Working From Home Can Suck Sometimes

I have been lucky enough to find work online as an independent contractor. I suppose that's as independent as one can get, huh? However, there was a time when I had to put on scrubs and a lab coat and go to work every day. I actually miss those days.

It's very nice to sit here and work and still be able to be with my kids. It's nice to be able to make my own hours and even though I do have to answer to someone, I don't have to face to face. There is no one watching over my shoulder, so to speak. However, the personal interaction a workplace can give is something I have been missing more and more lately. I'm not sure why?

Now that I have a new position for the company I currently do work for, I am more interactive with the other people I work with but it's still just not the same! If you want to work from home, this is definitely something you should consider - are you okay with no socialization?

Then there's the stress of working from home - I think I had a mental breakdown the other day! Seriously, I think I did....I posted about it HERE I seriously work about 8 -10 hours a day- EVERY day. Not straight through though. It's a few hours here and a few hours there. I was up at 6 am yesterday and by 11 pm I finally called it a night. However, because I am home and have other responsibilities I have to constantly stop working to do other things and take care of the kids, etc... The extra $ a month is nice though!

However, I need a vacation! Oh wait - we leave TOMORROW!

Coming Down to the Wire!

Our vacation is just days away and I have been frantically trying to get all my work done for the month. I am also still tying up loose ends on a wedding - not for me, for the one I am helping to plan. It's not easy to help when the person lives in another state but I am doing really good with it! We're on to make-up and I found a lovely Newport Rhode Island wedding make-up specialty shop tat is the perfect place for all the girls to have their make-up done! They have a nice selection of mineral make-up, which is definitely a plus!

I swear though, while on vacation I will NOT do anything work related or wedding planning related! This time it will be a vacation!

My Beautiful Girl

Here is my sweet Livi - Bug. I cannot believe she is only 6. This is her Kindergarten picture.

I remember when I was wearing maternity clothes and carrying her inside and now, this - 6 years later. Time really does go by so fast, it's unreal. I love looking at old photographs of her, sure shows how grown up she's getting.

The Artists

I love my kids but there are times I want to pull my hair out - like when they draw on my house. Yes, ON my house.

The boys love to use sidewalk chalk but do the write on the sidewalk? Oh hell no...they draw on the house, the picnic table, even the outdoor cushions that are on the porch swing!

I swear, sidewalk chalk, playdough and bubbles...all pure evil

Haircuts for Disney!

The boys (and mom, lol) hate getting haircuts given by dad. They spend the entire time kicking and screaming. CJ refuses to take them anywhere to have a hair cut when he is perfectly capable of giving them a buzz. I still think all kids should experience the fun of a child only type salon franchise and there is one fairly close to us. However, I recently was vetoed on that and this is what all my boys look like now:

Oh well, it will grow in decently before vacation...right?

Phenphedrine Anyone?

This will not be a phenphedrine review but instead I am reaching out to my readers for opinions and testimonies regarding this product.

Has anyone used it? Basically, small amounts of CART are activated when you eat anything, but Phenphedrine kicks it into overdrive, artificially telling the body it’s just had Thanksgiving dinner.
I am considering taking this in addition to eating healthy and exercising. I've already began the healthier eating and exercising but I don't feel like I am getting anywhere and it's frustrating!

Anyone?

Money Re-Evaluation

Yes, I am already starting to plot and plan our next Disney Vacation. CJ said to me, "Are we going to be one of THOSE families?" - you know, the ones who go to Disney every year. Hahahaaa - I hope so!

Unfortunately, if we go next year, 3 adults and 3 kids (who would be ages 3, 4, and 7) would not be able to stay at the Polynesian - unless we book 2 rooms, the Polynesian does not have villas. So, it's time to look into villas at other resorts, 2 rooms at the value resorts or a suite at one of them, staying off site in a house (HELL NO) or checking out the DVC membership.

We had to really look into our finances - mortgage rates are lower but we already have a good rate, so do we really want to refinance? What about auto insurance - should we start shopping around? Most people think to get finances lower, you should cut some of the extras, some people think you need to re-evaluate the big stuff - we are looking at both.

I have been reading and posting on an excellent Disney forum, Walt Disney World For Grownups and I love the people there - very friendly and very knowledgeable! They've really been helping me try to figure out what to do for next year's trip!

Stuck in Vacation Mode

I am completely stuck in 'vacation mode' right now. Soon it will be time to leave for Disney and in a way, I'm a little bit sad. Part of the excitement of a trip is the planning and the anticipation. I can't wait to be looking up at the train station at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom again!

I was never any sort of 'world traveler' and it's nice going to Disney because there is so much culture there, especially at Epcot.

Now, you want to talk world traveler, that is my friend Diane. Her blog, Travel Snippets and More, features all sorts of the exciting and unique traveling she and her husband do. I'm just waiting to read about Machu Picchu travel - I know they've been to Peru already.

So while I will (probably) never get the chance to go to exotic places, I will live vicariously through her!

