Bittersweet ending

Today was my babies last day of school.....when I went to pick her up and we walked into her classroom they had all of their mats that they sit on out and on top of those were each child's journal. It had something from just about every month that she has been in that school. I wanted to cry. My baby is no longer a baby....where did it all go and so fast. Time flies and I think it really hit me today when I opened up her journal and it had her picture from the 1st day of school......so here is Julie when she started school and Julie now

Bargains, bargains everywhere...

When I was growing up, my Aunt always bought all of her kids stuff at thrift stores and I thought that was horrible and gross and I said that my kids would never wear stuff from thrift stores....wow, was I a moron. We have a very nice goodwill by our house and while there is still some crap, most of it is nice usable stuff and I have often been able to find great kids clothes there even brands like Gymboree, Gap, Old Navy all for cheap.....well today was the 50% off Memorial Day sale and being that I was just there last week, I didn't think that I would go to this since the last sale they had, no joke people were parked down the street, I mean way down because the parking lot was full, all for Goodwill are you kidding me....well, now I will shut up. Since Adam didn't have work today and he went with us to the girls gymnastics class, I decided to wander over there to goodwill since they opened early for the sale so I figured it wouldn't be too bad yet...boy was I wrong. As I was walking in, some lady that was unloading her cart said that I would not want to go in without a basket cause inside you wont find one so if I wanted I could wait and have hers..I said okay while I was thinking in my mind, they have a bunch of baskets so they can't be out of them.

Then I walked in the store....lets just say in some parts of the store you could not move or get through, people were filling up carts like it was free stuff. So I decided to get a few kids books, some books for me, a couple sunflower nick knacks and then head over to see if I could find any clothes for the kids. As I was walking to the clothing section, I saw the line....no way that couldn't be the line could it...oh yes. Let's just say it wrapped around the ENTIRE STORE!!! I am not exaggerating. So I still went off to the kids section and found some cute clothes and even better I found some for me which is a rare treat. Adam finally joined us and I had him go stand in line....good thing. We ended up waiting in line for an hour and when we got to the front, the manager said it is usually at least a 2 hr line so we hit the store at a good time...lucky us. I did find some great bargains. I found a Lands End winter jacket for Julie that looks like it has never been worn. When I got home, I looked it up on the website and it goes for 69.50. I spent $1.75 on it.....I also got Kaitlyn a cute Gymboree skirt for $1.50 and some cool kids dinner trays for $.20 a piece. All in all I ended up spending $68 bucks which would have been what the jacket alone would have cost new and to think my cart was overflowing with things....As we were checking out a lady came up and asked us if she could follow us to the car to have our cart when we were done. Being that she had like 3 little kids with her, and we were parked by the Gymnastics place I told her that I would bring it back to her. No joke, on the way to the car, people were following us to the car and stopping us to ask if they could have our cart when we were done. At least 6 people came after us for it. I could have sold it to the highest bidder.....

Laundry mountian

Today while I was reading my sister-in-laws blog, I was cracking up. She was asking how the laundry multiplies on its own and trying to think when it started. I think it starts when you have kids that are walking and older. Our whole bathroom area that is where we put our laundry is designated as "Mount Laundry". Despite doing 2-3 loads per day, I never see the pile get smaller. I think that it reproduces like rabbits because I have not found an effective way to get rid of the issue. So every day and night, we climb the mountain to use the bathroom and sometimes chuckle and wonder where the little elf is hiding that is making the situation even worse....at times, he even sneaks into our sink and plays with the dishes. If anyone knows how to trap him, please pass it on....

2 girls, but so different

Okay so I have two beautiful girls. Julie was easy until about 4, but she was never as bad as Kaitlyn. I never got to the point where I debated going out places. Now I am at that place. The other day, Kaitlyn and I were shopping in Wal-Mart so we could pick up some things for our camping trip. Well as the cart was getting full, I told her that she would have to walk due to the fact that there was no more room in the cart for her to sit. Well lets talk about a complete meltdown. Refusing to walk, screaming that her boo-boo hurt(a small scrape on her leg that happened a week earlier), and all in all crying like crazy. I calmly told her that she needed to walk and mom was going to keep shopping and she needs to come with me. So I walked around the corner thinking she would worry that I am leaving and of course she was still standing dead still crying in the middle of the isle. I walked back and picked her up and continued to shop and put her in the front of the cart...now she was screaming because she only wanted to ride in the back. A lady who had also been shopping this whole time came up to me and said that she was very impressed how I handled it and that I kept calm the whole time. She told me that it would get easier and I was doing a great job....it makes you feel good when another mom compliments you in that situation.

