Hubby gave me my birthday present early! I got a MP3 player so I can walk and listen to my books on tape easier. I have loaded it with two books now and am ready to walk! WAY COOL!!!
Month: January 2006
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Look at this...an entry two days in a row!! WOW!! I have a few minutes before leaving my office for the day. I have homevisits scheduled for the rest of the day so I will be on the road and out of the office.
YESTERDAY
Tommy did GREAT at his preschool screening. I thought he would have trouble separating from me to go have the testing, but he went with the teacher very easily. YEAH TOMMY! She met with us to discuss his results. He needed to score 21 and he scored 29 and only missed two questions. She said how polite and well behaved he is. SHe said she hope all the kids were Tommy the rest of the night. AAAAH.....he is a smart cookie!
He can't start Kindergarten until 2007 so we have a year to figure out where he will be going to school. We are planning on going to informational night at NI Magnuson Christian School. He might go there since it is a full day Kindergarten and offers all core subjects, plus Phy Ed, Music, Spanish, Computer, Piano Lessons, and Chapel and Bible Lessons. He is a pretty smart kid and I would like him exposed to more things. Plus their class size is limited to only 20 students. Now to tweek the budget to swing the tuition payment. But since we won't have daycare expenses we will just pay for school instead. The cost is close in comparison.
I can't believe it, I am planning for my baby to go to Kindergarten and my oldest to graduate and start college. Boy do I love my boys! It is funny we were at a party and some friends were talking about how there kids will be 18 in 36 months and out of the house. I never think like that! I dread my Josh leaving home...I love having him around.
TOnight I am going to an ogranizing class at church. It is funny one of my friends said, "you could teach that class why are you going". DUH, that is why I am so organized. It didn't come naturally, just ask my mom!! You should have seen my room as a kid or even my house in my first marriage. I just kept striving to do better and learn more.
We have a 3-day weekend with not much planned. YEAH!!
Well I gotta run and get on the road! Have a great day!
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Life Just Get Away from You Sometimes..............
Ok, I have to do an entry or my mom will be calling to see if I am ok. LOL!! I 'm fine mother! I have three kids and we are always busy! I have a hard time finding time to blog anymore. Plus I have this thing that takes up some of my time called a job! ARGH!! I sure wish we were in a place where I wouldn't have to work. But no such luck!
Let's See......TUESDAY
I worked in the am after dropping off Tommy at Preschool. I LOVE that my job is so flexible that I can take my baby to preschool every week. He is doing great there and separates fine from me now. In the late afternoon I had a Dr's appointment. I have taken my health care into my own hands and fired my allergist, well at least quite seeing him! I saw an endocrinologist on Tuesday to see if I have experienced any bone loss due to my prolong use of steroids. This is more preventative so that if loss is occurring they can give me medication to address the issue. So they did some lab work to check my calcium and vit d levels, etc. I also will have a DEXA Scan (bone scan) on my birthday next week. OH Joy.......hopefully it doesn't take too long as I have better things to do with my day off on my birthday!
WEDNESDAY -
I worked a little later than I thought I would. I had an IEP meeting go long! So I raced home and we headed to church. We had parent check in for confirmation and Erik is doing well.
Josh got his car back as well. He is a happy boy and his parents are much poorer. Oh well....it really is so much easier having three cars. Now hubby doesn't have to rush home so Josh can use his car to get to work.
After Church I came home and Tommy and I played some computer games. We headed to bed early and I actually got Tommy settled down and asleep before 10:00.
TODAY - THURSDAY
Headed to work after taking Tommy to preschool - hubby will pick him up. My 12:00 appointment canceled so I was able to run a few errands over lunch. I stopped at the bank to get allowance for the boys, pick up hubby's books at library and bought stamps.
After work I am meeting hubby and Tommy at the ECFE office to have Tommys' preschool screening done. I am pretty sure he will do fine, but I am not sure what they expect of him. I hope he won't be too shy. I hope to stop off at home before going and throw some potatoes into the oven to bake. We are having stuffed potatoes tonight for supper.