I am NOT 'Down' With the Sickness

No, in fact I am 'DONE' with the sickness. For the past 2 weeks, everyone sans me, has been sick here. Not that fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea kind of sick - which of course is a good thing. It's been that runny nose with congestion (I never did understand that!), coughing, sneezing, using a million tissues and lasting 2 weeks kind of sickness. The kind that just drags on for what seems like an eternity, the kind that could go very very bad at any moment - that annoying sickness.

I say, fine, everyone get sick and get over it before we leave for Disney!

Olivia came home last week with a note from school saying there is a kid in the elementary school building (she is in the kindergarten building and these buildings are not close to each other) who has come down with chicken pox. Oh HELL no! Now, okay, they aren't in the same building, but it's possible they are on the same bus...I have no idea. I will absolutely freak out if she gets chicken pox now. Guess I need to break out the old lab coat and go into 'nurse mode'

Then, today my friend and neighbor, Shannon, tells me her son, Austin, was being sent home from school - he complained of a sore throat and the school nurse said she was surprised he could even sallow, that's how swollen it was. UGH...
Shannon said, "he was just at your house yesterday to play with your kids, wasn't he?" Oh no no no, it takes longer than that to make someone sick...you aren't insinuating that my kids got Austin sick, are you, Shannon? Hahahaaa

These days leading up to our vacation are going rather smoothly, I am keeping my fingers crossed that things stay that way!

Oh Yay - Holidays

Since we're Pagan, we don't celebrate Easter - yet every year find myself at my mom's on 'Holy Saturday' eating blessed food and at my dad's on Easter Sunday eating, yea, ham.

The blessed food is GROSS - it's basically hard boiled eggs, ham, kielbasi, cooked bacon, butter and cheeses, horseradish and salt and bread. I detest eating this stuff - I can hear my arteries slamming shut just at the thought of it!

I do my best to make my life run smoothly, which is why I show up for these family gatherings. This year, since CJ works 9:30 - 6, he gets to miss all the fun. Lucky him.

It's NEVER Enough!

My kids are never happy with what they have. CJ and I spent over $1300 and lots of time building them this huge Leisure Time play set last Summer. We even made it bigger than it was going to be just so we could add two extra swings on it for the neighbor kids who love to come over and play.

They loved it - for about 2 weeks. Then, they were 'bored' and I just don't understand it! Now they're bugging me for one of those Radio Flyer wagons and as awesome as I think those wagons are, I am hesitant. I mean, why should spend more money on them just so they can love it and leave it in less than a month?

Seems my children are ungrateful, no mater how hard I try to instill values in them, they just want more stuff and what they have is never enough.

Beginning the Packing List

I'm in that exciting stage of pre-vacation, making lists! The first list is 'what to pack' clothing wise. I can't imagine packing 8-10 outfits for everyone (we'll be there 8 days, then count another 2 for travel) so we will need to re-wear some things. I know, ewww, huh? Well, there is a laundry facility at our Resort.
I also need to make sure to take a set of baby bedding along for Wyatt, since he'll be sleeping in a pack n play, I want him to be as comfortable as possible.

Then there's the 'what to take along' list. Some snacks, games and movies for the kids to have on the drive. Then the 'extras' list. That is stuff like diapers, pull ups, sun screen, lightweight jackets, etc..

Oy, my head is spinning! Oh well, soon enough this will be our home for a few days!

Olivia's Birthday Party

My little girl turned 6 on March 27th. The family, which consisted of me, CJ, Dante, Wyatt, my grandmother, my mom and my mom's boyfriend, Frank, all went out to Red Robin for dinner. Olivia's choice but none of us were complaining because we LOVE their food!



When we got home we had cake and presents for her. She was thrilled with everything she got - which was mostly Disney Princess stuff! Of course, she wanted karate stuff because she'd like to take karate. Jeff's friend Joe has a dojo - he also teaches classes. Maybe next year she'll get some self defense products and also get to take some classes!

She was so excited to get all the Ariel stuff she got - when we go to Disney this time, we better see Ariel so she can meet her! She even has a 'Princess' dress to wear.

Oh Hello Stress!

I'm feeling the stress of this vacation. Stress should not equal vacation but man, it does! Yesterday I took Olivia shopping for clothes to wear on vacation and today, well today I grew a pair of balls and took all 3 kids to Target! Yes, I took a 6 year old, a 3 year old and a 2 year old clothes shopping!


It was okay - at first. Olivia was (and usually always is) very good in the store and Dante was surprisingly behaved. Wyatt, crawls up my ass at first but once he gets comfortable with his surroundings, all bets are off. He will NOT sit in a shopping cart so Olivia and I had to constantly corral him.

I got home with so much stuff I told CJ we'd need a few moving trucks to be able to take all the crap I feel we need to pack! Packing for 5 people isn't easy and I am always the one who gets stuck doing it all.

Ahhh yes, the stress of vacation!