a whole week?

It's been 7 days since my last post! I can't believe it - sheesh. Well I guess you can say things have been turned upside down a bit here. I started a job on the 20th - working part time at an after hours/hourly/drop in daycare. They are open until 10pm Mon-Thur and until midnight Fri & Sat. Plus they open at 7am during the week for before school care. I do have 2 nights that I've been working until between 8 and 9pm so Darren is having to do a lot more around here with the kids!!!! He's doing great - no worries on that end...but it's hard to have such a big change and here's why:

I've been a stay at home mom for 8 1/2 years (minus the 5 months 6 years ago that I worked at this same daycare!). We have a routine and we like it. We eat dinner as a family, at the table, EVERY night....even soccer nights. It works for us and we all enjoy it. Stability has always been a major focus and it something our kids need and expect.

Now bring in my job LOL My schedule is not yet permanent - there's a stomach virus going around like crazy (I caught it Sunday) and it's making for a lot of employees calling out sick - so I've been asked to fill in quite a bit...and I don't mind at all - but it causes the crazies for sure. Also add in that Darren picks up the kids at the daycare when he gets off work, then makes dinner, bathes them, gets them to bed, and wonders what time I get off (I work until "slow" so that's never the same). We're all a bit tired...a bit cranky (for the little people)...and a bit sore (for the OLD people who aren't used to this work thing) :)

now that being said - I'm really really really enjoying the job! Yes, I wish I wasn't working - but winter can get tough so the extra money will be good "padding" - but those kids! ack! I love 'em! I have a few favorites I'll admit - and there are a couple that I always wonder how long they're staying - but when you have SO many kids coming and going they can't all be perfect! hee hee but it is rewarding - I have people, other than my 3 here, depending on me. I have people telling me "thank you" and "we appreciate you" and I think I've missed that. I love that I'm doing a good job, getting the hang of things, and meeting some great women along the way.

then bring in Braden - he can kill my "high" rather quickly with "but when you go to work I won't have a momma".....that makes it hard - but he's doing SO good and he likes when he can go and play. and he especially likes when he has to take the daycare van instead of me picking him up!!! He adjusts so quickly to change and this has proven to be his most difficult challenge yet. We are proud of him and being patient....

Hailee - she could care less!!! LOL some days she is happy that she has to come to the daycare other days she says she doesn't want to LOL but we don't see any effects from the change for her - that's good...she is older so it makes sense....and I made sure that I wouldn't be scheduled on soccer practice nights or game days so really, as long as she's covered she's happy!!

We're all looking forward to Saturday...I am not working AT ALL (lucky this week!) so we are going to make waffles for breakfast, then go to Hailee's game, and after that we'll head to the orchard and get some peaches and do all the pumpkin patch festivities!! Hay rides, pumpkins, and mazes!!! It's early in the season but this is our only chance with Darren's work schedule plus camping on the 22nd. Should be a super fun day and I can't wait to post photos!!!

okay - enough rambling - going to go edit some videos so I can get them posted!!!

a Christmas card to bring in Fall!!!

Kimmie challenged me to make a Christmas card using a NON Christmas-y stamp. Well a chance to stamp is worth taking that challenge! Here is what I created for her.


for this card I used the gorgeous, fun, vintage-y stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms (oh how sad I am that they closed). I stamped it in Coffee Bean Brilliance (it has a bit of SHIMMER!) and then added some green and red touches with Copic markers. After that I covered the white card stock with 2 shades of Tim Holtz distress ink - and finished that with some more shimmer using my Sakura Stardust pen! oh fun!!!! To prove it in fact IS a Christmas card I stamped the "seasons greetings" stamp that I have from Impression Obsession. The pretty patterned paper (say THAT 3 times fast) is from Cosmo Cricket's Be Good collection.....that gorgeous ribbon was mailed to me from my step-mom - she bought it at an estate sale I believe. It was rolled up and wrapped with a rubber band which gave it that curl! isn't that fantastic? I love it! She also sent that green button (did she know I was making a Christmas card with it????). The pin. sigh. I've been hoarding them. They are by Jenni Bowlin and Kimmie's son, Markie, bought them for me. I've been hanging on to them for something special and this was it. thank you, Markie!!

so that is my non-Christmas Christmas card. And I think it's the perfect way to say "Welcome Fall"!!!!

Posting for What's for lunch Wednesday!

Here's Hailee lunch yesterday - she loves the picks so I just add them where they fit....


She has chicken salad with butterfly cheddar shapes - ranch in the yellow container, oat-date bar, cantaloupe (lower tier); ritz crackers (for the chicken salad), cucumber flowers with another cheddar butterfly, and a mini pizza muffin - she requested this lunch and I have a feeling a lot will come home - she just can't eat all this!


this is being posted at What's for lunch at our house



Now that I'm working part time, you'll be seeing more Bento lunches - and some will be mine! I don't want the kids to have fast food if they're with me at work so I'll be getting creative with their dinners if needed - most of the time they will be home with Darren, but some nights that may not work out.

