So...ummmm....yeah

So, I posted last Monday thinking that I was going to be able to get back on track with my blogging frequency, but last week went by so fast, I'm still dizzy!

Basically I'm a Client Manager at work for one client, but since things have somewhat slowed down for them as far as projects are concerned, I've been pulled onto a couple projects for two of our other clients. One of the projects is extremely time intensive and I've been spending the majority of my time working on that. The work is heavily analytical, and it's making my brain hurt.

On another note, my girls are now in their 3rd week of school and are really enjoying it. I got to go to a curriculum night for my 7th grader, and her group of teachers seemed to thoroughly enjoy teaching - even their presentations for the parents were entertaining. So, I can only imagine if that is truly their teaching style, that the kids will definitely have some fun while learning at the same time this year. I still have to meet my 2nd grader's teacher, but Cita seems to like her. Cita always likes school though - I think it would take a really crappy teacher to turn her off from liking school. My little Monkey is in her private Kindergarten class at the preschool she attended last year - French class has started up again for her, so she's been counting in French at home. And saying "Le boo boo" a lot (which is really 'le bonbon' - French for 'candy').

Aaron and I put an offer in on a house around the corner from ours on Saturday. It's on a "short sale" property, so the process takes a bit longer than a regular sale. Also, we are in 'backup' position, meaning someone else beat us to the punch and got an offer in before us. Our realtor wasn't too stoked about putting this offer in because he thought it would pretty much be futile - but I asked him if it would do any harm, and he said no. So, he obliged us. :) In previous conversations with him, he had mentioned that in many cases the first person to put an offer in on a short sale eventually drops out, because they find something they like better that they can close on sooner. So, that's why I was thinking it would be a good idea for us to put in the backup offer. We're not really in any rush to close, so we have a bit of time to wait. It's a 4 bdrm with a large den - plenty big to accommodate our growing family. No pool - so that kinda sucks, but we can put one in at a later date. Until then, there's always slip n' slide and kiddie pools, and the good ol' fashioned water hose. :) I used to love running through sprinklers when I was a kid - who needs a stinkin' pool? hehe. And my faith really plays a big part in this process...because I feel like if this is the house for us, then things will just work out the way they need to - if not, something better will come along. So, I'm not really worried about it either way. :)

Hubby and I saw the movie "District 9" yesterday afternoon. Pretty interesting movie. I won't ruin it for anyone that hasn't seen it - but it does leave you wondering if there is going to be a sequel. Also, since we're talking about movies - I did see "The Time Traveler's Wife" a week or so ago. I read the book a little over 5 years ago, and then once I saw movie trailers for the movie, I read it again so I could refresh my memory. I think they did a pretty good job capturing the essence of the book - of course the book gives you a lot more detail, but I didn't walk away from the movie feeling frustrated that they didn't put in key parts, or that they added "fluff". If you get a chance, check it out, and then read the book and let me know what you think. And then finally, the countdown to "New Moon" is on...less than 3 months. Yes, I'm a Twilight Mom. Totally dumb...I know - but the books are actually really good. The first movie kinda sucked (no pun intended) in my opinion - but they have a new director or producer or something this time around, and had a bit longer filming time & budget, so the actors are saying really good things about this movie. So, my daughter and I will go to see it - probably not opening night, but maybe opening weekend some time. :)

OK - I think that's a good recap for the past couple of weeks. Oh yeah, and I have my ultrasound tomorrow! Usually this would spark the excitement of finding out the sex of the baby, but since we're not finding out, it's more of a confirmation of due date, and ensuring the baby's development is going as planned. My dad called me this weekend and said that my step-mom keeps bugging him to ask me what we're having because she wants to start shopping - and I said "Well...we're definitely having a baby....not a monkey, or a 3-toed sloth" (okay, I actually stopped at the word "baby" - I thought of the monkey and 3-toed sloth thing this morning - I'm not a very good 'on my feet' thinker, so the funny stuff always comes a day or two later).

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'm Alive!

Oh my goodness - I can't believe it's been over a week since the last time I posted! Crazy! My kids started school, and work has gotten really busy as well - but I think I'm getting back into the routine now and my posting frequency will pick up. I'm actually starting a new thing tomorrow, so be on the lookout for that!

Sorry this post has to be short, but I have a meeting in 20 minutes - just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here and doing well. :) My tummy keeps growing, and I'm at the stage where I finally look pregnant - I think I felt some little flutters of movement this weekend as well! YAY!

Hope all of you are doing well! See you tomorrow!

