My Blog

Well I have been so busy lately that I have not had any inspiration or time to blog. I guess you could say I have been in a slump. When I decided to start blogging, I did it because I thought it would be fun and I have always enjoyed writing. At that time I had all sorts of ideas (which I have already used up) and thought this would be a piece of cake.  Some days it isn't so easy and I have read that in order to have a successful blog, you should blog every day or every other day. Well I have been slacking!  Trying to come up with creative ideas is a little more difficult than you would think. My friend Trish said she loves reading my blogs and they are entertaining but she has no input for me. WTF! Come on Trish you are a mother of 3! You have to have good blog material! So I decided to google blogging ideas. I came into this blindly so maybe I should have done some homework first.  What do you blog about? Obviously you shouldn't blog when you have been drinking! I have learned that the hard way and will NOT repeat that mistake!  That blog has been deleted! Oops!  I love the idea of blogging because it gives me a place to express myself, share my insight and things going on in my life. I tend do be a little to sarcastic sometimes and a little too emotional but I think that makes for some interesting blogs.  I have decided that in order to solve my problem, I am opening my blog up to anyone who is interested.  Please share some of your ideas or insight and I would LOVE to bring them into my blog. I know a lot of you that read this have plenty to share and comment about so let me hear it!

Why is it?

Why is that I love Spring and fall the most? Spring reminds me of a new beginning. The fresh smell of grass, the first smells of BBQ. Flowers blooming and tress turning green again. Then there is fall which is the end of summer, but instead of being sad, it makes me feel warm and snugly. I love those coll nights when I can snuggle up under the covers and watch a good movie or read a book. I love making hot chocolate and eating chili or homemade soup. Even though the flowers are dying and the leaves are falling off the trees, I still love it. I look forward to Halloween and bonfires and seeing all the little kids dress up in their Halloween costumes. Sometimes I even like dressing up myself!

Why is it that crabby people don't realize that they are crabby?  Why is it that the people that complain the most don't realize they are the ones that are causing the problems? I think sometimes everyone needs to be reminded that their lives could be so much worse and all the little problems are nothing compared to what they could be facing. I'm sure there are many people who would give anything to have the minor problems that we gripe about every day instead of the life changing ones they face.

Why is it that reaching the end of a good book makes me sad?  I swear every time I find a good book or a good series, I read them so quick and then once I start getting close to the end I slow down because I don't want it to be over?  When I do finish I feel so sad because it's like I am losing friends.

Why is it that I have to wear my blue jeans about 3 times before they fit me the way I like?  I know that probably means they are too small but when I get them bigger then after one time, they are sagging and then I hate the way they fit.

Why is it that I woman are always expected to multi task and juggle work, taking care of the kids and cleaning the house. If you give a man more than one task to accomplish in a night, they tell you that you are being too pushy. I guess that makes us stronger and more efficient!

Well that's all for tonight! Sleep tight everyone!

Take charge or give up?

That is my question today?  At what point do you say "Screw it?" Hmmm...well that could apply to so many different things. Work, housework, losing weight, difficult friends, keeping up with the Jones's. I mean who can keep up with all these things and still be sane?  I know I always complain about how hectic my life is, but that is because I am trying to keep up with all of these things at the same time. I need to give up something. So let's weigh my options.  Work- well that is one of the things I am very good at. I might have a bachelors in Human Resource management, but I am very good and knowledgeable at what I do. For those of you who don't know, I work at Scottrade (brokerage firm). I am the department trainer so I am responsible for training new reps, updating all web material and updating our department manual. I have been very busy this year because there have been many new hires and several big projects rolling that I was in charge of training the reps and updating all our procedures. It has really helped me to grow as a trainer and I feel like I have accomplished a lot. I am proud of my accomplishments so that is one area I have to give 100%. Housework- well you can only let that go for so long before your house starts looking like a pig pen. With two young kids, that doesnt take too long.  I might threaten it every once in awhile but eventually I give in and clean every one's mess up (including Kenny's). Losing weight- that has already fallen to the side. I have gained 10 lbs over the summer! I am hoping once I finish this last project at work on 11/12 I can start focusing on running and working out on a daily basis. I mean I came back after having 2 kids and gaining 60+ with both, I am sure I can lose 10- 15 lbs once I put my mind to it!  Difficult friends- well I better not even go there! The more difficult they are, the more I want to do my own thing.  No room or time for drama :)  Keeping up with the Jones's - I try and do my best, but I know I cant do it all. Some people have more time and are better at some of this stuff than I am, but I feel like I do enough to make myself satisfied. If I tried to do it to that extreme I would be crazy and heavily medicated. Wow!   So I guess the outcome is that there is not much i can cut out of my schedule. I just need to suck it up and things will get better as time goes by.

