Winter Blahs???

I'm not sure if this minor funk that I'm in is the winter doldrums or just life getting too far ahead of me, but lately I've been feeling like work, home and parenting has been sucking the life right out of me.  Even one of my dear coworkers has picked up on it.  I've been a bit of a crankass lately.  It's pretty bad when my crankypants mood crosses over into the workplace because I am usually very good at leaving work stuff at work and home stuff at home.   I love my family more than life but I need a break!  So I've decided that Mark and I are going to get away sans kids for a weekend.  Yippee!  My mom has graciously agreed to watch the boys for me so we can do this.  We probably won't be able to do this until the beginning of March but it gives me something to look forward to during these long winter months!

Just trying to figure out how to do pictures on this...I'm, shall we say, technologically challenged.  Hence the serious lack of pictures on this blog.  But here's one of me that my Aunt Verna sent that she found from when I was 20 months old.  I was a cutie!

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out the scanner too.  Mark isn't home to help me so I'm left to my own devices.

'Tis The Season...

...to make those doctor's appointments!
I have a few to make in the next week or so...seems like time has gotten away from me what with the new kid and all (shocker!!!) soooo......here's what I have to do in no particular order.

1. Regular appointment with my PCP since I haven't had a checkup since my 6-week postnatal appointment.  Mainly so I can stay on my med and she can tell me I'm healthy in every way but I'm overweight.  Because for some darn reason I always seem to be forgetting that bit of information.
2. Eye appointment...because I'm blind as a frickin' bat and I have vision insurance and can get 1 pair of specs and an appointment each year for really cheap.  Maybe this will be the year for contacts.
3. Dental appointment...because I missed that last appointment at 7 am and didn't reschedule.  What was I thinking when I made an appointment at that time of day???
4. Mammogram...because now I have a family history.  This is really the first time I have put this out there and I have been resisting out of respect to my sister who hasn't told her friends about it and I have 2 of her friends as facebook friends but I need to get it out so here it is...my mom was diagnosed last July with breast cancer.  Every once in a while she decides to get healthy and do appointments and such so she had a mammogram.  They found something wonky on it so they sent her to get another one at a different location.  Apparently what they saw turned out to be nothing.  However, the second mammogram picked up something in the other twin in the other twin that they missed the first time around which turned out to be cancerous.  Thankfully it was found very early and was considered stage 1.  She had a lumpectomy in July, went through radiation(which kicked her ass hard) and now she's taking oral chemo which makes her sick.  But she's cancer free!  Woo hoo!  So anyway, I promised her that I'd get one this year and I'm keeping that promise.

Contrary to popular belief, people with breast cancer aren't all that interested in being reminded about it.  A few weeks after my mom's lumpectomy I read an article in a magazine about a woman going through treatment and she was basically tired of seeing the pink ribbons everywhere she turns.  I asked my mom if she feels like that and she said "Oh yeah!"  Apparently those with the disease really don't like to be reminded of it.  Now when I see all these pink products and pink ribbons and all this other stuff like putting your bra color on facebook for breast cancer awareness, I think to myself "You know, I'm really all TOO aware, thank you very much!"  I don't mean to lessen the importance of awareness or anything.  My MIL also had it and conquered it but ended up dying from the bone cancer that came up about 6 months after.  Anyway, all's I'm saying is that if you want to get something pink ribbon-y or a book for someone with this disease, reconsider. Or at least don't get a sad serious book about breast cancer.  Get Erma Bombeck or Gilda Radner.  If anything, laughter is what she needs!  And less pink.

Obligatory Post For the New Year.

Well.  Another year down the tubes.  What did I do up in 2009?  Not a whole lot...work, kids, house.  Same old same old.   Oh wait!   I had a newborn!  Now that's exciting!  Seriously though, the last year has very good to me.  Raising  Lucas and Garrett is a lot of fun.  I gotta say though, raising Lucas is definitely is not turning out to be old-hat like I thought it would be.  For one thing there is a 9 and 3/4 year age difference between the 2 boys.   That make mama a bit rusty.  And another thing(you've probably heard me say this before)...those boys are almost complete opposites.  Sure, some say they both look alike but that's where the similarity ends.  You can pretty much bank on Lucas doing the opposite thing that Garrett did at various stages of babyhood. 

