SoOoOo....

Hi there. Guess you've been wondering what I've been up to in the last...(cliche-ly checks invisible watch for time) 12 days or so? You haven't? Oh. My mistake...then why are you reading this? Stewpid.
Anyway, I've been pretty busy. Aside from the usual duties I am responsible for around here, I've been job hunting, crafting, and trying to better myself. (I.e. going to the gym as often as I can and working out at home when I can't). I was also fortunate enough to see my all time favorite band in concert last night. Mark and I went, and it was beyond amazing. Seriously, Coheed and Cambria never cease to amaze me. It's like Christmas morning every time I see them live (which, after 10 times, I completely lost track).
Chase has been doing very well. She's growing so much, I can hardly believe it. She's trying so hard to crawl. She almost has the correct position, but when she tries to bend her knees and prop up, she slides down then rolls over as if she's saying, "Eh, fuck it." She gets frustrated easily (hmm...wonder where she gets that?) and she grunts and growls. It's extremely amusing. She's also in this phase now where whenever anyone other than me or Mark tries to hold her, she cries and trills (the trills are part of her cry, it's hilarious) and she looks around for one of us to "save" her. I hope she grows out of that, because I don't want her to be shy. She's around my family and friends all the time, but she's with me more than anyone else, so she's developing a bit of separating anxiety. I'm hoping to break her out of this phase, though. Hence why a job would come in handy (other than for the obvious reasons like, uh, money).
What else can I tell you? Oh, I know! Well, as you know part of being a stay at home mom is running errands. I do the food shopping and whatnot, but the other day I decided it was time to go out for myself and not just for the errands. I haven't bought anything for myself in a long time, so I figured it was a good time to use the gift card a friend gave to me for Kohl's. I took my 11 year old sister and Chase with me to shop. So I'm in the pajama/under garment section, looking at some PJs for myself, when out of nowhere this elderly woman comes up to me. My guess, she had to be around 70 years of age. She had short, light hair, fucked up teeth, and she was wrinkled as all get out. She was also wall-eyed, kinda like a Boston terrier. She comes up to me and says, "Do you think you could help me with something?" I was like, "Uh...sure...what do you need?" She says, "Well, I'm a 36C" Blankly staring into her crazy face, I said, "O...k...." thinking she was going to ask me to read the tag on a bra to confirm it was a 36C or something, BUT NO. She said, "Does this look ok?!!" and pulls off her shirt, in the middle of the store...with my sister standing right there...to show me the nude colored bra she was trying on, NOT in a dressing room, mind you. My sister's jaw dropped. She literally stood there in shock, mouth gaping and all. I quickly glanced at the bra (vomiting in my mouth, and dying a little inside) and I stammered, "Uh, uh...it looks fine to me." Quickly thinking on my feet, I said, "Does it feel ok? Like, it fits?" She said "I don't know, I think the straps need to be more loose." I was like, "That could be." She's flapping her arms like a flightless bird, asking me if her boobs are falling out of the sides of the bra (*shudders*) and then proceeds to ask me if I could loosen the bra straps. Gag me with a spoon! Like I REALLY wanna touch old lady looseskin over here. Gross. But what was I to do? I was cornered, man. She had already turned around, expecting me to say, "sure, no problem" even though I was completely freaked the freak out. Sigh. So I loosened the straps, trying not to touch her skin, and I asked her if the bra felt better (*shudders again*). Luckily, she said it was much better, so I didn't have to endure that again. She asked me again how it looked, and I said, "Like it fits fine." in an even, monotone voice. She thanked me. "Yourwelcome" I blurted out, in a quick mumble, then turned to my sister and said, "run, Sam!" We made a mad dash for the baby clothes section before the woman could ask me for any more "help." Ugh, what is wrong with people, anyway? It was Kohl's, not Victoria's Secret, where it's slightly more acceptable to see women asking for help with bras. And hey, be-tee-dubs, I don't even work there! Perhaps she could have found some poor Kohl's employee to help her. But no, I was the target. After that fiasco, the kid at the cash register was shooting the shit with me about vacations and such. He was nice, but I just wanted to get the hell outta there, ya know? Then at Ruby Tuesday another old woman (this one was sane) was talking to me about Chase, and her little granddaughter was talking to/trying to play with Chase as well. It was like I had some sign on me that day that said, HEY, YOU! COME TALK TO ME! I must be very approachable or something. Maybe I should do something to alter my appearance, ya know, make me look more intimidating? Ooh, maybe I'll get a tear drop tattoo. Don't ex-cons do that? Get a tear drop tattoo? Or maybe a Swastika in the middle of my forehead. OR I could wear a white, hooded cloak every where I go. Although, these things could just open up an invitation to the "wrong" kind of crazies....
Well, I'm getting tired, and I want to go lie down and read. Till next time, friends.

