Nanamom's thoughts Blog

I got a phone call from the sheep and dog owner (see last entry) to check on how our little one's face is doing. She was in tears and explained that they had decided to have the dog destroyed. We are heartbroken for them. There are 3 or 4 kids who love that dog and don't understand. She told me they are afraid that they don't know thedog as well as they thought they did and really feel it must have him put down for safety in the future. while we understand and probably would do the same ourselves we hurt for them. they are afraid if I hadn't reacted as quickly as I did the damage would have been worse (it was awfully close to his eye) and they may be right. We are praying for their comfort and that the kids understand.

Have you ever seen a sheep sheared? The lady that runs my fiber arts group has sheep and she agreed to let our little one watch them get sheared. WE were thrilled and dutifully kept him up past nap to see this event. As we waited for the shearer (he works for the same company my DH does and as a systems analyst too we found out, small world!!)Anyway we were shown th enew chicks and old chickens and then DS2 requested to see the dog. I met this dog about a year ago, not friendly but OK. The man who owned him said he jumps and reached to hold him down at that moment he chose to not jump, instead he took my little on's face in his mouth. Needless to say DS2 screamed I swung him out of the way and into my arms (I was holding his hand at the time. I thought emergency medicine did things for your adrenaline,... it's got nothing on this. The dog didn't do any permanent damage, no puncture wounds just some scrapes from chin to temple. He is used to older kids that play rough and wear gloves so I am sure it wasn't done with intent to damage, my little one accepted the he plays rough explanation (after Mom calmed him down, cleaned cuts, kissed them better and prayed over them) He even asked to see him again. (I told him we didn't have time) Needless to say the owners felt awful. Shots were up to date and no harm done but to my nerves.

When my DH and I first embarked on the adventure of adoption we were warned that it taeks years for the children to feel "really secure" WE were told about a child who 18 months (almost to the day of arrival at his adoptive parents house) packed his bags because that was the longest he'd ever stayed anywhere. I thought that adopting a 1 year old would prevent our going through that. Boy was I wrong!!!! My MIL came to see her grandson last month. I hadn't even considered that there would be a problem although we had realized that it has been about a year we have been his parents. After enduring a screaming session the likes of which I have never seen (nor want to again) he asked me to send Grandma home and said he'd be good. I was confused until he asked me to stay with him. I still couldn't believe a little one could imagine that we would give him up until the next day when I told him we were taking Grandma to the dock so she could catch the boat home (she had decided to leave early when we realized he was upset) and he said, "I have go too? I want stay wif Mommy and Daddy, I be good." It broke our hearts. We held him and explained that we are his parents and he didnt' have to go with Grandma. He has been his usual sunny self since.

Actually I'm not asking why my DS2 is stubborn I understand it is because he is 2 I am saying that the Why stage accompanied by the stubborn stage is very frustrating for Mom and Dad. I am determined to win the battles as well as the war though because I do not want a house ruled by a teenager in a few years. It means he spends many more minutes than I would like on the time out chair. We encourage questions but it is interesting to come up with answers for the 5th why in a row sometimes! Right now Grandma is visiting and we cringe sometimes when he is playing and tells his toys they are naughty and need a time out. Needless to say she would rather spoil him. If any of you want to see a picture of our little one, just look up obstinate in the dictionary, I'm sure a picture is in there!

MIL day is three days away and my to do list keeps getting bigger. I bought a copy of a magazine my Mom used to read (we all dived for it when it came) Not sure if I can give the name here or not so won't. It got me thinking alot about what I want in a house someday. Someday better happen soon since I am getting up there! I really want to go to alternative type housing that is more "earth friendly" Or at least convert whatever we get to be that way.
I sent my DDil and my DD a small mothers day gift to thank them for being the mother of my grandchildren. I probably sent the wrong thing but I do try. It's hard to be so far away but at least I have that excuse. I'd hate to be giving the wrong thing if I lived in the same town!
We are going to Florida at the end fo this month. DH has a seminar there he has to attend and he insisted (yes he really had to insist!) that we both go along. We are going to see my niece that lives there whom I haven't seen in 3 1/2 years and my sister whom I haven't seen in 4 years. We don't plan on doing the "usual" big parks since I don't want to take anyone who isn't old enough to remember (it's a once in a lifetime expense) having been there without pictures! We are going to go to the space center and the "big fish park" though. I am not really looking forward to amusing a 2 3/4 year old in a hotel for three days while Dad goes to class. His meals are at the convention so we won't even get to see him when we eat our PB&J that I am packing in an extra suitcase. Guess our community helper will be airport people for that week. We do a different one a week. This week we visited an ambulance and talked to a paramedic (I was one.) Last week we met the local Chief of police and an officer. We're writing our own book. It's fun.
Anyone who lives in Orlando have any suggestions for cheap stuff to do?

