Okay, maybe my thought wasn't so profound, but it did sorta hit me kinda hard. I was at work today, and out of nowhere I realized that if the baby is about 3 lbs. 7 oz. right now, then he still has to more than double in size in the next two months! TJ was 7.13, and Taryn was 8.6, thus averaging at around 8 lbs. per baby. That's so scary! I'm already so huge, and I'm nowhere near the end! AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!

Another profound thought I had the other day while at work was about the idea of "neigborhoods". Think about this...Today, houses are being built closer and closer together, yet, people know less and less about their neighbors. I just think that's kind of interesting.

I was getting pretty pissed at work tonight when I'd been stiffed on my tip twice in a row. I thought about a blog post I'd read once about a woman who doesn't believe in tipping. It didn't help my mood. I really can't remember why she said she feels this way. I, personally though, am all for tipping. I mean, yeah, it's got a lot to do w/the fact that I get tips to live off of, but there's more to it than that. You pay for services done for you. However, most people can manage to make their own food at home if they want. Therefore, when they go out or have the food brought to them, they are receiving a service. I think I remember her mentioning in her post about how they could just raise the prices of the food and pay the people out of that. Understandable, I suppose, except that the price you pay already covers the price of the food, utilities, and the pay of the cooks. Think about stores. Cashiers get a set wage, and you cannot deny that you have had a bad experience w/a cashier at some point in your life where she/he just did not care that you were even there. That frustrates me beyond belief! I hate giving my hard earned money to someone who hasn't even acknowledged that I'm standing there! Anyway, if you were to put a set wage for servers and the like, then you would get subpar service. They're getting paid whether you're happy or not. It's kind of like competition. They want your money, so they will work for it by giving you the best service they can. With pizza delivery, it's similar. You could have the pizza place just cook the food for you and not tip, but you'd have to go pick it up yourself. If you want the extended luxury of having it brought directly to you, then that person has just performed a service for you that deserves to be rewarded in the way of a tip. I mean, really, who thinks it's not worth a couple of bucks to be able to sit at home on your comfy furniture and have your food brought to you?

Anyway, that was not my complete thought, but the complete one would go on for days. It just really irks me that some people think that they are deserving of special treatment for no reason. I'm all for being nice to my fellow man, but geez!

Soooooo....I hope you're having a great day, and I'll see you soon!

Okay, I know that supposedly you can teach little tiny babies to swim pretty easily. I can accept that. However, we have never attempted to do so with our little baby. We have spent her year and some months on earth just trying to make sure she likes to go in the water. So, that is why, even though she did it the other day, I just can't get over how awesome it is that Taryn is totally "swimming" in her arm floaties ALL BY HERSELF! She doesn't even want any help anymore! When she gets out, and goes to get back in, she just hops right in like it's nothing. I'm just totally not ready for this!

Just look:


Fascinating, I tell ya!

Now, of course, I won't bother to add the part about how she puked up about half of the pool in the car on the way home. We still have a lot of work to do on getting her to stop drinking the pool water!

I just bothered to add that part, didn't I?

Well, that's all for now. I hope you have a super day, and I'll see you soon!

Last night, I think I got about three hours of sleep, if that. The night before, I think it was around three hours also. I'm runnin' on empty here! If not for the wonder of COFFEE, I would not have made it through work tonight. Thank goodness I did, though, b/c I made about $65 (and believe me, it was SLOW) and I really needed the money! I thought it was funny when I delivered a pizza to a guy who had a Papa Johns car topper on his car, and he tipped me $6. He totally knows our plight!

So anyway, Trey and I went to LIVE X yesterday, and it ROCKED! We spent the majority of the time there sitting in the bleachers kinda off to the side of the stage. There was shade there and a decent breeze. The earlier bands were alright, but I wasn't there to see them, so we enjoyed them from a distance. I wanted to get up and dance and mosh when Breaking Benjamin was playing, but I opted to stay sitting so I could save my energy for later. We also walked around for a bit, bought some very overpriced water and a snowcone, and people watched. There were some very interesting people there, so there was no lack of entertainment in that area! Three Days Grace was after Breaking Benjamin, and they were quite awesome. I didn't realize they sing so many songs I like. I went and danced a little near the end of their set, but not much. The last band to play was Staind, and they were the BOMB! It was everything I hoped it would be. They are just as awesome live as they are on my cd's. I danced and headbanged till I couldn't handle anymore. Then we had to go sit down for a bit. We opted to leave a little early, before Staind had finished, b/c not only was I totally exhausted from being there for about 6 hours already, but I really didn't want to have to sit in the traffic when it was all over. I was sad to go during such a kick-ass band, but I'm glad we did.