le Sigh

I am quickly approaching my 1 year anniversary of being a housewife/stay at home mom, and I have finally realized how much this job sucks. I guess EVERY job sucks in one way or another, but I had this epiphany today about just how mundane my life seems any more. Every Monday I wake up around 8 or 9am, change Chase's diaper, give her a bottle, take her downstairs and feed her her breakfast. After she is content and playing on the floor, I eat my own breakfast. I see what's up in the world o' Facebook, then I get started on housework. I normally start with the kitchen...dishes, wiping down counters, a quick Swiffer job over the floor, then I straighten up the living room. That takes me to lunch time, so I get Chase her lunch, grab something for myself, we eat, we get cleaned up, Chase has a bottle, goes down for a nap, then I let the dogs out, take some clutter from the living room upstairs where it belongs, put clean laundry away, do a craft of some type...and by this point, Chase usually wakes up because some how 1-2 hours have elapsed. Chase will get another bottle if she's fussing for one, I let the dogs out again, but by now there's normally a puddle of pee or some remnants of shit from one of the dogs, so I clean that up/swiffer/lysol the area. Then I will play with the baby on the floor, do her "baby exercises" with her, keep her entertained then I realize it's about dinner time, so I get something started on the stove for Mark, get Chase situated in her seat for her own dinner, then wake Mark up for his dinner. I make something for myself (because I am on a diet, so I eat different food than what I make for Mark). He and I will hang out for a little while, watch our shows, then it's time for him to get ready for work. I get Chase and myself ready for bed, and depending whether or not she had a bath the night prior, Chase will have a bath around 9:30pm, then we're both in bed by 10. I read her a story, she has a bottle and drifts off to dreamland, I lie awake and read a book, then I go to sleep. Tuesday morning I wake up and pretty much do the same song and dance all over again. Wednesday is my "fun day", in the sense that I have a 12pm appointment with my weight loss consultant (who also happens to be a friend, so I am comfortable going to her), I take Chase with me because Mark is sleeping by this point, I get my weigh-in, my food for the week, then Chase and I head to the grocery store to do some shopping. An hour to an hour and a half later, we head home, I situate her with a bottle, put the food away, then it's time to eat a late lunch. After that, if I don't go visit my mom, I do some more chores, let out the dogs, make dinner, wake up Mark, eat, hang out for a bit, Mark leaves for work, Chase and I go to bed.