Last month I paid what I thought was the last payment to the hospital on my DH broken wrist (it only took 2 years!) I paid the usual payment because they had agreed to credit my account (should take forever to pay that one off!) with the rest. Instead I receive a check from them. Of course I got a letter complaining that I hadn't paid anything on my account that month. I called and the girl said she decided not to credit my account with the balance but that any future payments would be credited to my account instead of being sent back. I opened an emmigrant account and am awaiting the letter confirming it so I can figure out how to give ing referrals. , and apply for the "refund" through SA site. I hope I did everything right.

i've been waiting for spring cleaning inspiration to hit. In this state spring seems to be a state of mind, not a state of the weather. It hit this morning. My mother in law called, she'll be here in 10 days for a visit of indeterminate length. OK, How many things can I get done by then!!!!

And I don't want to be. In way too few hours a little tiny voice will call out my name (Mommy) and my day will be off and running. Unfortunately the day I am talking about is the one I am currently awake in. It is after 1 A.M. here and I am not asleep. That is very very bad. Instead of peaceful rest I am on a web site blogging. I was hoping being on the computer would provide enough distraction that I would get sleepy. Instead I'm just more frustrated by my inability to sleep, perchance to survive tomorrow - Is that how that goes?

Today I mean. It all started at 12:38 AM when I finally went to bed, I wasn't tired but was sure I would be a bit later (like when my toddler woke up.) I was RIGHT!! What I didn't know was that he would awaken at 5:30 AM and shortly afterward throw up all over me. Like I said today HAS to get better.

Not very far admittedly but every little bit helps. DH got a bonus. We put half away for our trip in the fall and I am starting an ING account in his name with part. I'll use one of our invites so we get extra money. Then when the time limit is over we can use the money for something else (like part of a car payment) In addition he got a raise. We are raising the percentage that goes into our 401 K with part of it, raising our tithe as usual (we add a percent every August) and using the rest (about 1@ percent)to pay the incredible heating bills etc we are getting! I am so thankful we were able to pay off the CC debt because the heating bills would have made even minimum payments tough. They tell me spring does happen here and even summer for a day or two but not until most places are sweltering. Oh well I'd just complain about the AC bill if we lived in a warmer place.

10 days on the road with a 2 year old, who can beat it? Actually he is a good traveler. We saw family, All my kids and grandkids in the same place at the same time!! Plus I got to show them off to my sisters (some of them) and brother. We saw 2 zoos, a cool children's museum, and had fun renewing old acquaintances. I discovered my old college friends got old (I didn't!) It was observed that I have the oldest children of all of us college buddies, as well as the youngest children and I have the only grandchildren. Shopping was fun too. On the way home we found a great sale at a store I thought I wold never be able to afford. I got a purse (mine was literally falling apart at the seams) for 10 morked down from 50. Our dog (16 years old) travels with us so we were glad the weather was coolish. Not bad to us northern folks although my southern bird grandkids were cold. When we got home we discovered the house was 55 degrees, and that was because the furnace was running. (please don't write and tell me it is 80 degrees in your yard!) DH had a job interview on the way home that if the Lord provides that position will bring us a whole day closer to the grandkids. All in all a very productive tiring 10 days. And when we got home and got the mail we discovered DH had been paid a bonus, not sure yet why but glad to have it!

I was telling one of the Mom's who brings her DS to playgroup about my "car deals" and she said she was going to go after the Lowes card. She also said she got a 10 dollar card to Tractor Supply in the mail and didn't shop there. She gave it to me and we got a 50 # bag of bird seed for free. DS2 can't wait to feed the birds. We picked up stuff for the road at Aldi's which cost but not as much as stopping for food would. I sold two books at half in the last two days. I thought I was done selling books since I hadn't sold any in a couple weeks. I have to put my stuff in vacation mode before I leave.