It's Raining, It's Pouring (no it's not - but it did rain)

Yippee!!! It rained from about midnight to 6:30am at my house this morning. I love waking up and hearing rain, it makes me happy. Why couldn't today have been my daughter's "Walk Around" at her middle school? It was yesterday, and it was freakin' hotter than Hades - and the middle school campus is designed as such that all the classrooms face toward a courtyard and all the doors are outside. Gone are the days of the elementary school where all the classrooms are inside an air conditioned building. So, I sweat my bootie off yesterday walking with Sereana from classroom to classroom...and have I mentioned I'm pregnant, and I already don't like the heat - but being hot and pregnant is the pits. And I'm not even THAT pregnant yet, I'm barely into my 2nd trimester - but I like blaming my crankiness on that, I get more sympathy that way. hehe

Yeah - while most people's kids started school weeks ago, my kids are finally starting this Monday. I remember 3 weeks ago thinking to myself, "Wow, the kids start school in 3 short weeks!" - and let me tell you they have DRAGGED ON FOREVER AND EVER!! I'm like "Good Lord are these kids ever going to start school?" But of course I'll be taking that sentiment back in a couple weeks when I'm helping with gobs and gobs of homework, and going to school functions galore - then I'll be thinking "How much longer until summer?".

My baby, who is 18 months now, has obtained a nice milestone of being able to be put to sleep in her bed while she's still awake and she doesn't cry! She used to fall asleep while drinking her night-time bottle, but that stopped about a month or so ago and then she would think it was playtime again. So, I would turn off the light and lay with her until she fell asleep. But this whole process from bottle to actually sleeping would sometimes take over an hour - so I said "Oh no, this is not going to work. If she's not sleeping by 8:30, I'm putting her in her bed anyway." And so I started doing that, and for about 2 weeks, she would cry every time I laid her down. She would only cry for about 5 minutes, but I still somewhat felt bad. And I hope I'm not jinxing myself here by writing about it - but for the past few nights, I've been able to lay her down and she just rolls over and doesn't make a peep! YAY! We're probably going to start potty training soon too - it would be nice to have a potty trained toddler before the new baby arrives.

Anywho, that's about all I have time for today - have a great day everyone!

STUFF!!!

OK, at first this post was going to be about why I wait so long to do laundry and then have to go to the laundromat and wash 4 loads at once. So, I will talk about that briefly - Why do I wait so long to do laundry and then have to go the laundromat and wash 4 loads at once?? I'll tell you why - I hate laundry, that's why. I don't so much mind the washing it - it's the folding it and putting it away part that I don't care for. I need to hire a folder/putter-awayer. I would have my 11 yr old do it, and trust me, that is definitely going to be on her list of responsibilities for this year - but she helps me at the laundromat too, and I am constantly refolding her folds. I'm not the best folder on the planet, and I know I should probably let it go, but ugggh...I can't. Anywho - so there's a great feeling once you know ALL the laundry in the entire house, including towels, has been done. PHEW!! But then guess what happens when you get home and you have to put it all away???? (And now for the MAIN topic of this post...)

You realize you have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF!!! When every shred of laundry is done, you go to put it away, and you are literally cramming clothes into every nook and cranny of the drawer - holding the clothes down with one hand and sliding the drawer shut with the other hand and hoping that the drawer doesn't explode and shoot clothes all over the room. Goodness sake! So, then you start looking in the drawers, and realizing that neither you nor your children wear half of the crap that's in the drawers.

And guess what that realization makes you do? Yep - you start surveying the rest of your closet, and your room for that matter. And then you think about your junk drawer, and the stack of magazines on the counter. And all the birthday cards you're holding on to for "posterity" - the list goes on and on. And then just short of a major freakout - you decide - I am going to de-stuff my house. You realize the task is daunting, you promise yourself that you will do it in small chunks, no matter how badly you want to do it all in one day, and then...you go sit on the couch and wonder if your plans to de-stuff will ever come to fruition.

Oh yeah...I'm totally doin' it. Not saying it's going to be easy. But seriously people...we have WAY too much stuff. The problem is, I could probably make some money off of a lot of this 'stuff' by having a yard sale, but that would require way too much organization on my part and I'm not sure if I'm up for THAT task. So, needless to say, Good Will and Savers are probably going to be the ones making some dough off of my stuff.

My goal is to have my house de-stuffed before the baby comes - Feb 2010. I'm probably not going to start the de-stuffing until after the summer is over (oh yeah, by the way, I decided today that I don't want to live in Arizona anymore, it's too damn hot) - so September is probably when I'll start, and then just a couple months later is 'holiday season' and I know things get crazy then, but I think I can do it.

The crazy thing is - I don't really think it's me that buys all this stuff we don't need. I have loving parents, grandparents, in-laws and friends that love feeling like they are contributing to our family, and I love that they do that - but I honestly think that's where most of the stuff comes from. So - do I send them all a letter/email/phone call letting them know about my de-stuffing process and to please not bring us more stuff? Or would that be rude? I don't want to offend anyone, but at the same time, I'm afraid if I don't speak up, you're going to be reading this exact same blog entry in a year's time. Know what I mean? Help!,

Wow - I feel lighter already. Do you feel like you need to de-stuff? If so, what is your process going to be like. And if you've had a yard sale and want to give me some pointers on how not to be afraid of having one, please feel free to share. :)