Later, Trey and I were trying to figure out how old the lead singer of Staind is. He did a cover of the song "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd (The Wall), which my mom told me was released in 1979, and said that he used to listen to it all the time on the radio when he was in high school. Trey asked me if that was from the movie The Doors. "Uhhh, no. It's from the movie The Wall. The Doors was a movie about the band The Doors, and was made in the 90's." "Yeah, the one w/Val Kilmer. That's where this song came from, right?" I won't go on with the conversation, but it took me a while to get it through his head that The Doors had nothing to do with The Wall or the song. Looks like I need to rent us an old movie in the near future! My baby's got lots of learnin' ta do! We figured, though, that the lead singer must be around his late 30's, early 40's, but Trey just can't believe that could be. I mean, he's just so HOT and COOL! Huh, I just looked it up, and it says he was born in 72, which would make him only about 34 or so. He must have listened to an oldies station in high school!

Oh, one more thing. I got an ultrasound of Cole today. At the moment, he's 3 lbs., 7 oz., and his foot measures 5 1/2 cm, which is only a tiny bit smaller than Taryn's! In his pics, he had a total mean face for football, so Trey should be happy, and the ultrasound tech pointed out his manly parts enough during the ultrasound to make me quite sure he has nothing to worry about in that area. Then I went to see the dr., and she said everything looks fine. Yippee! Not much longer now. I'm at 30 wks. and 3 days, and I'm starting the every two week appts. now. The countdown is on...

Okay, I hope you have a great day, and I'll see you soon!

That we live such a life of luxury. Sure, this was a couple of days ago, but I just wanted to show you how we spent a day just lounging around our fancy pool in our back yard, and having fun. Yeah, yeah, I know...we are part of the lucky few that can have a pool and such a fabulous life to boot. I won't lie, though...the $8.88 I spent on that pool was a sacrifice. I was going to buy a pair of flip-flops instead!

God is watching over me at ALL times. I know this for 100% sure now.

I should be at work right now. I was scheduled to close tonight. However, I am an idiot, and let's just say I flattened my (Trey's) tire while out on a delivery tonight. There just happened to be a young guy driving by as I did it, and he immediately stopped to offer me help. I certainly didn't turn it down, as it was nearing dark, and I don't trust myself to change a tire on my own. I am SO glad I did, too. He managed to find out that there was not a jack in Trey's car (?), which would have totally left me in quite a pickle.

So, we drove about two or three blocks to his house, as he said he had one there he could use. I may have just destroyed the tire rim on the way there. Would you believe that when we got there, he and his brother and dad just happened to be the types that restore old cars and make them look awesome? They had it all...a fancy easy-to-use jack, one of those professional lugnut things that goes 'zzzzz, zzzzzz' when you quickly take off and put on the lugnuts, and a fancy air pump thing that pumped up my tire in no time flat. They even had a tire guage that made the ones at the local tire shop look like nothing! Honestly, do you think I could have gotten any luckier as far as saving my butt with a flat tire? I kid you not, they had the tire off and the spare on before Julia even got there to pick up my pizza to take for me! The last time I massacred a tire it took us longer than they took to even find the spare! I got to meet the parents of the boy, and his brother helped him, and I swear, they were the nicest family.

You know, if he hadn't been driving by at that exact moment, I would still be sitting there right now trying to figure out what to do. No doubt I would have had to call my mom and beg for help, which I hate doing, as I already have to do it enough...and she and Bo have given me so much already. I never thought I would ever flatten my tire and actually leave the scene happy. I am, though. I am so thrilled that God was totally looking out for me and that boy (whose name I totally forgot to ask!) happened to be driving by at that exact moment. That's why, no matter how crappy things go for us, I'm not worried. See, He looks out for me, and knows just when I need help the most! I am so blessed!

Anyway, I came home after they put the spare on, b/c I can't deliver pizza on a donut. Bo was chasing the kids all over the house, and they were having the time of their lives. It was awesome. My mom picked such a great guy, and my whole family is so lucky to have him around. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...Bo is ten, no, a hundred times my real dad ever was!

Alright, that's enough for now. I hope you all have as lucky a day as me, and I'll see you soon!