We had to go into the next town (about 25 minutes by car)to get tennis shoes for DS2 last night so I took the ads I had gotton for car deals with us. We visited two dealerships and as a "special promotion" received two gift cards for $5.00 each. One from Lowes (going to my son in law in case supplies for his project run over) and one for Walmart (using that one for adhesive for DS2 scrapbook). We were honest and upfront with the guys, we aren't in the market but the potential (we are trying to adopt a sibling group) is there for us to need a bigger vehicle). We also found tennis shoes and sandals on sale for DS2. The cost of gas is far outweighed by the gift cards especially since we needed to go anyway. Today is DH last day of work until we get back from our trip on the 24th. I like scheduling around holidays! I also filled out a form (courtesy of my points) for a $20 gift card to Lowes (also going to son in law) becasue I signed up for some thing I can cancel and not owe on. All in all not a bad day, especially for my son in law!!!!

Today we went outside and looked for puddles to stomp in because Grandma sent him rubber rain boots that look like dinosaurs and a raincoat to match. Adorable but something I would never spend money on. Yesterday I finally got to go for a walk. I haven't been blogging or entering my days results in self becasue with everyone sick there have been NO results or walking. DH has an interviel on the 24th in Ohio. We are praying for direction. We would like to be closer to the kids and grandkids but don't want to get ahead of God. I spent way too long looking for someone on the internet today. I would like to locate a couple of college friends but this is too much like work. I'm going to go back to sewing during nap time instead fo the computer. I need to get more done. If the Lord tells us to move I will be super busy! (and super broke) The next challenge will be gettin gout of the lease!

We had a total fo 5 perscriptions to get filled when we left the Doctor's office (Thank God for health insurance). DH still isn't feeling well but DS2 has stopped coughing and I am feeling better. Neither of the last two have taken any of the medicine prescribed as yet. He gave it to me "in case we need it on our trip". it is a great spring day outside and when nap time is over (no I don't get to nap) we are going outside. We went to the library today and saw a 4 year old who only weighs 2 pounds more than my DS2 (age 2). I know that sounds strange but I am tired of hearing "he's so small" My DH has an interview while we are on the way home that if he accepts the job would put us within a day's drive of grandkids (as opposed to 2 days). It would kill our emergency fund to pay for the move but that can't be helped and we would pay it back quickly.

The worst part of being sick is how much it ends up costing us. We don't pay anything fo rthe scripts the doctor has written Thank God, there are 4 to date and will be at least 3 or 4 more today. We are paying a mint for OTC stuff that only helps mask symptoms for a bit. We are on our 5th bottle of orange liquid and only because when I saw how much we were using I stopped taking it!! We have bought three different kinds of pills and at least two or three pediatric medicines since this started 2 weeks ago. The really bad part is I am not cooking as much as I should. I give in when DH wants to go get a pizza or go out. He is trying to save me work and I appreciate it but we are killing our budget this week.
I finally took three huge bags of clothes to the goodwill of stuff he won't wear and I don't need anymore since I never expect to be a "professional" again.

Today we take DS2 to the doctor. For the last two weeks we have been sniffing, sneezing and coughing in a progressively worse way. Last Monday I took DH to the Doctor this Monday it is DS2 Next Monday ... Wait NO we are leaving for Pittsburgh next Monday!! No illness allowed.
We did go to the Children's festival and saw everyone we know that has kids of an appropriate age. It was fun. DS2 made lots of cool junk and had a good time visiting the booths. I especially liked the home builders booth. They had a variety of wood projects available to be hammered together. Everything from a doll cradle to a bird feeder. DS2 mad me a bird feeder with some help form DH and it is outside. We also picked up some great ideas for when the older boys come to visit. The other great booth was athe music one. He got to try a violin, slide trombone, guitar, and several differnet drums. They had some cool stuff outside as well like a bulldozer to "try" and an airplane to sit in as well as a bucket truck to go up in (we didn't do that, he lost patience with the long long line) It was a cool day but he was up way past naptime. I was horrifyed to learn that he was one of the few saying please and thank you. Several booth people commented on his manners being the unusual. It was great to hear him being appreciated but awful to hear how rare that is.

