Bum Day

Well, today was a bum day. Hopefully tomorrow will be more of the same.

I slept until about 10:30, and then bummed a bit. I got some housework done & then around 2:30 got showered & got ready to go grocery shopping. We were pretty much completely out of food.

I spent several hours at the grocery store and spent over $300 on food & stuff for school.

When I got home, Tim carried in the cold stuff & I put it away. Then we went out to Mandy's house. I took care of Spencer & Grayson (aww!) while she & "the boys" took care of the furniture. I seriously want a baby.

Now we're home, drinking a beer & relaxing.

Babies

I want a baby. Like today.

Just wanted to make sure you know that.

So, I slept until 12:30 today. Then Tim & I wasted another 2 hours playing on the computer & snacking on what little food we had in the house.

Around 2:30 we started getting ready to go, after tossing 90% of our plans for the day.

We loaded up Rosie & a whole crappola of baby stuff & headed to Cheeseburger in Paradise, to pick up Grayson (21 months) and baby Spencer (6 weeks on Monday). Then we zip, zip, zipped over to PetSmart to drop off Tim & Rosie for her shot appointment. Then I raced over to Chrissy's house & picked up Brianna. I took her to Sports Authority, but their JanSport back packs were $40 so we headed to Target instead. Yay Target! They had Trans by JanSport backpacks for $9! I got all of her school supplies (minus what I brought home from school for her) & a few extras for $43. Then I headed back to Chrissy's & dropped Bri off. After that I went to Tom & Peggy's where we hung out for about an hour. Around 7:30, we headed home. We grabbed Hardee's for supper & juggled babies while we tried to eat. Tim took a lot of initiative and spent a lot of time holding Spencer. I bathed Grayson first & tried to get him to sleep, all the while Tim was taking care of Spencer. Then Tim asked for a break, so I passed Grayson (who was about 40% of the way asleep) off to Tim & went in the back to bathe Spencer & get him ready for bed. When I came back out, Grayson was sound asleep on Tim's lap. Too freaking adorable. I had Tim lay him down & then hold Spenc while I fixed ANOTHER bottle of breastmilk. (I think we're on #5 tonight & there is 3 oz. in each one.) Then we laid down on the couch (to finish watching America's Sweethearts) while I fed Spencer & got him to sleep. I just laid him down & now have two sleeping babies. Tim is playing Gameboy.

I love babies. I love, love, love them. Even difficult, fussy ones!

A newborn in cloth diapers is FREAKING adorable! My camera is MIA or there would TOTALLy be pictures on this post. I only have 3 newborn diapers....so I had to put a couple smalls on him (which he swam in) but he is SO cute! I can't wait to cloth diaper a newborn! I am definitely going to invest in Preemie sized prefolds when I have a baby, because Spencer is pretty big & the ONE that I had fit him pretty well. An infant sized prefold is WAY too huge for him.

Anyway, I'm smitten. I hope that Mandy works it out so that I can babysit them every other weekend. That will make me so happy. (and may even convince me to hold off on fertility treatment)

-Steph

Back to School

Okay this post is picture crazy!

It is time for back to school! My classroom is 85% ready. Since I only have 5 new students, I am going to let my kids help with the last bit of set up. (Putting up posters, setting up the computers, and setting up the classroom library)

I have a ton of stuff to do over the weekend.

I'm tired.

Tim and I are going out to dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Tomorrow we have to grocery shop, then around 2:30 pick up Brianna & take her to get school supplies, then at 3:40 I'm going to drop Tim & Rosie off at the vet & go to Cheeseburger in Paradise to pick up Spencer (like 6 weeks old!) and Grayson (21 months old). We are babysitting them for Mandy tomorrow. Their parents will pick them up around 1:30 am!


Ok, time for some pictures!
Here's one of Tim & I during either my Junior or Senior (fall) year of college. We were at my church, Goldmine Community Church.

Here's one of me at Busch Gardens, I think. It might be King's Dominion. Either way, I went with some friends from college.