Do you see where I am going with this? Once in a while I get a day with a friend who is off from work, or I go hang with my mom, but for the most part, I am reliving the same day over and over and over again.
I just feel like I need a change. A vacation. Something exciting. I applied for 4 jobs so far, and interviewed for one. Now it's just a waiting game. I find out if I'm in the top 3 candidates for the first job I applied for by April 20th. The other 3 jobs, I have to wait and see if I am even contacted for an interview. Fingers crossed. I get out to the gym during the week at least twice, and I get to see a friend here and there during the day to go to lunch or whatever, and I'm grateful for that, but...I guess it's just not enough. I want to get away from this house, if only for a few days. You know what happened tonight? I came home from my mom's house, let all the dogs out...Chase was napping, so I straightened up a little. I decided to be nice and pack Mark a lunch, so I went out to the garage to grab him a bottle of water for his lunchbox...what happens as I'm crossing from the kitchen to the laundry room? I slip in f-ing pee! Then I realized there was a LAKE from the laundry room, crossing over into the kitchen. Uuuuugh. That was fun to clean up. I honestly don't know how much more I can take. Every day is the same, every day there is a disgusting floor to mop, a pile of dishes to wash, people to take care of, dogs to take care of...but what about me? I know, I know...I'm a mom, a wife, and "stay at home" is attached to both of those titles...but I barely get a chance to do things for ME any more. Any time I shop, it's for groceries or baby necessities...or even pet necessities!! You know when I shower? When I realize that I'm starting to stink and my last shower was probably 3 days prior. You know when I straighten my hair? How about next to never! I have mastered putting on makeup in under 5 minutes. This is exactly why I am dieting, so I can get myself back. I miss me. I understand that when you become a wife and a mother you put yourself last, but I feel that us moms need SOME time to ourselves so we don't go completely insane. Right? Is it wrong to want me time? Is it wrong that I wish I could snap my fingers and be in the Bahamas all by myself? A girl can dream, I guess. Well, at least Mark and I are going on a date tomorrow. We're going to see Scream 4...of course we're going in the afternoon because my mom is watching Chase for us, but it will be fun nonetheless. The rest of this weekend will filled with cleaning, hopefully relaxing a little bit, and celebrating Mark's birthday....

Well, till next time, friends.

Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today.

 

I hate peeeeee!

I seriously wish I could cork my damn dogs so they didn't pee so damn much. Dammit dammit. Well, when I say dogs, I just mean Totes. She's the queen of puddles. It's ridiculous. I spent nearly $500 trying to figure out if something was wrong with her bladder, but all the test results were "inconclusive." We put this dog outside for a majority of the day! (Unless the weather is bad, then we just try to put her out as often as we can without leaving her outside too long). She'll pee outside, then she'll come in, and a half hour later (sometimes not even) there will be a lake of urine in the kitchen! WTF! I get so tired of sanitizing, mopping, etc. I want a new kitchen floor so bad, but Mark says what's the point when Totes just keeps peeing. I said that once we get a frickin' fence in our yard, this shouldn't be a problem because then the dogs can just go outside for as long as necessary without us having to switch them one by one on the tether. Ugh. She has some good days, but today I have cleaned up at least 4 puddles.

Anyway, so if you read my last entry then you know I had a job interview on Thursday. I feel that it went very well. The director and I had a decent connection, and the center is beautiful. It's definitely a place I would send Chase to, but only if I get the job because I can't afford the childcare fee without the employee discount!! $2000 a month? FUNK DAT!

I find out if I'm in the top 3 list of candidates by the 20th, so we shall see. Otherwise, I am thinking about applying for a part time teaching job at the preschool that is on my college campus. I wouldn't mind being a part time teacher and a part time housewife. I'll get some extra cash, and still have PLENTY of time to be with Chase, plus Summers off...sooo...I'm thinking aboot it.

Well, I just wanted to give a little update and vent about how much I hate pee. I imagine most people hate pee...unless you like those bizarre pornos where people pee everywhere and like to splash around in pee and do numerous other disgusting things with it...hey, I'm not here to judge, man. Whatever you're into. Freak.
Ok, I'm outie 5,000. Roman (my male min pin) is crying like a little bitch at the gate, which means he's ready to go up to bed, and I have some housework I want to do before I hit the sack as well. I want to take the baby to Linvilla Orchard tomorrow since it's going to be a B-E-A-utiful day. See ya!

