Staying on track

This weekend I managed to mostly stay on track with our finances. There were a few blips, like the tire that I cut by running into the curb...embarrassing enough when I did it in front of the kids at Cyndi's high school, even worse when I had to take it to get fixed. I let Jon do all the talking and tell about his wife making the mistake while I sat outside on a bench reading a book. Then we went to the store for a couple of things and remembered that we owed someone a birthday present so between those two things we spent about $45 that we weren't expecting to. All in all not bad compared to last weekend's straying from the budget. I did get my checkbook to balance, I was so stressed because I couldn't figure it out, I mean who is going to want to hire me as an Accountant some day when I ever finish college if I can't even balance my own checkbook? Turns out I had double entered two items so I found them and now I feel so much better.

Ethan and I had a much better weekend, he seems to be doing better for the most part as long as we keep his attention meter filled. I need to call and set up an appointment to have him tested for ADHD. I'm hoping they will say that all the people who think he has it are wrong and we just need to do X, Y, and Z and he'll be fine. *sigh*

I've spent far too much time online today. Zombie Lane and Castleville are my weaknesses and now I've found this House M.D. game. Oi! I promised myself only two games and even then I end up playing too long so I will have to cut one out. I can do this! Well, I need to leave in less than an hour to take Ethan to the park before I start running around so I'd better sign off and do a mad dash to make it look like I did something today. I have Summer fever big time lately. Have a great week!

Slacker!

Eek! Where has the time gone? I haven't been posting lately. The days are starting to run together. It is almost Summer and we are going to take time to stop and smell the roses. We will be at the beach every Friday possible with a dear friend. We will try to visit the dollar movies at theaters on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They play movies that are already on DVD but it will get us out of the heat and help my five year old son get used to movie theaters and get us out of the house. Mondays and Thursdays should find us at Knott's using our Season Passes. We will have an extra member in our family starting next week. My daughter's friend is moving in. She is 18 and graduating high school. She is already like a member of the family and really brings out the best in my children. I am so blessed to have her. She helps me see things in a way that I might not have thought of and when she suggests my children do something, they do it without feeling like mama is nagging them. I always wanted another daughter, I now I basically have one. You should have seen the girls getting ready for Prom this last weekend. We had so much fun getting their nails and hair and make up done. I added a picture, Daisy is in the white dress and my daughter Cyndi is next to her in the burgundy.

We have been working on cutting out sugars and we have all lost a bit of weight. It feels good to be on the right track, going to the gym and eating healthier. I still haven't fully implemented the Dave Ramsey system but we are doing better with our finances. I will start classes again at the local college in August. I am hoping to finish my Transfer degree at the end of next May. Then I can apply for a spot at the university that I plan to attend. Well, that's about it...you are basically caught up!

What is a good parent?

I've always considered myself a good mother. I love my children, I do all that I can for them, I put them first and I do my best. Am I the best mother? Not even close, but I still consider myself a good mother. I doubt that others see me as such. I am that mom who freezes when we are in public and my son has a meltdown. I am that mom who has a five year old that still poops his pants and I am that mom who has said yes more times than is healthy. I'm working on improving myself and my parenting. I'm always trying to do better. I can't focus on the guilt of what I have done wrong, but I can learn from it. The goal being to raise healthy, confident, independent and happy children into adulthood. My children are in different stages but I see their growth. Such amazing and beautiful growth. My daughter is blossoming into a lovely young woman who makes me proud daily. My middle child, my oldest son is starting to do things he never would have attempted before and it's a joy to watch him accomplish things he didn't think he could...like not one but two As in a row on math tests. The youngest has me worried as he is so very stubborn, but I have moments of hope like when he goes to the toilet or uses his manners and smiles and is so sweet. I'm going to keep doing my best and loving my children. I will never receive a mother of the year award, but my children will know that I love them.

Relaxing and giving myself a break, and yet I'm still super busy

I've been giving myself permission to read books again. I've missed taking a little time out to relax and read a book. It really does recharge me. I'm spending less time on Facebook and more time on the house and still having time to read. Facebook really sucks away my time.