Hailee's soccer practice

Here are just a couple quick clips from practice tonight - it was REALLY windy so there's a lot of noise - I think it'll be better to get some game action on Saturday!

Braden in the garage.

Darren had some welding to do and of course Braden thought he should be the helper. So we decided to use it as a video opportunity! LOL I made "mini clips" from the 10 minutes I recorded - hope these work....

a fun bento to pack

last night, while making dinner, I decided to do lunches. Hailee likes having salad in her lunch so I made hers while making the big one for dinner - made it easy. Then I just started to play! I finally got some cute little cutters and Hailee's been wanting butterflies - so butterflies she got! the little turkey wasn't feeling good so she's home today! grrr! aw well - it'll still get eaten at some point.

top tier: sliced and peeled peaches from the orchard, watermelon bits, and a chocolate covered zucchini bar (broken in 1/4's to fit). bottom tier: pita strips, butterfly pastrami and cheese with a matching flower, red cup with ranch, the rest of the meat and cheese, and a salad with a bear. :)


here are pictures from the day we went to the orchard - you would think with just a couple pictures taken the kids could've been nice to me and SMILED....I seriously have NO clue what Hailee was doing in any of these - that is NOT a smile....lol





hey is that a smile on Braden's face???? must be because he's hugging his daddy!

Viruses and Dentists

Nothing more fun than taking your sick 4 year old son to the ER on a Sunday afternoon.....over a holiday weekend. Sheesh. 2 ER trips in 8 days is enough for me.

Braden caught a stomach virus. It was so bad he was in pain and crying and couldn't keep anything down or in. So I rushed to the ER with him and Hailee towed along and was so very helpful since Darren was working. The doc was concerned that Braden could have appendicitis so he wanted to do some blood work - after all the vomiting and "other" he was afraid he'd dehydrate so they did an IV drip. That boy is tough - yes, he cried, but then he thought that it was cool to be a "robot" and have tubes hooking him up to a machine!!!!! After 10 minutes he fell asleep. :) Turns out that it was a virus and has to run its course - but the drip was SO helpful because it appears dehydration was near - so we are grateful for the doc and glad I took him in. He's not 100% yet, and I plan on taking him to his pediatrician Friday for a follow up - but he's definitely better and we are PUSHING FLUIDS!!!!

Fast forward to tomorrow - Hailee is getting 2 teeth repaired....teeth that we were told were just stained and it was normal are now in trouble and have to be filled in - still not sure what caused it since they've always been this way, but we're glad to see it getting taken care of. After the dentist she will go back to school and lunch will be shortly after - so I had to pack a "soft" lunch for her just in case. I wanted her to have food easy to chew and tear so she won't have to bite with her front teeth.


We have half of a banana (wrapped because she doesn't think the end can be exposed), boiled egg w/a bit of salt, cheddar cubes, pastrami rolls.... and of course a treat of mini m&m's in the monkey because every kid needs candy after the dentist LOL (finally I have full size silicone muffin cups - yay!)

**I did pack Braden a lunch since we'll be running errands and he has "easy-on-the-tummy" snack: the other half of banana, mini saltine crackers, yogurt covered raisins, and cantaloupe - foods I know he'll eat but won't be too harsh - no photo, sorry :) I put it away and was too lazy to take it back out - don't worry, nothing exciting!

Let's hope things settle down around here - Braden and Hailee now play hospital or school - so you can see where they spend their time LOL :)


eta: I posted this link at WFLW!!!!!

WFLW

I'm posting for "What's for lunch Wednesday" today. If you want to follow along just head over to *What's for Lunch at our House*

Hailee's top tier has: one slice of deli roast beef, rolled and cut in half...one slice of turkey pastrami, rolled and cut in half...one slice of hard salami rolled and "skewered" because she loves those picks...slices of cheese...sliced whole wheat pita bread...and in the monkey there are 5 chocolate chips. the bottom tier is a tossed green salad with sunflower seeds and ranch in the cup. She LOVES salad so I decided to try it out in here and see what she thinks - I think she'll love this lunch! She has a fresh bottle of water to take with - she drinks more water than anything! I guess that's a good thing :)


We have lots of errands to do after I get Braden so I needed some "dry" snacks - I have not been to the store and am out of dried fruits :( so instead he has some raisins, animal crackers, and honey roasted peanuts. he has a chocolate chip monkey, too, but I forgot to put it in before the photo. I also will have a bottle of water for him and a juice box. The boy drinks a LOT!


thanks for stopping by!!! Happy September 1st!!!