August 8, 2011

Just Call Me Oscar

I am super annoyed today.  Every little thing is bugging me and I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m waiting for my period to just start already.  It’s just a couple days late (and no I’m not pregnant) and my hormones are through the roof.  I’ve been yelling at everyone for no apparent reason — well, actually, I’ve been yelling because there are 60,000 toys on the living room floor and neither of my children have any intention to pick them up.  And my husband just sprawls out on the couch flipping channels while I’m going insane.  Good times.

I had a pretty great day at work.  I was very productive and completed every task on my to-do list.  At the end of the day I’m just tired.  I ran down to the County Treasurer’s office to pay our property tax and that was a $1500 check I couldn’t stand writing.  July was a tight month and thank God the county gives a grace period of one week.  We officially have $94 in our checking account now.  Thankfully, the Huz gets paid again Friday.  Ugh.  I don’t know how we make it sometimes.

I look at our paychecks and realize we make an average (combined) salary. Not rich nor poor by any means.  We are truly a middle class family with they typical mortgage, car payment, etc.  We don’t have fancy cars or buy extravagant things. We manage to save a small chunk of money each month.  I just can’t wait to pay off this house – only seven more years…

Maybe money issues make me cranky, too. Seeing the Dow plummet is upsetting, too.

I just wish this Economy of ours was on the up swing.

Ugh.  I’m so grouchy today.

August 7, 2011

Ahh, Summer. Or What’s Left of It.

My summer semester officially ended Friday, but I managed to turn in all my work and complete the final exams on Thursday, and I couldn’t be happier to be finished.  However, fall semester begins August 22nd and that gives me only two weeks to enjoy without worrying about reading chapters and completing assignments.

We’re cramming a lot of stuff into those fourteen days; like finally cleaning the house I’ve neglected since who knows how long, getting Dawson’s school shopping done, preparing for the boys’ birthdays (in September and October) and we’re going to sneak in a 4-day vacation at the end of August.  I’m looking forward to that!

This weekend was pretty laid back.  My parents came over yesterday to put together a slide for the boys.  My dad is so clever he found a way to attach it to our swing set.  Dad found the slide – in perfect condition – by the side of the road.  When he brought it over, Dawson asked where it came from.

“Someone threw it out and I rescued it,” Grandpa said.

Dawson replied, “Just like American Pickers!”

I blame my husband for this.  Those two watch Frank & Mike ritually.  They find junk hunting fascinating and while I think it would be great to find a gem in all the crap, I don’t have the patience to watch them dig through it all.  It’s like a glorified version of Hoarders.

Overall the summer wasn’t half-bad.  We did a lot of swimming, picnicking with family and friends, playing outside and going on mini trips to Bay Beach (an amusement park in Green Bay) and Pulaski Polka Days.  Yes, we love polkas.  Don’t judge!

Dawson and Owen have been outside so much their skin is a sun-kissed, golden peach color.  Thank goodness I slathered them up with sunscreen every day or they might be as red as lobsters.  Owen’s naturally brown hair is almost bleached blond from the sun.

This beautiful Sunday morning is beginning well.  Dawson is outside riding his bike with the neighbor boys and Owen is getting into mischief.  He loves digging in the silverware drawer and I’m constantly chasing after him and redirecting him to his toys.

We’re heading to church in an hour and so I’ll probably have to drag a very cranky Dawson back inside.  Good times.

Summer is ending quickly.  Time to go enjoy it.

June 4, 2011

Summer + Swimming = Sleepy Kids

Well, it’s June already. How the hell did that sneak up on me so quickly? Dawson has three days of school left and then I have to figure out what we’re going to do this summer. Even though he’ll be going to daycare with Owen while I’m working, I realize I need to try to spend more time with the boys when the weather is sunny and warm. My kiddos love to be outside and summer goes by rather quickly. We need to enjoy it.

Tonight I took both kids to the YMCA to swim in the Adventure Pool. After an hour of splashy fun I said it was time to go. Neither child wanted to get out of the water. I endured several minutes of crying and gave in to another 15 minutes. They finally agreed to get out because they were hungry.

When we got home Dawson and Owen ate as thought they’d been starving and they both fell asleep by 8:30. I managed to get all of my homework done online and now I’m wide awake. Swimming may just become our Friday night ritual.

Our summer is definitely beginning on the right foot. What have you all been up to?

May 27, 2011

Work, School and a Holiday Weekend

So, I’ve officially worked at my new job for six weeks. My first day feels like it happened so long ago, but as they say, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” I am really having fun. My favorite thing about working at Sentry is that I don’t have even a fraction of the stress I dealt with at Joerns. It is a huge sigh of relief to go to work, do my job, and go home — without worrying about expectations and unfinished work, and co-workers who don’t do a flipping thing all day (and constantly pass their share of the work to others). The fact that I took a $2 an hour pay cut is worth my sanity.

When I got home from work tonight my adoring husband actually said, “Do you realize you haven’t bitched about your job? You haven’t even had one complaint. I’m writing that in the history books.” I laughed so hard because it’s true. I have no complaints. I like what I do. It’s amazing how one change in my life has positively affected everything else.

Last week I got my grades from school and I was so proud to see my GPA of 3.705 (where does this darn .005 come from?). I’m a little miffed about not getting an A in Employment Law, but I did my best. It is so hard to memorize all the legislation we studied. I can’t imagine how lawyers do their jobs without constantly checking reference books or law reviews. Ugh.

Now my summer semester has begun and I’m aiming for the 4.0. Hopefully I can overcome the obstacles I’ll face with Macro/Micro Economics. I’m ready to get this semester done. I’ll graduate in December if I can crammed my last four classes in the fall semester. I’m not going to add any pressure. We’ll see how things go in a couple months. It won’t kill me to graduate next May.

Thank God for 3-day weekends. We don’t have any big Memorial Day plans, but I do hope to get a little yard work done and maybe plant some flowers. The weather hasn’t been the warmest which is sad with June approaching quickly. We’ve had a lot of rain this Spring and even some tornado weather. Bring on the sun and warmth already!

I’m looking forward to hanging out with the boys and having a family cookout. Here’s hoping time slows down just this once.

What are you up to this weekend?