Wow, that makes it sound like we had a cookout at the beach or something, and hot chicks came and hung out with us.

Ummm, no such luck. We did go to the beach yesterday w/Julia and kids. We didn't get to stay as long as last time, but we had a good time. I liked it more yesterday b/c it was a tad bit cooler and the beach was more compacted than last time...thus less burning of the feet! Trey forced me to walk all the way to the end of the pier and back. He really just has no idea how much I hate physical movement period anymore! The kids enjoyed it, though...well, that is until TJ discovered the candy machine.

We got home just in time for Ashley to drop off her little girl Leah, who's a month younger than TJ. For now, I'll be watching her for a few hours a couple of days a week. I think it's gonna be fun. She's a pretty cool kid, and cute as a button. I just know Alison (Julia's wee one) will get along well with her. They can totally be girly together...and TJ will have a blast joining in, too, of course! Trey likes her, too, which is cool, since he really doesn't care for most kids. We took her swimming at my mom's house, and she and TJ swam like fishes! Oh, but that's not the best part! Taryn swam by herself, too! She refused to get into her little floaty contraption that holds her, and everyone was getting tired of passing her around to hold. So we decided to put some arm floaties on her to see what she would do. For a while we still held her, but less and less. After a little bit, she pushed herself off of her daddy, and off she went. She didn't want anyone to mess with her. She wasn't really moving, but she stayed right up there, and it was so cool! I'm still in disbelief that it happened. I mean, my baby girl is just barely one!

Anyway, to cover the burger part, we all went to Burger King after that, out of pure starvation, and ate. It was a pretty darn busy day, I tell ya!

I hope your day goes as well, and I'll see you soon!

So TJ has taken to making threats now when he doesn't get what he wants. Here's how it usually goes down:

"Mommy, I ate all my supper. Can I have some candy?"
"No, you don't need any candy now."
"I'm not gonna eat anymore candy ever again because you said I can't have any candy because I ate all my supper!"
"Ummm, okay then..."

Or:

"Mommy, can we go to the water park today?"
"We might later. Right now it's raining, and the water park is closed."
"Well, I'm not gonna ever go to the water park again b/c you won't let me go!!!"
"Ummm, okay then..."

Now, you all might find this amusing. I can't deny that I do get a little chuckle when I hear that he's yet again taken some pleasure away from himself b/c he's mad. However, it's actually pretty scary if you think about it. Sure, he doesn't get it now, but he's only three. Give the boy time. It won't take long for him to figure out how to really make a threat when he doesn't get his way. I mean, that doesn't mean that I'll bow to him, but I'm Sooooo not looking forward to the day I have to pack his clothes b/c he threatened to run away b/c I wouldn't give him some candy!

Oh, and one last note...Trey will be home in about five minutes. He will officially be coming home to live! HOORAY! Now maybe I'll even get to sleep in a day or two a week! I'm so excited...I mean, b/c I love and miss him, not for the sleep (wink, wink).

Have a great day! Talk to you later!

when I think about the last few days I've had. Do they have a song called "Roller Coaster" or something, b/c that's how I feel my last few days have been?

Yesterday went much better than my birthday did. I actually made an effort to wake up when the kids did (instead of grouching around for a couple of hours first!), and when Taryn took her nap TJ and I worked on "schooly stuff". I am so proud of my baby boy! He learned to write the numbers 1 and 4 (2 and 3 were too hard, he said), and got two stickers for doing so well. Plus, his circles were fabulous! He only really worked for about ten to fifteen minutes before he lost interest, but still, it was a start, and he did good while he was still with me. I learned, too. I learned that if you want him to pay attention to you, don't let him have the whole box of Crayola markers, b/c he will choose instead to make a baton with them! After that, we read books. I read some to him, and he read The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Old MacDonald to me. Then we played Clifford together on his computer, which focuses on learning letters and making simple words. Of course, as usual, he did a fantastic job!

So, yesterday was pretty cool. We actually did other stuff, but that was the highlight for me. Oh, but I took them out to eat, too, and got lots of compliments not only on how cute they were, but how very well behaved they were.

Today started off great, too. We went with Julia and kids to the Children's Museum, and it rocked. Taryn was so fascinated by the whole place, and, as Julia put it, probably had a sensory overload with all that was going on. She loved it, though. TJ was off with Alison the whole time, and he had a blast. Of course, the idiot I am, forgot to take the camera again, so I'll have to keep all the special memories in my brain. Wish me luck!