Tonight is chore night so the boys, hubby and I will get the house all cleaned up. I also have to pay bills as tomorrow is pay day. That is the excitement for us this evening. WOO HOO!
I still have to finish writing my Goals for 2006! I have been doing really well with reading my bible each morning. I am currently reading Job. That is also why I don't blog. I don't let myself go on the computer until I am done with my daily reading, I run out of time alot! I have been having trouble getting out of bed on time!
I hope to get some walking in this weekend so hopefully next weeks weigh in will be another loss. Well time to get back to work.
Have a great day!
January 12 Organize all tools--screwdrivers, hammers, etc.--into tool boxes or onto a pegboard.
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How Did you Do In 2005?????
Why write these massive goals I do unless I revisit them....so here we go....how did I do???
GOALS FOR 2005
TAKE CARE OF SELF
Work out 3 times a week -DONE
Take my medications regularly to keep asthma under control. -DONE
Get to goal weight and maintain - CLOSE - CONT!
Go to Bed at a decent hour each night. -DONE
ADD FOR 2005:
Establish healthy habits, one week at a time – two bottles of water a day, healthy snacks, exercise 3 x wk and take the steps.-DONE
Daily spend 15 minutes doing something for me:Reading
Have a Monthly Craft Evening – Scrapbook at least one page a month. - CONT
MARRIAGE
Go out with hubby alone at least once a month
Spend time with hubby doing things he likes to do (garden in the summer, go for walks and bike rides)
ADD FOR 2005:
Be more Appreciative
Still working on most of these...more attention to this area in 2006!
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBLITY
Pay Credit Card off at end of each month
Pay extra towards principle on loans -EACH MONTH -DONE
Begin second Deferred Compensations account for retirement
ADD FOR 2005:
Start Santa Savings for Christmas -DONE
Stick to budget only use Savings for Emergencies -DONE
HOMEMAKING
· Do my Zones Each month - Most of the Time
· Finish Decluttering main floor of house -DONE
· Declutter the basement - Done once, but need to do again!
FAMILY/FRIENDS
Send Birthday cards to Family and Friends - DONE - Cont.
So Let's all THRIVE IN 2005 ( Flylady moto for the year!)
GOALS DONE: 10
GOALS CONT: 8
Well at least more were done than not.....How did you do?? I challenge you to look back to your post last year about resolutions and evaluate how you did! Let me know if you post your thoughts on the matter!!
Almost done with my 2006 Goals....soon to be posted!
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January 10 Scour your house for loose change, being sure to check under sofa cushions, in loose pockets and in junk drawers. Put all the money you find into a jar. If it's significant, bring it to the bank to trade it in for dollars. If it's not enough, put the container on a shelf and keep adding future loose change to it.
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Cooking at church was fun and now I have a full freeezer again. We made Chicken Tetrazzini, Baked Corn, 2 - Pizza pasta Casseroles, Chicken Pot Pie and Chilli. These will all be things my hubby can cook on nights I am working late.
Our quiet evening ending as soon as Erik came home. He got into alot of trouble at his Mom's over the weekend. It is amazing how much superivsion he needs. He is hardly ever out of our sight anymore. He actually needs more supervision than Tommy, who is only 4. Tommy and I went to my bedroom and watched a movie since I didn't want him exposed to his Daddy being so upset and things. It is upsetting for Tommy since he isn't used to that being how his home is. He ended being up way past bedtime last night. Hopefully he will get a good nap at daycare today.
I spoke with my SIL and she is willing to keep Erik over the summer again. This will probably be the last year since, once Tommy starts school she will be done doing daycare. It is becoming increasingly hard and expensive to find alternative supervison for a 13 year old.
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GOOD MORNING........
Hubby, Tommy and I had a great day yesterday. We got off to a late start and I managed to stay cool about that. First we headed to the library. Hubby browsed for a while and Tommy and I played in the kids area. I read and he played with the puppets.