As for our doggie, Sandy, she was very ill last week. It seems she'd gotten roundworms while living in her prior home. She's feeling much better now. She still doesn't like dog food or dog treats though. We have a list on our fridge of what human foods she can have and she gets so excited when she gets a bit of flour tortilla or cheese or bread. I gave her a bit of Jon's sandwich ham but it's salty so I have to limit it. She LOVED that.

One of my biggest struggles right now is my five year old. He continues to fight me on the potty training. He just won't do #2 in the toilet. His pediatrician calls it potty training resistance, but not one of the tips on the paper he gave me have helped. We've tried rewards and he decides the rewards aren't worth it, and going the opposite was not working at all either, as he'd take the punishment and go right back to it. My mother in law has tried twice to sit with him in the bathroom with him on the toilet, for an hour! He got off the toilet and then went in his pants not long after. He's supposed to start Kindergarten in the Fall, I really hope we can get this resolved before then.

I also checked our credit report and scores, which are both improving. That's nice to see but it looks like I'll need to pay off some student loans in order to get my debt ratio where we want it.

Oops, just remembered that I am supposed to take something to Cyndi's school. I'd better get to it.

I'm still here

We added a doggie to our family last week. She's a rescue, five years old and a sweet little chihuahua. She's not fixed, and is in heat right now. I feel so bad for her, she has no appetite and she just wants to lay around. We named her Sandy...like the doggie in the movie "Annie". Ethan thinks her name is Cutie and refuses to call her Sandy. She was only 3.9 pounds when we got her, she's gained half a pound so far in the week and a half we have had her.

We drove from Long Beach, CA to Tuscon, AZ and back in one day. One very long day full of many, many, many stops. All in all it was a good trip.

We are making progress on getting the house more organized. I wish I was naturally a clean freak but that's like wishing I was thin...it'll never happen if I don't put the work in to make it happen, so I'm working on it. I do see a lot of improvement, especially if I look back to the years where I would never let someone in my house. Now we can have people over and it takes maybe half an hour to get it all pretty...less if everyone helps.

Financially, we still have a lot of debt but we do have a bit of a savings safety net and I paid Jon's union dues and our car insurance through June. It feels good to be making progress.

I'm trying to keep a more positive outlook on life. Things are good, and it's not fair to anyone if I'm moody all the time.

Cyndi is doing Scuba, I'm so excited for her. What an adventure! She had a friend over for a movie after school today, I hope that happens more often.

Jacob is doing better in school. He has reached a reading level equal to his grade level. He ran into friends at Knott's last weekend and we let him go off with them for an hour and a half. He did really well, except for helping the girl he likes buy a gift for a boy she likes at school...but we won't mention that to daddy. ;)

Ethan is so funny and he gets my sense of humor...but I'd love it if he'd stop picking on his siblings...his OLDER siblings, who he makes cry.

The company Jon works for went under so he's working for a new company, but still doing the same job, another company just took over the crews and job. He's getting less hours but at least he's still working full time.

Well...that's about it. I'll try to write more often.

What a difference a little perspective makes

My son got a B on his Math test! I'm so thrilled that I could pee myself while hopping around doing a happy dance. I homeschooled him for three years and put him back into school this year (6th grade) with his IEP there to make sure they help him with his learning disabilities. I would have been thrilled with a C but a B! I'm ready to shout from the rooftops. He couldn't tell that 5x6 and 6x5 are the same problem just a few months ago. I knew in my heart that if I sent him to school that there would be someone there who would be able to reach him. Somebody who would say you can do it rather than do it for him like I had and hoped that he'd absorb it by watching me work out the problems.

This made me think about the fact that I was so upset with myself when I got a B in a class that I knew I could have gotten an A in. I beat myself up for the same grade that I'm celebrating for my son getting. Why am I so hard on myself? Sure he has a learning disability and I am supposedly super smart but the fact of the matter is that when faced with our obstacles, we both have a lot going on that we have to deal with in order to get a good grade and he had some really excellent teachers working with him while I was not asking for help, barely taking time away from my other duties or even facebook for that matter, to study. He was able to over come his obstacles with hard work and determination, I was lazy. So I should be thankful that I got that B and not the grade I probably deserved and if I'd made time...I could have gotten that A. I like to blame all my chores and errands for not getting my school work done...but they don't stop me from playing Castleville, so really it's just excuses. Perspective...it helps to have some!