My day ended on a sucky note, though. I worked tonight closing again. I actually made almost $80, but with the volume of deliveries I did, it should have been TONS more. People weren't tipping, and as the night wore on, they all had a complaint. I had to call the restaurant about three times from people's houses asking what I was supposed to do about orders that we mysteriously "messed up". Can you say "jerk looking for a freebie"? That on top of the fact that I had nasty, nasty heartburn the whole night just put me in a crappy mood. Then I called to check on the kids, and my mom told me that TJ had colored on Bo-Bo's nice shirt. That is not like him at all. He knows better, and that just pissed me off, too. Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Oh, but let's not end this on a bad note. Check it out. Our PH got 10 100's in a row on whatever check they do, and since we did, they gave the restaurant $500. So on Monday I get to go out to eat at La Carreta's w/my work buddies to celebrate. Cool, huh? I'm gonna be REALLY hungry that night! I'll play off the pregnancy thing to the hilt!

Alright, I'm pooped, and I need to go to bed for real. I hope you all have a great day, and I'll see you soon!

Well, yesterday was my big 28th. I'm not sure what I was expecting, knowing full well I was doing nothing to celebrate, yet I was very disappointed at the end of the day with how it turned out. I'm pretty sure in my mind I just imagined everything going my way b/c it was my birthday. You know, getting to take a nap, the kids wanting to be nice and do things for me, that kinda stuff...Oh well...maybe one day...

I will say that yesterday started out well. Julia and Melissa (her sis-in-law) and kids came over and brought cupcakes. We all blew out candles on our cupcakes as they sang Happy Birthday. It was fun! I was sad when they had to go. I enjoyed getting to know Melissa just a little better. She's only 18, but I'd much rather hang out with her than most of the 18 year olds I know.

After that, I fed the cheerin' and tried to take a nap while Taryn took hers. A futile attempt, considering I have one that refuses to take a nap (although he really needed it, and my mom said he fell asleep at the restaurant last night!). When Taryn woke up, I thought we'd have a little fun before I went to work and I'd take the kids to the playground. I guess it was too hot, b/c Taryn cried the whole time b/c she wanted to play in the water fountain, and TJ fussed the whole time b/c I wouldn't be at his beck and call. He fussed all the way home, and when we got there...but thankfully I was able to head for the hills and leave my mom to deal with it. I sure do love my Mommy!

To top off the day, I had to close for the first time last night. I didn't mind, really. However, it SUCKED. Tips were AWFUL. At night, only ghetto thugs and rednecks ordered pizza, and they didn't see the point in tipping me. I mean, so what that they didn't bother to leave their porch lights on, and I couldn't find their stinkin' houses to begin with! Ohhhh, I was just in a crummy mood!

Anyway, thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. It really made my day. Highlights: Julia and family coming over, Ashley and Leah calling me and singing Happy Birthday, Richard calling and saying Happy Birthday, after I realized he wasn't Trey, Mommy and Bo watching the kids for me and Mommy washing my dishes! I'm sure there were more, but that's all I can think of right now.

I hope you have a great day, and I'll see you soon!

I'm raising a super hero. By day, he goes by just regular ol' TJ, but when the call comes, he becomes...JUNIOR MINT! (Don't ask me, it was Trey's name choice) Don't think he lacks super powers, either. Oh no, Junior Mint is power-packed! He defeats his adversaries with the power of his...smelly feet. Yep, that's right, he's got super smelly feet, and he just waves those puppies right in the faces of the bad guys, and poof! Bad guys run home as fast as they can! Today he was out saving the world from all those icky bad guys, and afterward he came home for some lunch...

"Uhhh, hey there, Junior Mint, I mean, uhhh, TJ, you left your super hero glasses on. Someone might figure out your secret identity."


"There, is that better? Now no one will figure it out."

Taryn wants to be a super hero one day, too. So she eats whatever her super hero big brother eats. She particularly enjoyed his meal fit for heroes today...



Oh, and in case you're wondering where tiny super heroes come from, well, it's their super hero parents, of course!




Oh, hey, do me a favor please, and don't tell anybody about this. We don't want all the media attention, ya' know.