But anyway enough about the kids.  What else did I do in 2009?  I "moved" from Auburn to Lewiston work-wise.  It was a very good move for me since I was spinning my wheels in Auburn because I wasn't really doing what my job description entailed and they needed someone in one of the Lewiston stores so I was asked to switch and I said "Sure, why not?"  It was supposed to be a temporary switch but it turned into a permanent one.  The best part?  The move was just across the river so I didn't have to add much of a commute.  So I guess I didn't get a whole lot accomplished but those dang kids take up a chunk of my time!
Kidding.  Sort of.  I didn't get my freezer cleaned out in 2009 but I will be doing that shortly in 1010 since it's fricking cold outside so I have a place to stash the goods while the freezer is defrosting.  I'm looking forward to the "3 guesses what this is" part.  If I can't guess it in 3 tries it goes in the trash.  This is a good segue into the second part of what I want to accomplish in the new year--more organization.  I have waaaayyyyy too much clutter in my house and playing the Where's the Remote game gets tiresome.   I'm going to put that shredder to good use!  A related plan to the organization thing...grocery lists.  I can't count the number of times I've gone into the store to "just get a couple of things" and ended up spending $100!  So I need to do the weekly menu-planning thing and shopping once a week(with coupons, natch).  This will help in the next thing...spending less $$$.  2009 found me buying lots and lots of things that I really didn't NEED but thought I did at the time.  Books? My goodness, I probably have like 20 books that I haven't read yet taking up overflow space near my bookshelf.  I work full-time and I have 2 kids.  Do I really have time to read all those?  More cans of diced tomatoes?  If I reorganized my pantry I'd probably find 20 cans.   The final thing I need to work on...using my treadmill for something besides Mark's clothesrack.  So in a nutshell what I need to do is do more with less and simplify.  Hopefully this will be my year and yours as well.  Feel free to share what you plan to do in the upcoming year.  I love hearing other people's ideas since I rarely have good ones of my own!

Well,  I don't know if I'll ever be a SAHM(sniff sniff) because life just doesn't work that way for me apparently.  I think it's because God wants me to stay employed because I'm the best pharmacy tech in all the land (HAHAHAHAHA).....um, no.  Anyway, we bought a new computer because Mark thought our other one was fried so we shell out over $1000 on a new one because it has to be powerful enough for gaming.  Not a requirement for me, but whatever, what do I know about computers?  Precious little, that's what!  So Mark sets it up on his day off and decides to try out the old computer just to see if it was the CPU and not something else.  It ended up being something else.  Apparently the monitor and the keyboard decided to die together(awww how sweet).  So there's a $1000 mistake for you!  Now we have a computer for Garrett to beat up on.  Speaking of Garrett and computers(going off on a tangent for a bit here)...Mark happened to be looking on my profile on my laptop for something and noticed in the history that Garrett was searching for "viginas".  He figured that it was Garrett because of the misspelling--like I would look that up!  Seriously?  Anyway, I had to change the passwords on both computer profiles, set up Garrett's own profile and add on parental restrictions.  Everyone says to have a computer in a common setting of the house, which I do.  He only plays on the laptop when I'm around to supervise.  Seems to me I wasn't doing enough snooping over his shoulder to see what he was looking up!   OK, back to the subject...another money sucker right now...Mark's $1300 car repair bill! And this is just preventive stuff, folks.  The ol' Mazda needs new brakes, 2 new tires, an oil change and coolant flush.  I'm thinking I may want to go to mechanic school.  Those guys can rake in some bucks!

Just a Rant so I Can Get it All Out

As I have already stated in my last post, I really want to be a SAHM.  However, right now that's not feasible so work I must.  That being said, I really like my job.  Otherwise I wouldn't have been there as long as I have!  I have been a pharmacy technician for over 9 years and most days the job is rewarding.  Other days, not so much.  One can only take so much getting yelled at by other people.  My personal fave these days is when I get yelled at because their doctor did not call in their prescription, even though we have already requested a new prescription 3 TIMES!!!  I mean, seriously, is there a reason why people can't do things themselves?  I know this is part of my job and everything, but getting yelled at because a doctors office didn't call us back in a timely matter is very uncool.  One of my sisters is in the same line of work and we have discussed this issue before. I quote her when I say this:  "It's bad enough that we have to hand them the Charmin, but do we have to wipe their butts for them too?"

I Want to Be a SAHM

I never thought I'd say this, but my current dream is to be a SAHM.  I was just thinking the other day "Kel, what is your next goal?"  My whole life I've had these huge personal goals and once one has been met, I'd move on to the next one.  So here's my checklist and when they were accomplished:

1. Graduate from college.  Goal reached 12/95.
2. Land a job which uses my degree.  Goal reached 5/96.
3. Meet my Knight in Shining Armour.  Goal reached 6/97. (In the form of Mark)
4. Marry said knight. Goal reached 7/98.
5. Have a baby.  1st part of goal reached 3/14/00 (Garrett) 
6. Buy a house.  Goal reached 12/04.
7. Have another baby.  Goal reached 12/22/08.

That's my list.  I was kinda bummed the other day because I was thinking, what do I have to look forward to now?  My kids getting out of the house?  That's going to take forever!  I need something a little more short term.  The wheels in my head started turning and I said "Aha!  I could be a SAHM!"  I figure the easiest and quickest way to do this is to win Powerball.  Seeing how that is very highly unlikely, I have to have a plan B.  My plan will probably start out as a goal to shorten my hours at work from 40 to 30.  That way I can still stay "full time" and keep my insurance (Mark's insurance @his work is not nearly as good as mine.) I also have to get everyone in the house on board with the belt tightening.  I can't do it all myself after all.  This plan will probably take a few years since we have a bit of debt to work down.  Realistically, I'm hoping to have this accomplished by the time Lucas is in school.   I'll post about this from time to time to report how it's going!