Here's one of me when I was 14. Wasn't I cute? I love this picture of myself.

Here's a cute one of Caro. Being Caro.

Here's one of Caro & I at James and Missy's house.

Here are the In Progress pics of my class. There are no Before shots. I forgot to take them. I'll get finished ones on Tuesday afternoon.

Arts & Crafts by Steph

I'm pooped!

Oh my word.





Working all day is freaking exhausting & tiring & awful & I wish I didn't have to do it!





I am SO tired. My feet are KILLING me. My ankles & toes are swollen. My eyes are swollen. I'm hungry but too tired to eat!





School today was very productive. I finished spending my $200 gift card & then spent another $35 out of my own pocket. But I think I have all that I need. I got a BUNCH of work done in my classroom & I realized I didn't take any before pictures. That made me sad, its something I've done every year.





I should be completely done with set-up before our 8:30 staff meeting tomorrow (assuming I get there at 7:30). Then we have from 1 until 7 to work. Friday we have a limited amount of time to work before Open House.





Wish me luck & strength & good rest!





-Steph

(While we are on the college pictures: This is what I FEEL like tonight. In this picture, I was in college, at the Farmville Wal-Mart. I had a miserable migraine & my friend Lauren and I were apparantly shopping. (That's a huge vat of oil for her old Lucy (her car)!)

Wordless Wednesday

Works for Me Wednesday

Yay! This is my first time participating in WFMW, so I'll make it brief. What works for me to keep sane & clean & still make it to work on time, is to spend 15 minutes at night, cleaning up the house. Then I get a shower & think about what I'll wear the next day before I go to bed. (Or at least I try to!) That little spruce me up at night, makes it so nice to wake up to a clean house.

Good Luck!

Quick Recap of the last 3 days:

Sunday-We didn't get our plan worked out. We did clean the house but that was about it. We went to Tom & Peggy's, Tim picked up the lawnmower, Peggy & I went to Goodwill & the Dollar Tree. Then I left to go to Office Max to do my Mystery Shop. When I got back we had spaghetti for dinner & then it was time to come home & input my shop report.

Monday-First day of school!

Started out, blah, the new guy took down my expensive fade proof paper & crumpled it up. BUT, I went out to lunch with the music & the art teacher & that redeemed the day. I was able to get all of my stuff moved to my new classroom by 2:00. We had to leave the building at 3:30, though, so I didn't get much else done.

Tuesday-Second day of school!

Started out, OK, I got to work around 7:30 & got straight to work in my classroom. I got a LOT done. We had lunch scheduled for noon & I went up there to check it out. There was a bit of a snafu with my new teammates, but it didn't get bad at that point. I went to McDonald's and got some lunch (the stuff they had provided was yucky) and then came back. More snafu with the teammates & then a staff meeting. Then after the staff meeting, I spend a while waiting my turn to talk to Mrs. White about the snafu. We managed to get it worked out, but not in a very civil manner. After that meeting, I went back to my room & got A LOT more done. Tim showed up around 5 & checked out the computer situation. We left the school around 6 & headed to Office Max. Tim looked for the cables I'd need to work out my computers (and a co-worker's) and I picked up $75 woth of school supplies. Then Tim headed home & I went to Wal-Mart. I bought the fabric I needed to do my bulletin boards this morning. While I was in Wal-Mart, Mrs. White called but I couldn't answer. I called her back on my drive home. She was calling to apologize for the messy snafu. We ended up talking for about 20 minutes. I LIKE Mrs. White, I just wish she were more firm & decisive sometimes. When I got home, I attempted to download & print my shops (I had left the reports at school) but couldn't. So, I quickly changed & then called Melanie. Rob answered & said that, sure, they could print them out for me. So I zoomed to their house, got my reports & 3 more Peek A Blocks, & then raced across town to Jared. I really liked Jared as a jewelry store. The shop went well too. I'd never been there before. The girl working there told me my diamond solitaire was loose though & that worried me. Then I zipped to the mall & went to Helzburg. It's right across the hall in the mall from Kay. I was not impressed. The girl didn't notice that my stone was loose, that it was an ideal cut (which is what I was looking at), and she didn't act like she wanted to sell me anything. After that, I went to Kay's to have my diamond looked at. The clerk there said that, sure enough, it was just loose enough that I wouldn't pass inspection, so she made the arrangements to ship it off for repair. I also asked her about my screwback diamond earrings & how they KILL me when I first put them on or take them off. She said that the posts may be too wide for me & that they could replace them for FREE! I love Kay. So, I came home 3 diamonds lighter than I had left.