I think Julia and family may have thought I was kidding tonight. While I was working, I crashed a cookout at her mom's house for a bit, b/c I didn't want to take any more pizzas out (although my tips were actually pretty good), so I figured I could waste a little time there before I was scheduled to get off. Anyway, while I was there, I told them all that I seriously thought about putting my kids up for adoption this morning. I meant it. All week long I've felt like crap, and I have just wanted my kids to go away. I just don't feel like it. I decided this morning that I just don't cut it in the mom world, and that maybe they'd be better off w/one of those overachiever moms. I mean, they are super-smart, and I know they could benefit from someone who was willing to put the time and effort into the job of raising them. Everyone kinda chuckled when I said it, which I suppose is good. I mean, who wants some weirdo crashing their cookout and divulging that she wants to rid herself of her kids? I'm really, really just hoping this is all b/c I'm pregnant. I really, really do...b/c I really do love my kids, and I would die w/o them. Oh, but there are some days...It's like there are two of them trying to beat me on the outside, and one trying to beat me on the inside! I can't win! I did start reading this book I've had forever this morning. I think it's called Guilt-Free Parenting. I've only read the first few pages, since I basically had a few minutes during lunch, but so far I like it. I'm hoping I start to feel less like a loser mom from reading it. Wish me luck.

Anyway, on a good note, I did pretty well at work this weekend. I am so proud of myself. I made $62 on Friday! Then last night I made $40 or so, and tonight I made $37. Not bad considering it was pretty darn dead last night and tonight. It was so dead tonight I was just plain bored. I begged to be cut, but I was the only one she didn't cut. I think I asked too much. Julia said it's like when your kids ask you for candy to the point that you don't want to give it to them just b/c they asked too much. Yep, that was me tonight. I was so tired. Then I got some coffee, though, and I felt much better. Of course, by then it was pretty much time for me to get off!

Alright, I guess that's good for now. I hope you all are having a great day, and I'll see you again soon.

I think this whole pregnancy and Trey being gone thing is finally starting to really get to me. I don't feel motivated to do ANYTHING anymore. I am more than tired all the time, and I just want someone else here, even for a few minutes, so I can just chill. I have been ignoring my kids more than any parent ever should lately, and I can't do anything to make myself stop. I suck. I want to be normal again. Hopefully when Trey comes here in a couple of weeks it will get better...hopefully...

TJ rented the Cars video game last week. He was awful at it, as was I, but since he didn't know that, he loved it! Taryn also loved pretending to play along:














And, as promised, TJ's new bed!

Today seemed really busy. However, when you really get down to it, I didn't get a whole heck of a lot done. Let's see:

Well, we went and got my brother's old twin-sized bed and gave it to TJ. I got a Spongebob tent to put on it, and he's in hog heaven. All he, and Taryn, wanted to do all day was play in it. Of course, Taryn, when she was ready to get off the bed, would just kinda roll off the side. Not so good....I'll have to take a pic tomorrow so you can see TJ's new "Big Ol', Big Ol', Big Ol' Big Boy Bed".

Later, I took the cheerin' to Ross, TJ Maxx, and Target on a search for A: a cheap blue dust ruffle for the new bed, and B: new shoes for TJ. Both my cheerin' just keep right on growing, regardless of my pleas to stop, and have both outgrown their old shoes. However, neither of these items were found. I was sorely disappointed. I was about to just go to Wal-Mart, knowing what I need is there, until Taryn completely LOST it right before we left Target.

Now, I don't usually let crying bother me. Really, I don't. I have managed to discern real need cries from fussy cries, and can completely tune out fussy cries altogheter. However, if the cries are real, and especially those of pain, every single nerve in my body gets shot. Taryn was crying in this way tonight. She's done this a couple of times lately, too. It seems to always be in the late evening, while we're out in public, and just COMPLETELY out of the blue with no warning signs at all. I was baffled the first couple of times, and for most of this time. However, after the excruciatingly long and nerve-wracking ride home (about five minutes or less), where even TJ jumped out and tried to calm her when we got home, I think I figured out the problem...I hope. Taryn's feet swell up at night.

Okay, let me explain. Once, we went to CiCi's Pizza w/my mom and Bo. Taryn was wearing her new favorite black patent leather shoes, and everything was fine. However, when I put her down to walk at one point, she LOST it. I was trying everything, and I just figured I'd take her shoes off, too. She was silent and happy. I looked at her feet, and her little baby pinky toes looked as if they'd been stuffed into a thimble! I didn't get it, b/c the shoes were too big for her earlier in the day. The same thing happened today. The shoes she was wearing were a size too large earlier, but when I took them off, her little toes were all red and looked like they hurt! I just don't get it. I mean, I know your feet swell up a little later in the day...but a whole shoe size! Enough to really hurt your feet? I'm baffled, really I am.

