Yeah, Yeah...

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I've got some catching up to do... so bare with me here!

So, Caleb's first day happened! He was SUCH a big boy. We dropped off his sister first and then drove back to his school and we were talking while waiting for the line to go through. Well, Fun Fun... I planned on taking in my new camera and taking a photo of him in front of his little cubbie. But he wanted to be a big boy... and he got out of the car by himself and headed in to drop off the back pack and eat some breakfast. So he did it all himself.

He got a sticker and a piece of candy because he behaved all day. :) So while we were waiting for Laura to show up I took advantage of the time and snapped a first day (after school) photo.


Steve and I decided to walk to pick up the kids from school today... it was nice to enjoy some time to walk by ourselves and then have some time to talk with the two older kids without being "out numbered" about how school was and such. I had to once again take advantage of the camera :).

Today was Laura's first day of school. She was to go until 11:25. She seemed to have a GREAT day!


We drove to the school a little before 8 in the morning. She has to get there at 8:05 latest in order to get breakfast in the morning. She gave me my kiss, hopped out of the van, and did her typical turn around and wave quickly before disappearing into the school.

Every year, I become annoyed. I become annoyed at the people who don't know what they are doing. Those that choose to stop in the drive through area (they can park on the other side or in the parking lot). We stop pretty much to where we fit as many people as possible dropping their kids off. So, most of us don't leave enough room to try to pull around the person in front of us (we aren't suppose to pass anyways... child safety). But yeah, I always get stuck behind the person who has to GET OUT and walk in and not show back up for awhile. URG!

Laura's highlight was that her teacher is pregnant... and we know how much Laura loves pregnant women and babies!! She's gonna be a mommy when she grows up. LOL! :)

I'm not aiming this at anyone in particular... but I have to say something and it might offend some people. For this, I AM sorry... but it has to be said and MAYBE it will make some sense when you look at it from this angle.

I understand that people argue. I understand that people fight. A little turbulence is normal... however, when a MAN (or WOMAN) abuses you (via pushing without marks or hitting with marks) it's NOT RIGHT. There's no OTHER way around it. Yeah, you MAY love them or you MAY THINK you love them... but why in the hell are they hurting you then and why do you love being treated like that! (Trust me... get out and you'll find out what LOVE really is... even if it's just finding out how to love YOURSELF!) Now, when you RECOGNIZE that it's wrong and you are willing to leave... you leave for awhile. Fine, you know I can understand ONCE or TWICE... but every damn time and it's find for awhile then he does it again... HE'S going to keep doing it... and you're just ENABLING him to (because you love him). Once you get brave and you get out... you should probably stay out if he/she does it again! But whatever.

Now, when he leaves marks on you or just pushes you around... and you FILE A RESTRAINING ORDER. Fine... I can see why you want that restraining order. But when you file it and within the scope of that order you decide to FUCK the order, we'll get back together... DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET THEM IN SOME PLACES WHEN YOU HAVE BULLSHIT ORDERS EVERY DAY! SOME PEOPLE NEED THEM AND THEY ARE SO BACKED UP AND HARD TO GET BECAUSE THE COURTS ARE CLOGGED WITH YOUR BULLSHIT ORDER THEN THINK ABOUT THAT THE NEXT TIME THAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REALLY WANT ONE! Again, maybe I can forgive you once... BUT when you do this over and over it gets hard for me to read, it gets hard for me to support any decision you make, it makes it hard for me to believe you are HALF the parent you claim to be, it makes it hard for me to TRY to give you advice... because even those of us who hear he's abusing me (yeah, we may not know half the story... but we know enough to give you the advice) know what's best... ESPECIALLY those who have been there! You need to take a step back... and stop abusing the system that is there to protect the people who need it! Just stop, just overcome the fear, learn to love yourself, and THEN you'll see what life really is. Even if it is harder, because you are raising kids on your own!

The kids were up by 8:30 this morning... I was going to sleep in but then an excitement and nervousness set it and I couldn't so I got up. Over the morning, breakfast was served... kids played... Matt got dressed... back pack was packed (one set of spare clothes to KEEP at Head Start and one set to KEEP in the back pack)... we waited on the porch for the bus to come... then he was off to school. As far as I can tell he manged to get on the bus without a fuss but once in his seat his nerves kicked in I think. But he wasn't crying like I expected.

So, here is some photos from him going back to school.

Matt's waiting so patiently!

Did I just hear the bus????

I'm a big brave boy!!

Getting ready to get on the bus...

And he was off!

The kids went swimming when I got home from work. The neighbor invited us over so Steve called me while I was doing my after work shopping. I didn't swim but Steve and the kids did. They had a GREAT time too! It was nice to see them all having a little fun.