But...then I won't be a housewife no mo

I know I just posted an entry a few days ago, but I've told you before, and I'll tell you a thousand more times if I have to:


So this week has been pretty busy for me. Aside from doing all of my daily chores around here, I have been catching up with friends, sewing my ass off (that doesn't make any sense at all), searching for jobs. I mentioned in my last entry that I was thinking about applying for that infant teaching position...well, I did, and sure enough I landed myself an interview. I go tomorrow at 11am. Some people may think that I'm "wasting my degree", but as I said before, my degree covers infancy through 3rd grade. I don't think it's wasteful at all to take this position considering I'll be making $32,000 a year (which is more than some of my "real" teacher friends make), and it's $7000 more than I made at the last center I worked for, where they basically hire any ol' Joe Shmoe to teach those kids. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great people who worked for that place, but there were a few situations where people who don't even have a degree/certification in the Education field tried to tell me how to do my job. It was not cool.
Another awesome thing about possibly taking this position is I can take Chase to work with me every day, and I can still be with her. I also get 1 hour paid lunch...at my last job, I got jipped out of money A LOT. Child care for this facility is $2,000 a month!!!! That's nuts, but it's more upscale than most places. I, of course, would be getting a hefty discount, and even with that money being taken from my paycheck, I'm STILL pulling in more of an income. I am pretty nervous about going tomorrow, though. Not so much for the interview part (I'm usually pretty good with interviews), but for the idea that I won't be a housewife any more if I take this job. WHAT ABOUT MY BLOG?! Just kidding...I would probably still update about stuff, but I'd have to change to title to "Working Moms 101" or something like that. I really miss having my own source of income because I want to contribute to the bills, and I want my OWN spending money again. I'm itching for another tattoo, but I'm not going to make my husband pay for that for me. I want to not feel guilty about spending his money. I'm not like that at all. (Even though someone had the gall to say that I AM like that...that I enjoy spending my trustfund...even though um, I don't have a trustfund). That person also said I'm "void of all emotion", which I find very amusing because if I didn't feel anything, I don't think I would have a baby that I adore more than anything, nor would I want to be an early childhood educator. I'm pretty sure you have to be enthusiastic, happy, sensitive, loving, nurturing, etc. to be in my field. Last time I checked, I possessed all of those attributes and then some, so I'm pretty sure that person can go F themselves.
Oh my, it seems I have gone off on a tangent. I'm good for that. ....Job! Right. That's what we were talking about. So, yeah, I think this infant teaching gig sounds pretty sweet. I'm just going to go and check the place out, meet with the director, have my little interview, then think about what I really want to do. The pros and cons of this job are as follows:
Pros                                                                                         Cons
$$                                                                                            $$ taken out for child care
I can still be with Chase all day                                                 Won't be a housewife any more
Paid lunch break                                                                       Can't be gym buddies with Ed any more
Good hours                                                                        Work year round, which means no Summers off
Not far from home                                                               Less time to focus on my hobbies
Chase will gain social experiences w/babies her age             Have to get up pretty early to get there in time
Will be able to meet new people                                        

Hmmm...I suppose that's all I can think of for now. I suppose the pros are outweighing the cons, but only because I am in need of financial freedom. I guess we'll see how it goes tomorrow, and I will update later on.

Ok, byeeee

So...you like....stuff?

Well this weekend was mellow, but fun. Friday Mark and I (and Chase) celebrated 2 of our friends' birthdays by going out to dinner then playing games at our house. That's always a good time. Saturday, Mark and I watched Scream and Scream 2 and played Scrabble. (We must be old or something, because that was actually highly enjoyable). Yesterday was pretty much the same, except we watched movies ALL day from 9am to 9pm. We watched Scream 3, I Love You, Man, Freddy Vs. Jason, Transformers, and The Breakfast Club...aaaand we played more Scrabble. It was great! I love lazy days like that. But of course in all this laziness, I totally ignored any form of housework and haven't cleaned a damn thing since last Wednesday. :-O

Last night, I started to clean up some dishes, and I helped Mark pack his lunch for work since our Scrabble game went into to "overtime", and he had to run around and get ready to leave. As I was coming out of the garage with a water bottle for his lunchbox, I witnessed what was the most unusual dog-vomit incident I have seen since Milo projectiled all over my mom in the car when we were going to Petsmart once.
Hmm...how can I describe this? Well, Milo sort of did this half coughing-half sneezing thing, but instead of spit or snot coming out with the sneeze/cough, it was puke. An even, instantaneous circular puddle of dog vomit. The sneeze/cough part reminded me of Morla from The Neverending Story:


Just picture vomit knocking Atreyu over...
It was ridiculous, is the point I'm trying to make here...and it would have to happen just as I was about to head up to bed with the baby, who, by the way, was sick yesterday and EXTREMELY miserable.

