Pages

Thursday, April 30, 2009

on the road

When we hopped in the car tonight Jonathan mentioned that the tires needed air in them so we'd have to stop at the gas station right quick. Then when we pulled out mom asked Jules enthusiatically, "where are we going, Jules?" And she very enthusiastically replied, "to the gas station!!!"

Yay for Mickey Mouse and gas stations!

we're off to the see wizard.... err.... Mickey Mouse

Headed out to Florida for a week, but I wanted to share a quick story before I go.

Julianna asked the other night, "Mama, will you hold Light while I go on the rides with Daddy? I don't want him to bite me."

Silly girl. We had to explain why dogs and cats weren't allowed in Disney World and now she plans to "go into Disney World and ask that man why cats and doggies can't go in his Disney World!" (all said with her hands on her hips of course!)

Hope you all have a terrific week!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

by the numbers


  • 0 number of gifts I bought my husband for his birthday the day before yesterday

  • 15 weeks pregnant today

  • 24 weeks to go

  • 31 days of school left

  • 1 day until we leave for Florida

  • 4 is the number of Mickey Mouse ice creams I plan to eat

  • 13 days until my next doctor's appointment

  • 6 pounds gained in the first trimester

  • 5000 pounds of luggage packed

  • 3 trips to Wal-Mart since Friday for various vacation "necessities"

  • 1 bajillion things to do tonight

  • 12 days until I have an actual job interview

  • 3 number of times I got up to pee last night

  • 2 months I've had my phone and still don't know how to post a picture to my blog from it

  • 7 loads of laundry done since Sunday

  • 4,243,573 number of times I heard the f word at the school I was working at today

Monday, April 20, 2009

random

Have you seen the new rebate cards? They're basically Visa cards that you get back with a prepaid amount on them whenever you purchase a product and fill out a rebate form instead of a check mailed to you.

Why did they not do this ten years ago?

Sunday, April 19, 2009

personal update and excuses for not blogging

I have spent the last several months stressing over my job. Taking care of kids is fun and easy, but inconsistent and not enough money. I've also been substitute teaching, but still not making enough. After Jonathan missed another round of layoffs at work but still had to take a (second) pay cut, things have gotten even tighter for us. You can only stress about it so much though so I am trying not to get all worried about it all. I know that God will take care of us.

We were able to get a business license to rent the condominiums that we own. That is indeed a blessing. We have been all working together on setting rates and getting the basic aspects of the business set up. We will have a calendar and webpage soon, but until then we are hoping to get started renting a few weeks here and there so that we can make the mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure. If you want a nice place to stay at North Myrtle Beach, then feel free to email me.

My parents were able to rent their house and get enough to barely make the mortgage payments. They had their house listed for sale for years and finally were able to make more progress by renting it. Therefore, they have moved into one of our extra rooms and while it has been an adjustment, I think it has certainly been a blessing as well. It gives them a way to avoid losing their house and it gives us help around our house. It is especially nice to have built-in babysitters and help making dinner at the end of the day. We are all very fortunate.

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, I have been a lot more active in searching for a teaching job for next year. Yesterday I spent the morning at the school system's job fair. I don't think much will come of it because there were thousands of people there and only a handful of positions available. It seems that since the economy is so bad that everyone thinks, "Oh I could teach. That would be easy." Besides, there's really only one computer teacher at each school so probably only one or two openings out of the whole system each year.

It only adds to the pressure that now my pregnancy is starting to show. I am 14 weeks along this week and I am only comfortable in maternity clothes. Yesterday at the job fair I just kept praying over and over again that it wouldn't be obvious that I was pregnant. I wore a suit that was slightly big and just buttoned the jacket. I don't really think that it was too apparent, but obviously as time progresses this problem is only going to get worse.

So about the blog. First it was not wanting to spill the beans about being pregnant and deal with the anxiety of another possible miscarriage that kept me from blogging. Then it changed. It is hard to go about working a full day and then come home to blog when really I am spending time worrying about our finances and what I can do to earn more money for my family or instead spending time doing everything I can to avoid worrying about our finances. I have really taken a lot of the personal stuff out of my blog and instead just made sure that I've been documenting Julianna's cute stories every once in a while. This is the most important to me although I realize that it is not necessarily the most interesting for everyone else. Plus, I feel like I always whine and I don't want this to turn into a place that is full of nothing but whining.

So please forgive me. I'll try to be if not a better blogger, then at least a more frequent one. :)

Also, if you will, please say a prayer for our financial situation - specifically that I am able to find a full-time job soon. I don't know what I'm going to do when school gets out and there are no sub jobs and certainly no full-time teaching jobs until the fall.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

the questions of a 3 year old

Julianna has been pretty inquisitive lately. Here are a handful of the questions she has asked me sometime during the last few weeks. I'd love to hear how you would answer them. :)


  • Can bumblebees sting Easter eggs?

  • Is the baby going to be here when Daddy gets home from his trip?

  • Why did those people kill Jesus on the cross?

  • Why is our blood red?

  • Can I take cheese and crackers from home when we go eat dinner with Cinderella?

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I'm rubber and you're glue

I was substituting for a first grade teacher today with a pretty good class. I had one little boy who I had pulled aside to work by me because he couldn't keep his hands off the other kids. He got a little irritated with me and he tried to make me mad by saying, "Well, you look like you're about to have a baby!"

He didn't realize how much he had just made my day.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

so thankful

Here's just a short list of a few things I'm thankful for today.

  • parents/grandparents who give us nights off

  • the random spontaneous hugs Julianna gives

  • the amazing sacrifice of our Lord and Savior

  • having my husband back at home after a week away for work

  • upcoming Disney World vacations

  • not having to file an extension on our taxes this year

  • tax refunds (despite it already being owed to a bunch of people)

  • family who loves unconditionally

  • finally being pregnant

  • sunshine

  • Easter lunch

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

good morning to you too

You should've just seen the look on my mother's face when Julianna just told her, "Nanna, I'm tired of this!" Priceless.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Run Forest! Run!

This past Saturday we traveled to Raleigh to see my sister run a half-marathon. She did absolutely magnificent although when I saw her at about the 2 hour park she was ready to quit. She was beating herself up and completely devastated, but still going nevertheless. I was so impressed. It amazes me how anyone can run that many miles in a row and still move the next day.

I really wanted to try for a half this year as well even though I knew I would have to walk a good bit of it, but with the pregnancy (finally) it doesn't look like it's going to happen. There's always next year, right? In the meantime I'll just live vicariously through my awesome sister. Go Whit!!!

I didn't get good pictures of this race, but I've posted a few below. BTW, stay tuned for a couple fabulous Julianna stories from the trip.