Anyway, I've gone on long enough. I do have to mention, this, though. TREY IS COMING HOME TO LIVE HERE FOREVER ON AUGUST 21st!!!!!! Isn't that fantastic!? Oh, and he also got a $2500 raise, finally. Yaaa for Trey! I'm so proud of my wonderful hubby! Everyone I've told is thrilled he's finally going to get to come home, too! HOORAY!!!

Alright, have a great day, and I'll see you soon!

Alright, so lately I've been trying to compare pregnancies...Undoubtedly, instead of getting easier, they keep getting worse. Let's have a look-see:

TJ
stretch marks
Braxton-Hicks in the very, very end
swollen ankles, nose, face in the last month,and excruciating headache a week before he was born (however, that's b/c later I found out I had preeclampsia, and was VERY lucky!)
a sleepless night here and there at the end
a perpetual cold
hog-like sweating

Taryn
painful vericose vein in the, ummm, strangest place!
sciatica (TERRIBLE back pain) from about the middle
massive head-in-the-crotch pain near the end
a LOT of sleepless nights in the last couple of months
days where I would wake up and almost fall over from lack of energy
early showing and waddling, like, at three months!
Braxton-Hicks in the last couple months, a little worse than before
a perpetual cold
more stretch marks
hog-like sweating

Braxton
ALWAYS tired
no glowing period in the middle like the other two
frizzy hair instead of nicer hair like the other two
vericose vein, back again, and more painful than before
more than massive head-in-the-crotch pain that started around five months
really bad hip problems
Mostly sleepless nights, starting around four or five months
more days w/no energy
I think I was showing the day I found out I was prego...of course, that could have just been leftovers from Taryn!
sciatica when he feels like it
Braxton-Hicks, already!
a perpetual cold
sitting hurts now, too
hog-like sweating
he's been practicing his karate expertise all this week...on my OVARIES! OUCH!
Of course, my stretch marks aren't worse...they never quite got over Taryn yet!

Yeah, so I'm guessing if I went on for another one, I'd be bedridden by two months...and that would SUPER-SUCK! So, I think I'll stop at three...Do you blame me?

Hope you have a great day! See you soon!

Last night Julia and I worked together. It was simply mahvelous, I tell ya! At one point, I had the crazy notion to dance around like an idiot (which really isn't all that uncommon, but usually I have two kids to kinda pretend I'm entertaining...really, it's just fun for me!). Julia came up and said, "You have PROBLEMS!" I said, "It took you that long to figure it out?" She replied, "Yeah, it took me 20 years to figure it out." Then we both got to thinking, and it occurred to us that, yes, it has been 20 years now that we've known each other. As a matter of fact, it was 20 years this month that we met, on the first day of third grade. That's craaazzzzyy, isn't it? Julia mentioned that we should do something to celebrate our twentieth anniversary, and I totally agreed. Soooooo, what should we do? I'm drawing a blank.

Yep, you got it. I'm asking you to help me figure out what we should do to celebrate our big 20th anniversary of being friends. I mean, that's quite a big thing, you know. I'm not that old, so having had a freind for 20 years is a pretty big accomplishment, especially since I'm, well, not your normal girl. Thankfully, though, I found Julia, another not-so-normal girl. Ahhhh, we were meant to be....

Okay, so help me out. Thanks.

Have a great day, see you soon!

Yesterday was Trey's 30th birthday. It kinda sucked, b/c he had to work and was out of town. However, he came home last night (he has a very big dentist appt. going on as we speak), and we had a tiny little celebration for him. I let the kids stay up till he got home (11:30, not my best decision for sure), and we all made him a surprise birthday cake. It was strawberry cake with strawberry frosting, sprinkles, and Happy Birthday stick-ons and candles. TJ picked out everything, and he and Taryn decorated the whole cake. Can you tell? When he finally got home, TJ and I sang "Happy Birthday" to him, and we all chowed down on some cake. Then it was off to bed. Great party, eh? I really wanted to have an actual party for him, but since I wasn't sure where he would be living when it came, I figured it would be wherever the party wasn't. Oh well, maybe next year. I hear 31 is a big year!

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TREY/DADDY!!! I hope it was a good one. We love you!!!

I hope you have a great day, and I'll see you soon!