WOW, I'm telling you that retail (particularly in back to school/stationary departments) is NOT a fun place to work. I mean, yeah it's great to have the sales. But what's not so fun is those that wait until the LAST minute to shop for back to school. They waited so long in fact that today we ran out of some items that were needed. But if they would have shopped a little in advance, the stuff would have been ordered and IN! The computer can only calculate sales based on average daily sales, and when we sell THAT much in one day, the order isn't in the DAY BEFORE SCHOOL.

Someone at work said it best today... the attitude that 90% of the customers had today (even if it was just looking for something that was on hand) made you think that they just found out today that school starts TOMORROW (or Tuesday).

It was just a frustrating day. It won't even be over tomorrow really. Then we have high school kids that don't get their list until the first day of school. Then the people who will be back to get what they couldn't/didn't get today. A lot of people just got frustrated by the SHEER volume of people in the isle that they left without getting everything.

I work tomorrow, but it's a short shift. So, that is AWSOME!

I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you some photos from our last trip to the park. Enjoy.

Caleb riding his big boy bike!

Laura's NEW bike...

Matthew riding a scooter... when he got tired we had to push him.

Myself and my wonderful hubby... It's hard to believe MY husband will be 29 VERY soon!!

My daughter is soon to be 9 years old. I don't remember ages where I started doing things. I don't remember for sure when I started my period (it was jr high). I don't remember when I started shaving. At this point, I'm not very worried about the period... because it will start when it starts! However, my daughter has harry legs. They are light (thankfully). I would like her to wait another year or so before she starts shaving. However, she feels a need to shave her legs. I told her I would think about it and tell her a little bit later. So I want to know when your daughters started shaving their legs (or even yourself). When do you plan on letting your daughter begin shaving their legs? Think realistically. :)

I definitely hit a brick wall tonight at work. I was exhausted. Probably a result of being up so early this morning :(. But I'm gonna curl up here in a minute and get some sleep... but I've fallen badly behind on my blogging... BAD JESS! So, I need to start getting my time devoted back to my blog. I miss my blog... and my blog friends. I honestly miss having comments. :'(

I finalized my back to school shopping today for all the kids. There isn't anything that is on the list that isn't packed in their back packs. Waiting. Just a few more days. Monday the Head Start bus will be here at 11:40 AM to pick up my baby Matt. Tuesday Laura has a half day, Caleb has orientation. Wednesday Laura and Caleb have their full days. Matt will begin his whole day classes the following week when the pre-k classes start. :)

The only thing I have left to pack is an extra set of clothes for Matt... well two sets. One for Head Start and one for Pre-K. Then there will be an extra pair in his backpack between the two in case he has more than one accident. Hopefully, he will do good this year and he won't have many. He's come a long way from last year.

I'm ready... :) I'll have to get pictures...

To follow up in 1 month... if he doesn't gain weight he will be referred to Children's. So, that's that... and he goes back next month.

Matthew's physical for school went okay. We were pretty much in and out.

He is 37 inches tall. His blood pressure is 50/80. He weighs 26 lbs. So, he lost 2 lbs since his last visit. Granted, this could have been because he had shots the day before and he gets kinda blah for the first 48 hours.

The nurse practitioner is going to call after she talks to the doctor. She wants to find out if he wants to follow up or what. So now we wait on a phone call.

I'm so happy to have two days off!! Although I must admit that I can't wait for school to start so that I can actually enjoy my days off instead of trying to run around taking care of everything. Doctor's appointments, open houses, orientation, and everything else!! UGH! These two days off are going to consist of Orientation, Doctors, and Health Departments. *sigh* Joy! I must admit that I can't wait to find out how much Matt weighs... but still!

I mentioned the other day that I was planning on donating my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. You may remember that I was going to donate my hair if I reached my goal for the CFF.

But the more I started thinking about it I decided I was going to donate my hair either way, so my journey starts today and will end Sept 16, 2009.

Now for some basics... Pantene Beautiful Lengths has some requirements for donations of hair. Hair can't be chemically treated or permanently dyed. Donations must be 8 inches in length.

With those things said, I have to grow my hair 8 inches (beyond cutting point, my ears). I also have to trim it every 6-8 weeks to keep it from breaking (rumor has it that it helps it grow faster too). Also, I have to make sure that I take good care of it and I'm going to use Pantene products AFTER I use what I currently have.

Current Statistics...

Total Length: 13 inches
Last Trim: 8.10.08
Dyed Length: 10.5 inches
Natural Length: 1 inch
Cutting Length (from ears): 0 (will begin when my dyed hair is gone.)