Tomorrow the local community is doing a free kids day (ages 2 to 10) at a local high school. Of course all the booth people hope that if they let my little one do some cool thing I will see the need for their product. I used to make a living in sales, I am very hard to sell to (unless you're a kid of course) so we are going to do cool things for free! 10 more days to the big trip (Pittsburgh) and I can hug my kids and grandkids. I can hardly wait.

I went online today and discovered that my sharebuilder bonus has been credited to my account. That is a free $50.00. I have made two purchases of stock through them and after getting my email set up the account to use the 50 next Tuesday to purchase more of the same. The catch will be remembering to reset my account back to the smaller amount every month when this transaction goes through.

As I glanced out the kitchen window I was startled to see visitors. I ran and picked up DS2 so he could see too. He looked and said, "1, 2 dog Mommy, open door and let dem in I pay wit dem. (Pretty good sentence for a 2 year old!) I tried to explain the strange dog rule but he thought I was crazy since he never met a dog he didn't bond with immediately and the smaller of the two (German Short hair mix) was jumping on our door wagging from nose to tail. The other was watching and wagging as well. He was bigger. I finally convinced him that this was our dog's house and she didn't want company. Meanwhile she was sound asleep in the bedroom (16 years old next week, she's almost always sound asleep) It was cute and we had to call DH and tell him all about it. I also carefully locked the screen so he wouldn't decide that they needed to meet her! He is so much fun! I have a feeling with his interest in animals this place will look like an ark soon . Won't be the first time I remember several bunnies, hamsters, gerbils, lizards, birds, turtles, fish, cats and this same dog the first time around.

This month will have a challenge. We are going on vacation with all kids and grandkids. We hope to come home with the same CC balance we left with (60.00 because we needed an IPass for tolls and didn't want to open our bank account to them) I went through DH closet and discovered all but one pair of pants are too small. (He has gained some of what he lost over the last two years) Unfortunately I can't just say well no clothes till you lose it and I can't get that size at thrift stores or goodwill so we are going clothes shopping. I was going to do a major amount of baking before we leave but decided to save the money (and calories).My sharebuilder account was added to yesterday (first Tuesday of every month) which makes me feel good. I paid the bills online yesterday which is nice and isn't. On one hand it is more accurate but on the other still seems like play money because I am not filling out checks. Oh well. Our budget has been met for another two weeks. We have meat in the freezer from our last share pick up that we didn't eat due to lent and we will have a pick up while we are gone (Thank God for nice people who have freezers, I'd hate to miss that savings) So our grocery bill will be radically down for the rest of April, which is good since our travels take us to several major shopping districts that I am not normally near. No I'm not compulsive but there are several things we do without until we get to a "big" city (real city) and then we need to stock up or do Christmas shopping, depending on what is on sale.

I think it will take until after May (at least of this year) to see some flowering in our budget. I am now paying medical bills and we just went to the doctor yesterday again. Of course that was the only doctor we had almost paid off. Someday I want to pay bills and not have any continuing charges for next month. Since we paid off the CC last month we of course have residual interest to pay off this month. On a positive note, our case study should be done in the next week or two, just waiting for recs to come back in the mail. Our plans for Pittsburgh are going well. It will cost a bit but we need a break and it will be awesome to see all the kids and grandkids at once. Not to mention the newest arrival. Now if we can just get everyone healthy. I have been thinking about the car and van payments and I really wnat to start adding to them. The money I am paying the doctors would have been nice but oh well, guess it would be more expensive if I hadn't let them work on me. (DH would be pricing child care and funerals)

I don't remember the last time I was fooled. I don't even remember the last time I was surprised! On Saturday morning (very early) I was online about to go to this site. My cell phone rang and as I talked to my caller the home page came up. I was startled to see the sold article and read the headline outloud. Caller was outraged as was I and went online to read the whole article while I went on to look up what the call was about. We talked and commented (none of which was complimentary to the site owners!) for a bit and then I had to leave. My DH and I,who as far as I know has never been on the site, and I ranted, I mean discussed. this turn of events in the car as well. A couple hours later I had another phone call from the same person. It seems that the next person to find out in our private chain had the presence of mind to check out the new "owners" Of the three of us who know each other and frequent the site only one checked things out all the way. I hate to admit it but the level headed one is male. As I said I don't remember the last time anyone fooled me like that. Thanks for the good laugh and boy are we relieved!