So lets fast forward to today. I was having a bad day so I decided to take the girls to see my mom at lunch which I think we all needed. I would have a small break and also get to see my mom. It turns out my mom was running late so we went ahead and ordered and of course the girls wanted a small toy from those dumb machines where you pay 50 cents for a penny toy that is crap. So I wanted to keep them happy while I ordered. So as I gave them the money, I reminded Kaitlyn that you can't pick the one you get as she pointed to the one she wanted...well thank god that was the one that came out although she didn't think it was the same, so she starts saying she wants a new one and I told her that you only get one. Well then the drama started. She started crying and screaming that she wanted a new one. I carried her to the table and quietly told her that you get the one that comes out and you can not pick. That next time, she won't get anything if she cries about it...well as the crying got louder and louder, I decided that I couldn't inconvenience the whole restaurant so I asked Julie to please wait in the booth while I took Kaitlyn outside for a time out(since I could see Julie through the window the whole time). So I sat Kaitlyn on the ground and explained to her that when she was done throwing a fit and crying we could go back in and eat our food and get a drink. So I stood there ignoring her while we waited for 5 minutes for her to stop screaming. I asked her if she was done and wanted to try it again and she said yes. So I walked her back inside and placed her in the booth and told her to stay put while I took Julie to get her salad. Once again as I was walking up to the salad bar, a lady on her cell phone stopped me and said that she wanted to commend me on the job that I am doing and how I handled the situation even though she knows how hard it is.......
I guess that I am doing something right even though it is so hard.....At least I am getting a pat on the back...and I want another one....am I crazy????

The good, the bad, and the ugly

What can I say, we returned from our mother's day camping vacation exhausted, but had a blast. So much so that I think we may make it a family tradition. I have been camping a fair amount in my life but had never been to a KOA campground. Well it was camp and care weekend which benefits kids with cancer and you also got buy one, get one night free and because KOA is a little more expensive then regular camping our friends and I decided to try it out. So off we went to the Petaluma/South San Francisco KOA. My mom also decided to join us so we opted for a cabin rental(which slept her and the girls and Adam and I got the tent outside...lol), and our friends got an RV site for their monster of an RV. When we arrived, we checked in and got a list of activities...which I thought was cool and it would keep the kids busy. Lets just say the 1st night the kids went on a hayride, had an ice cream social and had a blast while they also visited the petting zoo. The second day we took a drive to the redwoods since our friends husband had never been there. When we got back we had lunch and then went on a waterslide/bounce and went to a pool party followed again by a hay ride and a meet the animals at the petting zoo. Mothers day morning they had a free pancake breakfast for all the moms. It was a great trip. Hanging out with my family relaxing and having my mom along was great. I was also very proud of my husband, because they had free Wi-Fi so of course he brought his computer but I razzed him about it for we were only there for 3 days and he didn't get it out once...The only bad part is that the weekend was over to fast, but it is something that I think we will repeat next year.

Now for the bad, my husband is off to Israel for a week and I really do not want him to go. I am so scared for him to be going there since it isn't the safest place to go and he is so very far away. As everyone knows I worry about every little thing, from the plane crashing, to something bad there happening. I knew it would happen eventually for his work, but I am not ready. Then I feel guilty because when he is gone, I put Julie in a summer camp that is from 9-4. It will be a great break for me, but I feel bad like I am pawning her off. I don't know how people work and leave their babies and kids to be taken care of by someone else all the time. So much of things that they do are missed, and I give those moms credit for although being a stay at home mom is challenging, I am with my kids all the time, and before I know it they will be all grown up.

Now for the ugly. My grandma came home from her second stay in the hospital on Mother's day and although she is looking much better we know it is only a matter of time. Her body is failing and shutting down, she wont eat enough so she doesn't have enough protein and other vital things in her body which isn't helping matters. Worst of all, today her Dr decided that it was time to put her in hospice care. Although she will remain at my moms house, she will have a nurse visit her 4 times per week. It will help my mom out, but it is just another reminder of how short her time left really is.