I said I don't want to fucking cuddle!!!

That's basically how Chase was...only way cuter, of course. This baby is a troll.
In other news, I applied for a job, but we'll see if I hear anything back. It's an easy position which would require me to work with babies all day in the infant room of a learning facility. They're seeking people with a degree/certification (which I happen to possess) and they pay very well for being a day care. Some people have said to me, "Why would you want to waste your degree working in a day care?" See, the thing is, my degree/certification is N-3. That means I am certified to teach from infancy-3rd grade. It's called Early Childhood Education. Duh. Some people just don't understand that even infants can be taught and learn things. Take my 5 month old daughter, for example. Kid's a genius! No, really. She is. At 2 months old she could already identify her feet. When asked "where are your feet?" She put them up. Now she can reach them, so when asked the same question, she will grab her feet and hold them up for you to see. At 4 months old, she can identify nose and mouth. At 10 days old she could hold her bottle all by herself, and now she's an expert. What I'm saying is, infants learn very quickly. They're like little sponges, and so long as you keep working with them, they can absorb so much knowledge. Babies amaze me. I adore them, so why wouldn't I want to work with them? I'm not wasting my degree because that's where my degree begins...with infancy. The learning center is seeking ONLY people with degrees, so that says a lot.
But you know, if I don't get the job, that will be ok too. I debated for a couple days before applying. I really enjoy being a stay at home mom, but I do miss having my own income. Before I could chip in with the bills, and have my own mad money, but now I have to rely on Mark's money. He says he doesn't mind this at all, but it doesn't make me feel any less guilty. He says I do a lot with taking care of Chase and our home, yet I can't help but feel useless sometimes. I made great money when I taught preschool. I made way more $ with that than I did when I substitute taught. If I get this infant teaching position, I'd be making the same as I did when I taught preschool, which isn't too shabby, considering. People assume that teaching preschool is just coloring and nap time, but believe me, there was way more too it than that. I taught math, science, literature, social studies, etc. Those kids learned a lot from me, and we hardly ever colored. It really depends on what type of learning center you teach in. It's not just macaroni necklaces and handprint art any more. Even for infants! I think you get the point now. I'm just trying to educate those who look down on these types of teaching jobs. It just really grinds my gears! It's insulting, really.

Anywho, since I've been doing this housewife gig, I decided I needed a hobby. I finally took one up, and I found I'm actually pretty good at it. I've been sewing a lot lately, mostly making stuff for baby girls like hair accessories, dress up tutus, and pacifier clips. Yesterday I made something different, though. I made a makeup bag entirely by hand and wouldn't you know, it came out great! I was surprised. It really is amazing what you can accomplish if you believe in yourself.
Wooow, that sounded mega lame and cheesy, but you know what I mean. I always had an interest in sewing, and I used to do it all the time when I was a kid, but my work was mediocre at best. I had no idea I was capable of hand sewing a zipper on to something, but I put one in the makeup bag, no sewing machine necessary. I used fabric for breast cancer awareness and decided I am going to sell these bags to help raise money for the walk I'm going to be doing in October. I need to raise $2300 in order to walk for the cure, so I think selling these bags will help. I already have 3 buyers, and I just posted the info. last night! Not bad, right?
So here comes the sales pitch part of my blog. If any of my readers are interested, leave me a comment and we can work out the details. The large makeup bags are $5 and the small are $2. Large bags are roughly 8.5"X16", and smalls are 4X8. If I need to mail it to you, I will need to charge a small shipping&handling fee.



This is the large bag for $5. Also available in another design...all pink fabric with small, pink ribbons. :)
Alright, so there ya have it. If you want to help me raise money for the cure, I would greatly appreciate it. It's a great cause, and it's something that's close to my heart as I lost my grandmom to breast cancer, and my aunt is a survivor.
Ok, sensitive moment/sales pitch over. End scene.