I'm so excited and I can't wait. So, here goes!!

Laura's birthday party went very well. It went well but it was crazy. We had more kids than I planned but they seemed to have a lot of fun.

This year's attendance was Sharon (grandma), Grammy and Grampy, Papa and Gigi (as well as one of Steve's sister's daughters), Great Bob and Great grandma, Cierra (Laura's friend), and her own brothers and step brothers.

She ended up with lots of great stuff too! She got two Hanna Montana barbie dolls, lots of clothes, a few purses, other Hanna Montana odds and ends, as well as some cash. She was so happy. She also got a bike, license plate, helmet, girly make up, a little ipod practice radio (she has to be able to take care of it before I buy her a real one).

She was surprised by her theme not being princesses and with it being Hanna Montana. She couldn't wait to ride her bike!

I didn't get photos but my grandpa did. So when I get them from him I will share some with ya. It was CRAZY so I gave up on the whole camera this time!

(Oh yes, this results in Laura's first sleep over IN MY house... Joy! Girls up giggling all night!! LOL!)

Today a lot got accomplished. I didn't even do most of it!!

My wonderful husband has been knocking out the dirty laundry. There is a little bit more but he's done a great job!! He'll have it done tomorrow I'll bet!

I completed the strings and hung them from the ceiling. I even re-did half of them because they were to low so I had to take them down and recut them and then hang them again.

I also knocked out 7 CBL (computer based learning) so I have 1 more for my current job code, 1 for my 1st secondary job code, and A LOT for my newest secondary job code! I'm going to try to get most of them knocked out tomorrow before my day off on Sunday... but we will see!

We also have *A* and *R* which has added extra people to the number of people that Steve had to take care of while he's doing all the housework. Poor Steve... 5 kids is alot... good thing he loves all of us!!

Today was payday, which meant that I have to finish shopping for Laura's birthday.

The other day I bought a bike for Laura. She has no idea about it though. This is her bike. We now know that this is the same bike of her best friend across the street so we have to get her a license plate for it so they can tell the difference.

Today I got a shirt (with a radio) from High School Musical. Tomorrow I hope to get a pair of pants so she can wear it to school.

She also got a purse and a thing of lip gloss. I hope it helps her girly side. She's very girly but I'm having trouble grasping this because I never was that girly.

I've gotta get her license plate for her bike tomorrow. I forgot to get it today. But then everything is bought as far as gifts.

I also bought all the balloons, plates, plastic wear, and such today too. WOOT! I enjoyed it. I still have to get her cake and then I have to get her ice cream.

An hour and a half after arriving, we have THREE kids who are registered for school! WOOT!

I have one preschooler. I have one kindergartner. I have one third grader. The two older children will start August 19th for a half day! (But, we actually have 2 kindergartners and 2 preschoolers with Steve's kids... but I didn't have to stay and register them.)

Most of their stuff is complete but Caleb will need an eye exam (a NEW state requirement) and I need to take $24 into the school tomorrow for Caleb's snack fee. I also need to remember to cancel Caleb's doctor's appointment because he doesn't need a physical!! WOOT!!

Let the count down begin!!

Most of you know that I am currently trying to get donations for the CFF. The CFF is short for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This is one of the largest foundations working on finding new treatments and ultimately a cure for cystic fibrosis. To many people have died because of this terrible disease which they have no control over!! They did nothing to cause this diease and they couldn't do anything to prevent it!

My personal goal is $500 this year since it is my first year. I have until September 13th (the date of my teams walk) to collect donations. So, I still have a lot of work to do. But because I am asking something of you, I'm giving something of myself as well. But I need YOUR help first!!

If I reach my goal of $500 by September 12th (the day BEFORE the walk) I'm going to sacrifice the ONE thing that I can (aside from organs). In case you don't know... currently because of time spent overseas in a country where there is mad cow disease I am not allowed to donate blood. So, I'm going to try to get MONEY donations for Cystic Fibrosis and THEN I'M going to GIVE my HAIR to contribute to wigs for cancer patience who have lost their hair. I'm 90% sure which company I'm going to donate through. I'm thinking I'm going to use Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I'm really excited for this, but I'm REALLY wanting to have this as a reward for you guys who have donated a dollar or so to the CFF. The person asking, giving of themself!

Now, I need to bring to light a couple points... Hair donation isn't all rainbows. There are some standards that is going to cause it to take me a little extra time! But, I will also be opening a blog ONLY for updates on my donation process as well as updating here.

