Funny How This Works...

My brain is weird..

Or maybe it's just me.

So, after my post about hiring a housekeeper, I got into the cleaning mood. I made time, but it involved all but ignoring the children. And when I say ignoring, I really just mean they were playing by themselves, which is good for them. I just like playing with them!

I don't have my referral's number yet, so I haven't gotten to bite the bullet.. but I am trying to think of all the things I'd like done once I do get to hire her.

Today, I scrubbed the baseboards. Literally. We have white baseboards, which are pretty... when clean. I don't think I even want to paint them a different color to hide the dirt thought... it seems like a cop out. And I like being held accountable. If it's hidden, I ignore it. So, that's not good. I also washed a lot of the doors and switch plates. It's amazing how gross they get...

If I could hire someone to do just one thing, it would be to clean my floors and baseboards... I think that's what causes me the most anxiety.

My back is killing me after all that.

I need moar moolah.

Broke as a Joke...

... but biting the bullet.

Brian has said for years "Hire someone."

And I've always said "We can't afford it."

Then I got to thinking... my sanity can no longer handle a lot of the little things that bother me in my life. And I know this is a "first world problem".. I should buck up and do it all... with a smile. But that's not where I'm at.

I need things to be clean. It is a constant struggle to do that with 3 other people in this house, plus myself.. destroying it on a daily basis. And given that we live in a house that is way too big for us (now.. it'll be perfect when the kids are teens).. I just can't keep up.

After griping and begging (for years) for Brian to help more around the house and getting the typical run around - when I know he's thinking "This is woman's work!" because that's how he was raised.. argh - I'm hiring someone. I hope they are available. They currently clean my bff's house twice a month. I'm going to try and budget for a weekly ordeal.

This will give me a lot of time to do other things.. like work. I have some pretty hefty goals for myself and the only way I can make those goals is to let other things go. If this goes well and I start making money, I might be contracting out the yard work too.. although that would make me sad as I really do love mowing. I just hate edging.



So here goes nothing.... money isn't everything, right? Ugh.

Ramblings...

Oh boy... I can't really complain about life after all the people of Boston and West have gone through. I can hope that those people are getting the help they need to move forward in life. I hope that the bomber gets his day in court and justice is served. I hope that the people of West find answers as to why this happened to them.

I have been working. Kind of. I started coding again and spent most of the last two weeks crying because I have forgotten almost everything I once knew. It was embarrassing. It was disheartening.. and most of all discouraging. Because the one thing I could call myself besides a label associated with family is a web developer. I'm not even sure I can do that anymore.

The site I had proved to be too much for me to handle. I contracted it out. The first time I have ever had to do that. BUT... as I got the site back, I realized that while my profit is gone, I now have a custom template to learn from on the side. I have a major project I want to get moving on and this may be what I need to get back in the game. I'm trying to look at the positives instead of my ultimate defeat with this site.

I just realized that school is only in session one more month. Then summer begins. I need to get moving on my agenda for the summer so that I have a plan to keep Kaylee engaged, learning and also not bored. As much as I want to hate it, Pinterest will probably save me with this.

Liam is still being as cute as ever.. still not walking, which surprises me, but doesn't really bother me. As soon as he does, they'll be going in opposite directions even faster than they already do.

This summer will also mark a lot of changes at our house. Only cosmetic. I'll be painting A LOT. And building out our guest bedroom. My best friend and I randomly came up with a plan to solve both our problems and save us money. She needs a queen size bed and I need a twin. So, we'll be trading bedroom suites over the summer. This will make room for my future office/craft/scrap/book/biz room.. I can't wait!

And as a final note to this ramble:

(scene)
Kaylee is freshly out of the bath and on the bathroom counter. I'm drying her off about to get her ready for bed.

(act)
She twists around, flings the towel off of her and sticks her butt in my face.
Kaylee: MY BUTT! It needs panties!

Why yes... yes it does... My 2 year old cracks me up on a daily basis. I'm so thankful for that.

Watch this...

If you ever doubt your beauty...

The Light

When this blog was started almost 5 years ago, I vowed I would not be negative on it. I have a place for that but it's private, which is good for venting all the stupid stuff I get worked up about.

This year, I have failed. Last year, life took a really hard turn downward and it was nothing I could control. No one I reached out to could or would help. And those who have offered... well, I sincerely thank you, but I didn't want to drag any of ya'll into the drama that was unfolding. I think venting here was a major cry for help even though I knew I really couldn't accept it. And I am sorry for that. I'm sorry for being vague.

Things still aren't better on that front. But, other areas of my life have calmed down. My bff (whom I rarely get to see.. who lives a mere 3 minutes from me... who is more busy with work, two small kids, a husband who is always working, all the kid's activities, the house, her on-the-side biz...) and I got together a lot the last two weeks trying to set up for a garage sale this past Saturday. We discovered something really powerful. There was no real catching up because frankly, there's just too much to share in what little time we know we have together.. so we focused on the moment.

It was glorious. We've since vowed to go out at least once a month (yes, we go MONTHS without seeing each other). We've vowed to scrap more. We've found to just touch base more. We've vowed to help keep each other from going into the depths of hell.

The last two weeks have been great. I've felt really good emotionally. And if I can stay up, I know I can make it through the trauma my family has suffered over the last 6 months.

My next fear... summer vacation officially starts for Kaylee on May 24th. I need to get organized and figure out my plan of attack beforehand.. otherwise, I fear I'll give up and let her watch Mickey Mouse all day long. I refuse to be that kind of mom. 

Should I have four kids?

The answer, of course is no.. but this post makes a compelling argument!

Most Hilarious Post I've Seen To Date

Liam turns ONE!

That's right... Liam turned one on Easter. It was an exhausting day with us getting up at 5am to be ready and at sunrise service by 7. But we made it, even though we don't really look all that happy about it. After church, we went to my grandmother's for an Easter egg hunt and lunch, then we came home and had the kids nap for a little bit before the birthday party began.

I want to start by saying Pinterest, I hate you. You give me more to do than I really need. However, Brian likes the "rotunda" decorations so much he doesn't want me to take them down. HA! I am quite impressed with how my decor turned out. I spent less than $10 on it all. Now... the LED light bulb I had to get so the other flood light didn't melt the vinyl table covers was another story.. LOL but, it was on the to-do list of things to buy anyway...

Kaylee said in front of everyone, "Mommy, may I help feed baby brother, please?" (in a Minnie Mouse voice,  no less.. I swear she sounds just like Minnie!) There was a room of "AWWWW!" and "Man, you got 'may I AND please??'" My kids will have manners. My kids will also be respectful. I will not tolerate anything less. Because you know what? Manners and respect are the cutest thing ever because it's so uncommon nowadays.. that makes me a bit sad.

My sweet baby Liam... one. Where did the time go? I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for him to start transitioning into a little boy. A little person. It was wild when I was watching it with Kaylee and I know it will be wild when I watch it with Liam.

Happy Birthday, Monster! I love you...