Meet Foxy.

So the other day, I go to pick Sami up from preschool, and her teacher pulled me aside. This is rarely a good thing (i.e. "Your daughter smacked one of her friends and laughed right in her teacher's face." Quit laughing. It really happened). But, she was smiling, so I figured that it can't be bad. She explained that they're starting to work on scissor skills, and they made polar bears. When she asked Sami what her polar bear was doing, she answered with, "His name is Foxy. He's taking a walk."

To H&R Block.
cries laughing


So, when I asked her what Foxy was doing at H&R Block, she said, "He's going to get his money back. Then he's going shopping for a bit. He needs a new hat."

I nearly peed my pants laughing.
I love this kid. :)

Another New Year...

Where the hell does the time go? Good grief, we're already into 2010? Crazy. Personally, I am grateful that 2009 is gone. It was definitely not a good year for me, and I am looking forward to a new beginning, as it were.

So I've had the chance to reflect a bit and think about this upcoming year. I really would like to change some fundamental things and make it better than last year (although, realistically it won't take much). Call them resolutions, whatever. I'm an epic fail at keeping resolutions, so I'm just going to make a pledge to myself and my family. It's the same thing from year to year, but if it's not a "resolution" I might actually have a better chance at succeeding. These things are just common sense, and nearly everyone I know strives to improve their lives in the same exact areas. But, I feel if I actually say it out loud, it'll mean something more.

DIET: Yes, the old "new year new me". Yes, but no. I have not jumped on any diet bandwagon, or even been to the gym very much so far. But, I would like to do weekly meal planning, take my lunches to work, not go out to eat as often, and get to the gym regularly. That would go a long way toward accomplishing healthy eating, and also ties in with my 2nd pledge.

BUDGET: My reduction in pay has made a drastic difference in my bank account. As a result, I have to be very careful with what I do. Meal planning will allow me to sit and figure out a grocery list and coupons and all that (no, don't roll your eyes. I will *never* be one of those marathon coupon queens, but it's proven that you can save tons of money if you do it right). And, I want to get Steve to save as well. He's not very good at that and I would like to get him to try harder.

WORK: I have been in a constant state of "I Hate My Job" since September. I suppose that's not really fair, because I don't really hate my job, but it doesn't make me happy anymore. I do not look forward to going in because I know it'll be the same exact thing as yesterday. Hang new price changes. Count stuff. Scan in a vendor order or two. And tomorrow will be the same. And the day after. And the day after that. The things that I love to do, that I enjoy doing at work I am no longer allowed to do. So, I think it's time to find something else and finish the last chapter in this 10 year old book. I have applied for some new opportunities, including school. We shall see where this road will take me. And I will try to have a better attitude while I'm there. It's hard since our store is injured. We're collectively limping along, barely making it. I can honestly say I've never worked in a store with lower morale. I can only hope that this year improves that.

FAMILY: I love my family. I love Steve's family. I need to be close to people, and on the same hand, we need to make a concerted effort to see the family that we have here in town. My family is all far away (the closest being my dad, who's 2 hours away. It only gets worse from there), and as a result I think we should see Steve's family more often. We get complacent with our lives and our routine. Work, dinner, bed. We've got so many people close by that we love that we rarely see. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather not wait until it's too late. Life is too short to live in a bubble. Oh, and I want to get pregnant again this year. Expanding our family and the love that we have. That's big on my list.

I think that's enough for now. I think that If we're able to work on all of those things, I will be in a much better place. Physically and emotionally.

So, here's to another New Year! Cheers!

Some new Sami-isms...

So Sami says things all the time that just crack me up. A couple weeks ago, she randomly started talking about Santa again. She came up to me and said, "Mama! My stocking was full to the TOP with toys and candy and stuff!" I smiled and nodded. Then, her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "That Santa. He's so sneaky. He came in our house and we didn't even know it!" :hands on hips:

What do you even say to that? Hahaha.