I haven't been on here for awhile. I have been checking my favorite blog (Princess Perky)and the site however. I haven't blogged because nothing is new, we have colds, the case study still isn't finished and we are still broke. I did figure out how much we owe in medical bills but it is a depressing number (a large depressing number) Oh well at least there is no interest and they all are taking payments. Actually on a plus note 2 of the Doctors offices will be paid off this month. That only leaves three and the back taxes my X stuck me with to pay monthly (and the vehicles of course) My goal (not sure it is realistic but am trying) is to have everything paid off by the end of 2007 so we can look at going into the mission field. Pittsburgh is in less than 3 weeks (17 days to be exact) and I can hardly wait to hug the rest of my kids, grandkids, and meet the newest arrival. I am looking forward to seeing my sister and brother and their family also.

We changed our deductable on DH W4 and it did raise our paycheck a bit. He is hoping for a raise so we didn't get too carried away with how high we went. We have a deduction that carries over from last year so we know we will be able to at least break even wit the IRS next year. I think we will be able to pay the bills and still eat this pay period. I am so looking forward to cheaper gas bills and paying off the medical bills so there is some money in the budget. We didn't go on the yearly pay plan with the heat bill because we thought we would be moving before summer. Now we arent' but it isn't cost effective to go on until next winter whihc we expect to be ouw last winter here so we don't want to go on it then either. I need to add up all the medical bills and see exactly how much we owe and how long it will take to clear them. After our trip to Pittsburgh we will be making double car payments which will help also. There are 11 months left on the car I plan on paying it off before our trip to Washington DC.

OK, I never said it couldn't get worse!! Now my DH and DS2 have colds (I'm in denial about my health condition regarding colds!!) My DS2 is complaining his "nose is leaking" It's really cute but he is also whining ALOT. Oh well. Tomorrow we are going to see Veggie Tales live! It is a 2 hour drive so I hope everyone is up to it. The tickets weere a splurge but he really is a big big fan so they are worth it. I'm still being successful at finding weight. I want to walk some off but it is too cold for them to go out with colds in fact it snowed last night. Is is Spring somewhere? When we moved here we were told that if we didn't like the weather just wait a day and it would change. I didn't realize they meant it would get worse.

I'm tired of being cold (it is warming up outside so why am I colder than I have been all winter?)
I'm tired of being hungry (trying to lose weight and it keeps finding me)
I'm tired fo being broke (CC bills gone, almost paid off my DH medical bills from accident in Nov. 2004 and now I have my medical bills form Jan 2006, plus two cars)
OK, my DS2 was up for severla hours last night, which means I was so I apologize for whining to anyone who didn't read the warning title on this post!

I haven't blogged for awhile since nothing is new. My DH is going to Orlando for a conference at the end of May. My MIL offered to pay part of the cost for DS2 and I to join him but I think we will pass. Our share would be close to 1000.00 which takes away form our pay off program. Granted at least we aren't thinking of using credit cards but still I don't want to take the money we could use for three extra car payments. We also hope to have a bigger family by then so it would be academic. We are going to Pittsburgh in April right after Easter with 10 percent of our income tax money. My project for this week is to find accomodations with a room we can have a reunion in. The kicker is it has to take dogs as our pet sitter is out of town that week.

The IRS came through! The tax refund hit the account yesterday and the CC bills are paid in full!! We also put money away for the trip to DC and the trip to PGH. All we have left are two vehicles (lots of interest) and the medical bills (no interest). I am afraid we will be adding a couple when we go to the dentist (my mouth has hurt for weeks now) but will cross that bridge when we come to it. I even remembered to hang laundry yesterday! Next project is to pay off the newer vehicle. We only save 175 if we pay off the car and it will be paid off in December anyway so we want to hit the van hard with cash. I am going to try double payments and see if we can swing it.

My son in law is awesome!! He tried to instant message me on my birthday! Instant messaging in any form lasts about a week on this old computer and then it blows it up for two weeks so I gave up trying after my DS got back from Iraq. When he couldn't get me he tried this forum but I wasn't on yet then he left a message after I finally got on. I am sooo blessed to have a SIL that is thoughtful. Thanks DD for marrying the right one! Today I try paying bills online! for free!!! no more postage for bills!