Then we headed off to get groceries. First stop, Aldi, than we went to Cub Food and finally Rainbow. I went a bit over budget, but they had the 3 pound bags of chicken in sale at Cub for 4.44, I think it was, so I stocked up! I bought 4 bags and hubby bought 4 bags. We do eat a lot of chicken generally. I ran in at Rainbow and both sale items I wanted to get there were sold out so I had to get a raincheck. I generally spend a lot more on groceries when I take hubby and Tommy with. Oh well......
Then we came home and put everything away. Josh was just getting up and going to work. He worked from 2 to 8 on Saturday. Then we were off again. We took Tommy to get his haircut and hubby went back to the library to look for Tommy's Spiderman that he forgot there. OOOPSS.....
After haircuts we went out to eat at Applebee's as one of our nephews gave us a gift cert for there for Christmas. We came home and gave Tommy a bath since he was itchy from the haircut.
The rest of our evening consisted of playing Tommy's new game with him, Mr. Mouth. Daddy won! Then Tommy wanted to watch his movie from the library so we watched Scooby-Doo in Mommies room and Daddy watch his show in the living room. I read for a bit during Scooby.
Josh came home and headed over to Amy's to play board games with her and her parents after work. We enjoyed our quiet evening at home relaxing and doing a few load of laundry. Laundry incident......of course I must not have checked Erik's pockets and he had chocolate in a pocket which got all over our whites!! RGH!! So I put Shout it Out on the entire load. This morning I go to see if it is gone.....OH NO!!!......everything is GREEN! Hubby put two new towels, which were green and white, in with the whites and turned everything green! We are trying to bleach everything today back to white...LOL!! None of it is really a big deal, but Josh's shirt from Express that he wears for work. OOPS...and T-shirts there are so expensive! But since he works there he has to wear some of their clothes.
TODAY
I slept in again....ARGH.....I need to get up well before 7:00, but I guess catching up on some sleep over the weekend is probably a good idea and needed. Today I plan on working on some more laundry and start on Tommy's dresser. I have a few drawers to get through today. I also want to start my book for book group. I don't think I will be able to get it done before we meet. ARGH!! It is pretty long with small print!
I finished my first book of the year on Friday night:
Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner - 3/5 - Ok/Avg Read
I am also almost done with:
Life Management for Busy Woman: Living Out God's Plan with Passion and Purpose by Elizabeth George.
Then I am on to reading.......
Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
This afternoon I am cooking at church with my friends. So my freezer will be full again with meals for hubby to warm up when I work late on Monday and Tuesdays. I have to remember he asked that I make some chicken salad for them to have one night when I work late. I will have to put that on the list for next week. Tonight we are having Taco Salad, I am so hungry for that! I haven't had it in years.
Not sure if Josh works today or not. Hubby will go and pick up Erik from his Mom's and we will be back into our regular routine again. It was nice to have a low-keyed weekend.
I am off to update my checkbook and budget after yesterdays shopping. Have a great day!!! Then time to get everyone ready for church. Later!
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GOALS FOR 2006
That time of year again. I really do put a lot of thought into my goals for the year and really do try to work on these items through out the year. This year I am basing my goals on a book I am currently reading. I am not done with the book so I won’t have goals in each area yet, but it is a start. I am reading Life Management for Busy Woman: Living Out God’s Plan with Passion and Purpose by Elizabeth George. So my areas to work on are based on her book.
Each year I try to have a motto or focus for the year. Last year I embraced the Flylady Motto, THRIVE in 2005. And I think I did! This year my Motto is………..
Make Time for What Matters in 2006!
SPIRITUAL LIFE
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:31
- Have Quiet Time every morning. (A time, the first time and an early time.)
- Read the Bible chronologically in a year. (http://www.backtothebible.org/devotions/journey/readme.htm?level=chronological)
- Read items that honor God each day. (Our Daily Bread, Making It Home Magazine, etc.)
This is a new goal area for me this year. I found I didn’t enjoy group bible study very much, but did want to increase my knowledge of God’s word. I started the Bible reading plan while on vacation after Christmas. I have read, Revelations, Genesis and now am working on Job. It has generated some great conversation with hubby and my oldest son, Josh. I read things and go “did you know that?”.
