff for graduation/graduation dance at school/graduation party and doctor stuff for my entire family.

So onto dishing the dirt.

How did I meet my ex? I met my ex-husband in a bar...that should have been my first red flag. He was talking to a friend of mine and when I asked him his name he said he didn't have one. So I said "Well then I'll just call you dickhead." He told me later that he liked that I was spunky and sassy that way. We ended up talking the rest of the night alone in a booth in the corner of the bar and when the bar closed down at 4am we went out to breakfast. Even though he is complete and total tool, I still remember the excitement I had the night we met. That anxious nervousness of meeting someone new that you really liked and just silently hoped and prayed that when you gave him your number...he actually used it.

Names- Middle names

Jeffrey James (Jeff's Middle name is his Dad's first name)
Angela Marie (Marie is after my paternal Grandmother, Marion)
Kyle Eric (Eric is a very dear friend of mine that offered to marry me when I got pregnant at 19 with Kyle-I turned him down of course but I thought I would honor him anyway)
Casey June (June is Jeff's Maternal Grandmother)
**Score EMMA for knowing it's June

What do I know or understand now that I didn't with my first child? That's easy. That it'll all turn out ok. No matter how much I worry. No matter what doesn't get done around the house, no matter how broke I am....it WILL all be ok. I know NOW that I'm a good Mom despite what guilty feelings I get about whatever I'm feeling. I need to give myself a break and not be so hard on myself.

My favorite indulgence- a pedicure.

What makes for a wonderful day? Getting a nap. Crossing at least 2 things off my "to do" list and making an nice dinner.

What is my secret to getting through my insane life without going crazy? I never said I wasn't a "little" nuts..cuz I am. But how I got through it when I was working. CROCKPOT, meal plans and a color coded excel spreadsheet with all of 70 of his baseball games on there so I knew if they were inhouse or travel games and were they home or away games. It was the best way to be sure I had the right uniform clean at the right time. NOW that I'm not working...I make dinner at 10 or 11am when Casey naps and basically do a load of laundry everyday. Usually it's his uniform from the night before and towels or other dark clothes. This way I know...both his different uniforms are always clean. OH..and I've left a clean juice cup, pack of diapers, wipes and snacks in the minivan at all times. This way all I have to pack in the diaper bag is an extra change of clothes, her blanket and her pacifier. If I forget anything else...it's in the van when I pull away.

What does an average week of dinner's--- Cost or what are they?

I'll show last week since we're out of town this weekend and my menu plan is short.

Monday- Tuna/pasta dish with mixed veggies and fat free ranch dressing about $12
Tues- Busy day chicken - chicken, cream of mushroom soup, rice and veggie medley mix in the crockpot about $11
Wed- It's like a shepherd's pie. It's basically meatloaf with mashed potatoes and peas on top. Again---around $12
Thurs-is always sandwich night. Last week was ham & cheese with Sunchips about $14 (but the bread and sunchips also go to lunches for Kyle and Jeff too)
Fri- was ham, corn, potato,cheese crockpot casserole about $8.50
Sat- We had a coupon for a XL pizza in town for $15 with 2 toppings vs $21 normally.
Sun- Mustard potatoes pork casserole with veggies on the side about $14

So if I underestimated a little because of ingredients needed..an average week of DINNERS is about $100. I spend about $200-250 twice a month plus another $100 on other produce/milk/bread runs in between. Plus another $100-175 at Walmart & Sams on toiletries, detergents, diapers, wipes, etc.

Favorite Food of each family member:

Casey - right now it's Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers---or cheese
Kyle- ANY kind of fruit or Mexican Food
Jeff- Bananas or Mexican Food
Me- Chips and Salsa and bread...I can't live without bread

My favorite breakfast food: I'm a muffin person. I'll bake my weight watcher muffin recipes and freeze them. Usually I have a 2 or 3pt muffin and a piece of fruit everyday. Favorite food indulgence when we go out. EGGS BENEDICT. OH my word...

Onto questions about Jeff:

Boxers/briefs/commando:

Uh...Jeff wears the Hanes Boxer Briefs....he likes them better than regular boxers cuz they keep the boys close without getting the CLOSENESS of briefs.

Color Eyes?
He has the prettiest bright blue eyes I've ever seen.

My favorite feature or personality trait about him:

I just adore that he can make me laugh at just about anything. I love that he can talk to ANYONE. He really can. He's met people that are just your average Joe kind of people all the way to people that make UPPER six figure salaries..and it just doesn't phase him. He's definitely a people person.

His favorite sport?

I'm pretty sure it's football. He loves pretty much most sports, baseball, basketball, football. But I think football is his favorite.

There ya go...