When I got home, Tim was playing Creature Creator & my computer was reloaded! I can play SIMS now! Yay! I got to work on the shop reports & Tim got to work making some Mac N' Cheese for supper. I did my reports, checked my e-mail & blogs, ate, and went straight to bed.

Wednesday: 3rd Day of School

Hump Day, we have a staff meeting from 1-3. Tomorrow is our last real chance to get stuff done before meet the parents. I'll be busy & tired & probably work until 7.

-Lata Tata

I'll leave you with a picture of Caro toddling around the pool 2 weeks ago.

Today is going to be a busy day!

So here's the plan:

Get up
1. a Tim go to Norfolk International Airport to get his dad
1. b Tim take his dad home
1. c Steph clean kitchen
1. d Steph get dressed
2. a Tim do yardwork
2. b Steph get Chesapeake Office Max Mystery Shop completed
3. Drive to VB in the truck
4. a Tim take Dad to pick up lawn mower
4. b Steph get Virginia Beach Diamond Mystery Shop completed
5. Swimming with Melanie (maybe, this should be around 2:30?)
6. Dinner with Tom and Peggy
Go Home & Go to Bed for WORK tomorrow!



Click the picture to make it big!

That's All Folks!

The office!

Now I can post pictures of my little crafter's area in the office.

It only took me all summer to get this done, (and technically it's still not 100% b/c Tim needs to take care of those boxes!) but now I can work!

So, in this picture you can see my Sizzex machine set up on the right, my paper cutter, the green pencil boxes have my rubber stamps in them, the white bucket in the middle of the table is all of my 8 x 11" paper & the trays next to it hold my 12 x 12" paper & my works-in-progress. Next to that I have some baskets with gift cards I'm saving, a basket of peeled crayons waiting to be turned into recycled crayons, a box full of misc. stickers, my paint bucket, and a ziploc bag of ribbon.

In this picture you can see the view into the closet, that is where all of my sewing stuff is stashed. There is a crate in there (the pink one), that has a bunch of 1/2 done or just started projects in it. I am hoping to start working my way through them.

Now for some close ups.

-That's All Folks!

Mystery Shopping

This is my public service announcement. Getting into Mystery Shopping is not hard. Go here:
http://www.mysteryshop.org/ Read a lot. That's what I did. I did have the added benefit of my best friend, Mel, pointing me towards the companies she works with, but you can do it!

I am currently working with these companies:
Customer Impact Mystery Shopping
Trend Source
Market Force Inc.
Service Excellence Group &
Speedmark

I have done an Office Max, Texas Roadhouse, & McDonald's (never again), and I am scheduled for: Jared Jewelers, Helzburg, & Office Max.

It's an easy way for me to make a few bucks & get some free meals.

I'm using the $$ right now to buy scrapbooking/arts & crafts materials. I hope to someday get into it like my good friend Mel & make lots of money!

Good Luck!

New Blog!

Yay! I have a new blog! This one is FREE too! I love FREE! And, I can upload pictures & I can use the nice Header that I won during the Spring Bloggy Carnival Giveaway!

Yay! I'm so very happy!

Here's a link to my OLD blog. I think I'll transition this one into my about my day blog & that one into my contest/giveaway/product review blog. Not that I actually DO product reviews, but hey, maybe someday!

And just because I can, here's a cute picture of Caro & I!

She was pretty tired of all the pictures I was taking of her!