Okay. This is the part where I warn you of some upcoming potty humor. But, she is 3, and stuff like this is not only funny, but apparently it is also perfectly acceptable conversation fodder. Consider yourself warned (but really, it's not that bad at all, haha).

S: Mama, do you know the difference between a fart, a toot, and a thoot?
M: (raising eyebrows and chuckling) No, I don't. Is there a difference?
S: Yes. (nodding emphatically) You know what a fart is. A toot is a kind of fart, but just louder.
M: Ooookay. So, what's a 'thoot'?
S: (giggles) A thoot is a kind of fart too.
M: So what makes it different from a fart or toot?
S: Umm....a thoot is....yucky.

At this point, I decided that this conversation was over, and promptly changed the subject. HAHAHAHA. What is that, the toddler version of a shart? I don't mean to laugh, but... yeah, I do. It's funny.

Happy Holidaze!

Hello out there? Remember me? :crickets chirping:

Okay, I know. I've been MIA. Since Thanksgiving. Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, say it. Slacker!! Red, you're a SLACKER!

But somehow, it feels like I haven't had a moment to sit down since November. Well, a three year old and a husband, a house and cat, and a full-time retail job? I've been busy. To say the least. But, things are slowing down and returning to normal. Thank God, I say! I have a serious love/hate relationship with the holidays. For real. I love Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years. Love. To me, it's always meant getting together with family, good food, good times. Then, I grew up and got a job. In RETAIL (not the smartest thing I've ever done, but that's a whole different post for another day). At that point, I began to hate the holidays. People get mean and irrational. Work gets harder and you have to accomplish more with less time. Long hours, even longer weeks. For years I only got 4 days off in the entire month of December. This year was a little different. My change of position offered me more days off, and fewer hours at work. Yay! But, it was still hectic. But, now I can breathe. Here's a brief recap of our holiday season.

Thanksgiving: We had a wonderful time with Mike and Shell, Livi and Violet. I absolutely love having family dinners with them. The kids crack me up, and it makes my heart full. Dinner was at our house, and even though I had to work, Steve assembled a wonderful meal. He's a great cook. I think I'll keep him. :)

Christmas: I worked until 11 on Christmas Eve. Steve and Sami put out the cookies and milk for Santa, threw the Magic Reindeer Food outside, and put out the Santa Key. He said she was absolutely psyched for Santa to come! I got home from work and put out all the presents and filled the stockings, and put the breakfast bake together. We were in bed by 2 or so (ugh). I woke up at 8, very surprised since I'd fully expected to be poked in the forehead at 6:30! I came downstairs and made coffee, put the casserole in the oven, and even made cinnamon rolls. Nobody was awake! I sat down and enjoyed a cup of coffee, at which point I decided to wake everyone up. I dragged Steve out of bed, then we woke Sami up at 9:30. What alternate universe was I in that I had to wake my child up on Christmas morning! Haha! We opened presents, she was thrilled with everything. Then we had to get dressed and went over to Shell's parents house for dinner. We had a great time, laughing and telling stories with her family. Then, back to our house to open presents with the Mike and Shell, et al. THEN, over to Aunt Elaine's house for dinner with the rest of the Krauses. Finally, we got back home, and essentially collapsed in exhausted heaps. But we were happy, and our hearts and bellies were full.

New Years: This was a tough one for me. I had to work both NYE and NYD, and we had plans to go to a friend's house for a party. 2 hours away. I was so nervous about it since Sami would be staying at a mutual friend's house with her kids. I didn't want to drive all the way out there in potential bad weather, had no idea how Sami would react to us not being there in the morning, was unsure how many people I'd know, etc etc. As it turns out, the weather was fine (not so much on NYD, but we were mostly home by then), Sami had a blast, and we had a ton of fun. I can't remember the last time I stayed up drinking and playing euchre until 3am. Oh yeah, it was back in college. Ha! All was good. All that worry and complaining about nothing. So typical of me.

In a nutshell, that was our holiday season. We made it through, with little sleep but lots of fun and love.