Julia asked who our top ten favorite bands of all time are. I really don't get into tags, but for some reason I feel like doing this one. Honestly, right off, I can't think of ten, but I'm hoping they'll come to me as I write. This, for sure, will show just how very different Julia and I are. After you read mine, just take a peak at hers, and you'll totally understand!

1. Marilyn Manson
2. NIN
3. Staind
4. Freedy Johnston
5. Counting Crows
6. Violent Femmes (Well, there's one thing in common!)
7. Nirvana
8. Guns N' Roses
9. Linkin Park
10. Chevelle

You'd think from my list that I have a lot of anger in my or something. Nah. I do love me some hard music, though. Don't get me wrong, I love my ballads, too. Just think of "Don't Cry" by GNR. Ahhh, what a good, sweet song. If I'd had my top twelve or so, Jill Sobule and Jump, Little Children would have totally been up there, too. They are soooooo not hard, but equally great.

Well, there you go. Feel free to chime in, or do your own. I'd love to see yours, compare, that kinda thing. Go Julia for stealing this from Jessica....

Oh, and as far as the job goes, I think for right now I'll stick with Pizza Hut, and look for more lucrative job options. Everyone who said she's too psycho....you're right. Thanks so much for the input, and, as you can see, it really sunk in and influenced my decision.

Hope you have a great day. Talk to you later!

Okay, I'm in a quandry. Here's the deal:

I've been tutoring my mom's neighbor for almost a month now. He took his test today, and passed. Now he is going to the fourth grade. We had to take all of the work he's done up to this point to his teacher, and she said that she noticed marked improvement in his work, especially his writing (which I pounded into his head). However, he did not pass with flying colors. Overall, he really wasn't on grade level, and was actually closer to second grade level on most of it. Since he had made so much improvement in such a short time, though, they said he deserves a try. If he fails the fourth grade, though, he fails the fourth grade, no contract and second chance this time. Therefore, if he wants to pass the fourth grade, which WILL be hard for him, he was sternly warned that he will have to work equally as hard as he did this summer (with me) during the school year so he can keep progressing and hopefully do much better this year. Thus begins my problem.

As you may know already, I've started to work at Pizza Hut with Julia. It's fun, for the most part. It has its positives, like discounted and sometimes free pizzas, working with Julia, and only having to work four days a week. It also has some negatives. For instance, it's going to kill our cars, and it will get costly in gas. My schedule will probably change around here and there, so I'll never know exactly what days I'll be working each week. Even when I do work, I don't know when I'll be cut, and consequently, I'll never really know how much money I'll be making and if it's enough, also since I'll be working for tips. As well, there's the whole safety issue, which is why Trey and my mom didn't want me to do it to begin with. This is stuff I already thought about before I started, but at the time I just really needed a way to make money while I'm prego, and it's not like too many places want to hire someone six months pregnant, and there aren't that many jobs I can really do right now.

Then there's my other job offer. It's to keep tutoring my mom's neighbor kid, and a family friend's kid, and watch them after school everyday for about 4-5 hours. The pluses are that I would know how much money I would be making each week, and basically what hours it would be. I could work it out to where I watch them and keep my kids around, so I wouldn't necessarily have to get my mom to watch them. These kids would be a little easier to watch b/c they are older, so it wouldn't kill me as much as it did when I was watching kids in Columbia. Plus, it's later in the day, so I wouldn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn, either. Then, of course, there are the negatives. The mom is, ummm, how you say...pushy, and pretty demanding, and, like my mom said, could very easily turn this into something more w/o even a thought. I don't know the other kid, and he could be Satan. It would be five days a week I was committed to, and that's a lot. Plus, there would likely be teacher workdays, which I could probably handle alright, and school breaks, which would suck.

So I don't know what to do. Now, of course, the latter job would all depend on whether or not they agreed to my price and specifics. I have decided that if I go along, they would have to have a back-up plan for when one of my kids is sick, or when I want to go out of town, and when I have the baby. They would have to pay me more for school breaks if I watched the kids all day. Stuff like that, and I'm sure there's more I should say. I just know that as annoying as these people are to me, it really excited me to see that he had made progress in such a short time working with me. I won't deny that the kid is hell to work with, but the thought of being able to teach him more kinda excites me. It's the whole reason I went into teaching, special ed. even!

I'm so torn. What do you think? I just don't know what to do. Trey seems to think I should, but shouldn't. My mom and Bo seem to think I shouldn't. I just don't know.