Birthday Parties and Bullying

Sorry I haven't blogged all week! I have felt so tired and just pooped every night! You know how sometimes you look around and there is just so much that needs to be done and so much you want to do, you just give up without doing any of it?  Well that is how I have felt all week! This past weekend wiped me out. We were going the entire weekend and I feel like I am just now getting some energy back. I wanted to go workout tonight but instead I did some much needed house work. 
So Olivia's 3rd birthday party was this weekend and I have to say that I think it was her best party yet. I felt like everything went smoothly, I wasn't a nervous or rushed mess and Olivia had a great time! Even though it was a little bit on the chilly side, many of our friends and family still made it and I think everyone had a great time.  I have to say the decorations turned out great. Once again,  I fought with the table cloths because of the wind, but after applying hundreds of pieces of duck tape, the table covers stayed on top of the  tables! Thanks Nicole and Jill for the help! Olivia had her polka dot Mickey dress on and her Minnie mouse ears. All i can say is ....ADORABLE! She got so many presents and I still have not been able to find a place for all of them. Aunt Kristen made the cutest Mickey and Minnie birthday cakes. they were by far the hit of the party!  Kristen needs to advertise because I don't think anyone could have done them better! Once the party was over, Jill and I cleaned everything up and headed back to my house with the kids. Kenny went to Travis's 30th birthday and Jill and I took all of Olivia's presents out and set up her doll house, then we sat back and had a few drinks and threw some darts in the basement.  Nice ending to a wonderful day.

The next day I cleaned the house, fed the kids and then we were off to my dad's house for another birthday party for Olivia. It was especially special because my Grandma Guerdan was there and we haven't seen her in a few years. My grandma is a special kind of person. She raised 6 boys and one girl and she has the personality and attitude to show for it!  Even though she is 85, she still has her spunk!  She lives in an assisted living apartment out by St Charles and she cant get around very well any more. She needs help getting up and moving around the house and all the different medication she is on makes her shake. At one point I was trying to get Olivia to use the potty and my grandma said she would go after Olivia if Olivia would go first. I guess Olivia thought it was a deal because it made her use the potty. We were watching the slide show that Sarah Blind made for me for my dad's 60 birthday and my grandma kept insisting that some of the pictures were not of my dad but of my other uncles! She was being crazy and boy can she put up a fight. When she believes she is right there is no proving her wrong. She kept insisting that we were looking at pictures of my uncles and not my dad. Oh geeze grandma, you had me in tears because I was laughing so hard!  Then she told me something really sad. She said that two of the other women that stay in the assisted living apartments were picking on her. She said that the one woman called her names all the time and when they played bingo she would tell other people not to sit next to my grandma because she smelt like urine and stunk. My grandma was really upset and said that these women kept picking on her and she felt like she was going to have a nervous breakdown.    I was just blown away by this!  How in the world are grown woman acting like childish, mean bullies?  Isn't it enough that you have to get older and your body starts shutting down on you, but then you have to deal with being picked on and bullied. My grandma said these are not her "golden" years they are her "shit" years!  She told me how horrible it is to be alone in her apartment and not being able to do the things she used to do and so many of her friends that she had have now passed away. I felt so sad listening to her describe her life now. I felt the same anger at these women for picking on my grandma as I did when Austin gets picked on at school.   It's just not fair. Here is this woman that has raised 7 kids,been there for all of her grandkids and lived to be 85 years old just to be alone, falling apart and made fun of. Where is the justice? She deserves so much better.   I could have sat there all night and talked with her but it got late and the kids needed to get home and ready for bed. We took a few pictures of her and the kids and told her how much we loved her about 20 times and then left. My visit made me realize that no matter how busy I think I am or how hectic my life gets, I need to make time for my loved ones. I have vowed to make time to visit my grandma at least once a month no matter what. I am always so focused on the kids growing up and getting bigger that I have forgotten that everyone else around me is getting older too. I need to make time to spend with them while I still have the opportunity.  If there is someone that you love and you have been meaning to make time to spend with them, do it!