1. Hair can't be perminately died or chemically altered. (With that said, I have to grow my hair out a little extra. I died my hair about 3 months ago... it's growing out already. But I am going to grow my hair to where my "roots" are at my shoulder. Then I'm getting it cut to right at my shoulders. This still leaves A LOT of length while it continues to grow out.)
2. Hair must be 8 inches long from the band. (With that said, when I actually do the CUT I would like my hair that I'm keeping to AT LEAST be at my jaw bone when I cut it. So it's gotta be kinda long!)
3. Needs to be trimmed every 8 weeks to prevent breakage. (This also helps the hair grow faster and healthier. It won't have to be any LENGTH... but just a trim at the very bottom.)

My GOAL is that if we raise the $500 goal by Septmber 12th (the day before the walk this year) I will have my hair CUT and DONATED on Septmber 13th, 2009!! This is one year after the walk I originally gathered donations for. (If by some occassion the growth of my hair doesn't stay as quick as it normally does, I will continue the updates until I have 8 inches that can be cut.)

I will post monthly "accounts" of how it's going, how long the hair is getting, trimmings, and anything else that has to do with hair and condition. I will post it both here and in a blog that is meant for only the cause.

So, please come donate to the CFF and help me meet my goal and then sit back and watch me do all the work! :)

Today was our home visit from Head Start. Which basically means that they come in and talk to both the parents and the student. Any paper work that needs to be caught up gets caught up. They also use this as a way to update about how your child is doing throughout the year. These aren't the type of home visit that you might think of. They don't go through and make sure every little thing is picked up. I've never had them go beyond my living room without my child initiating it (like asking them to come see something).

Today's visit was about getting all the registration forms filled out or updated. Matthew played very shy! At least all the papers that have to be filled out are already filled out.

We still have to go to orientation (8/12), go get hemoglobin results and TB waver/results (8/12), go get his physical (8/13), and turn all these papers in at the office (8/15). At least I don't have to fill them out! Matt will have to go to the dentist sometime in November. Maybe next month I will work on getting an appointment that far out.

Then he starts Head Start on 8/18!! WOOT. He's so happy... although I think a bit nervous too.

Tonight, I'm miserable. I was suppose to work until 8 PM and ended up having to clock out at about 6:45 PM instead. When I came home for lunch I started getting a headache that I had hoped was just from being hungry. So I ate. By the time I returned to work at 4, it was pretty bad but I was going to put up with it. But by 6:30 my ears, for lack of a better explanation, went numb. There was a high pitched noise in my ears and it hurt both my ears and my head and then it just stopped and my ears felt as if they had fallen asleep. Very weird, don't think I've experienced THAT quiet like that before. I came home and layed outside on a couch since Steve had company over and then when they left we both went inside with the kids. I barried my head between pillows, tried a hot shower, then bath, more meds, and then layed back down and tried to just sleep the pain off. It wasn't a steady sleep at all... it was a slightly interupted. I remember hearing bits and peices of what is going on. But I woke up at 9 something and asked Steve to get me some cereal. Then, I decided to make sure that there wasn't anything going on with the world that I've been missing while I've been so miserable. Low and behold, there is nothing new going on in the world. Besides that, I'm heading back to sleep. :) I'll update more in the morning.

I now have a bald kitty cat. Well, it's almost bald. My poor little Waffle was COVERED in fleas. Most likely from living outside since birth. However, it is really hard to treat fleas on a kitten is YOUNG as he is. He's approximately 6 weeks old. You can't treat with anything until 12 weeks of age, however I've found out that I can in fact treat him with a drop type stuff at 8 weeks. However, as many as he had they were drinkin' all his blood so I couldn't just sit around and wait. Although he's very unhappy with me tonight he's hairless and has at least 50 less fleas. There are still SOME on him... but less. Hopefully this will contribute to some kind of greater weight gain. He's not getting TO small but smaller than I'd like to see for being a week into this thing. I have to worm him again in a few days (10 days after the last treatment) and hopefully it takes care of everything. As long as he lives to see 12 weeks he will go in and get a visit from the vet (as will Wally).

Work today was... compliated. I hadn't had to work a full 8 hours shift (scheduled for 9 hours with an hour lunch) in a while... so I was exhausted!! LOL! Another one again tomorrow. But tomorrow Steve gets to clean the house because Monday morning they are suppose to come hook up our cable television, which we are suppose to be getting from New Wave Communications. After they get it all hooked up I'm sure I'll be back to tell ya about all the great stuff on the TV. We even got an extra teir of channels because I HAVE to have my Discovery Health and such. WOOT!

Some of you have asked about Laura's Wishlist for her birthday... so I'm posting the link to it. I've removed things that we have gotten her (or that I KNOW someone else has gotten her). For most of you, this doesn't mean anything, but some of you wanted to get her something for her birthday so I'm posting it :). Thanks.