The first thing I do each morning is complete my Bible reading for the day. I actually look forward to it and it only takes about 15 minutes and starts my day off on the right foot. I also want my children to see me reading the Bible as well as my usual books that I read. Make time for what Matters!! I need to reinforce to them that the Word of God matters!
PHYSICAL LIFE (TAKE CARE OF SELF)
…glorify God in your Body… - 1 Corinthians 6:20
- exercise 3 times a week
- Take my medications regularly to keep asthma under control.
- Get to goal weight and maintain (10# more to lose for LIFETIME at Weight Watchers!)
- Track my Points Daily
- Daily spend 15 minutes doing something for me: Reading, devotionals
“The Best exercise is to exercise discretion at the dining table!”
- Have a Monthly Craft Evening – Scrapbook at least one page a month.
HOME LIFE
MARRIAGE
This is my beloved, and this is my friend. – Song of Solomon 5:16
GOAL: Grow in a Christian marriage and nurture a life-long friendship and build a permanent, rewarding relationship with my husband.
- Help my Husband – The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18
- Follow my hubby’s leadership – Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. – Ephesians 5:22
- Respect my hubby – However, each of you also must love his with as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. – Ephesians 5:33 - Never talk about him & Ask him about things.
- Love my Hubby – Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children. – Titus 2:4
This area matters the most to me. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a bit of a control freak. I like everything very organized and routine, etc. My hubby is not like that necessarily. So it is hard for me to turn over things to him, but that is something I really need to work on and I know it. I use the scripture verses a lot to remind me of this.
As for the scripture verses, I tend to be very quiet about my faith. I hold it to be a personal thing, but I find strength in these verses so I wanted to include them here as well. Maybe you will find strength in these words as well.
CHILDREN
Motherhood is a privilege, and our children our crowning glory. - (1 Timothy 2:15)
It is not hard to make a child or a tree grow right if you train them when they’re young, but to make them straighten out after you’ve allowed things to go wrong is not an each matter” – Henry Ward Beecher
Be generous with praise – cautious with criticism.
JOSH
· Apply for Financial Aide and College
· Give him his own bedroom
· Make Graduation Scrapbook
· Make Graduation Video
ERIK
· Stay the course
· Praise and encourage
· Move Erik into an upstairs bedroom
TOMMY
· Have one on one time with Tommy to teach him. - Wednesday Nights
· Learn Lower Class Letters
· One project or activity a week for Mommy and Tommy
The best gift you can give a child is to love their father.
HOMEMAKING
She watches over the ways of her household. - Proverbs 31:27
Every wise woman builds her house but the foolish pulls it down with her hands. Proverbs 14:1
- Do my Zones Each month
- Declutter the basement
I have a pretty good system and handle on this area of my life. It is just to continue with my routines.
FINANCIAL LIFE - (FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY)
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousnes, and all these things shall be added to you. - Matthew 6:33
- Pay extra towards principle on loans/Debts -EACH MONTH
- Begin Deferred Compensations account for retirement
SOCIAL LIFE (FAMILY/FRIENDS)
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. - Proverbs 17:17
Do not forsake your own friend. - Proverbs 27:10
· Send Birthday cards to Family and Friends
· Write letters to friends.
MENTAL LIFE
MINISTRY LIFE
Having then gift differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. - Romans 12:6
As you can see my list of goals aren’t done. But I wanted to share what I have been working on. I will add to each area as I read the chapters in the Elizabeth George book and reflect on how it relates to my life. I should be done in a few days.
- Have Quiet Time every morning. (A time, the first time and an early time.)
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Please pray for Suzanne's son, Johnny. He is in the hospital again. Hopefully by the this time he is at home again. He struggles with Cystic Fibrosis. Keep him in your prayers for a speedy recovery so he can go back to enjoying life as a healthy little boy!!! He is frequently in my thoughts.
Also I wanted to ask you all to welcome a friend of mine to xanga. She has been here for a while but she recently stopped working and is at home waiting for the arrival for her first child. She has worked with me as a social worker for the last 8 years, now she is beginning a new phase of her life as a stay at home mom. So stop by and welcome, Deb. I know she will just love you all!
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