House

I forget that I post tons of pics and things on Facebook...but not on the dang blog.
The house is good. We like it. It has lots of space to grow and we are really enjoying "fixing" it up. Jacob moved the washer and dryer into one of the spare bedrooms so I could have an INDOOR laundry room. (In California, they put the W/D in the garage...it's really quite disgusting to me) So...my knowledgeable, talented husband cut open the wall, moved the pipes and hooked that baby up! The rest of that laundry room will have some counter space put in and shelving for food storage. Gotta love that food storage crap.

We have yet to get a regular sized fridge...our mini fridge and chest freezer are actually doing the job quite well! The truth is, fridges are expensive. And I would rather spend money on getting blinds and home decor than buying a fridge. Yes, yes I know that sounds funny. "You don't have a fridge yet?!" people will say to me. But my priorities are just a little different than everyone else. :)

Other things that we are working on with the house:

-the yard full of weeds...we mowed them...just waiting for it to cool down and then we will landscaped and plant a little patch of grass.

-still working on putting blinds/curtains in all the rooms (we just have our bedroom, the dining room and the office left)

-replacing all the smoke detectors

-replacing light bulbs in like every room...they are all burning out now :)

-fixing the leak in the sprinkler system

-fixing a few of the windows (they don't seal completely) and putting screens on all the windows

-replacing door knobs (they are just old school and ugly)

-replacing bathroom and kitchen faucet (just to upgrade and add value to the house)

The list continues...this is just a few of the changes that are happening now and within the next few weeks. It would be nice to blow a few thousand and just do it ALL AT ONCE. But unfortunately, this house didn't come with the money tree in the back. :( But it does have a lovely palm tree.

School is Cool!

Yup, that's right. School is way cool. And I just so happen to STILL be in school! My education plan really got screwed over once I had kids...but at least I will be an empty nester by the time I am 39! I CANNOT wait for that day.

I finished high school early and jumped right into college. I was hoping to finish with my Bachelors by 2007...it is now 2010 and I still have about 2 years. It's a bummer. I tried to go to school while pregnant with Emerald... I failed like ALL my classes. I was in and out of the hospital and just way too sick for school. When I was pregnant with Charlie, I started school through University of Phoenix Online. I did that for a year while living in Utah. It worked out great. I was going into the Elementary Education Program...like all the other billion girls that lived in Logan were doing. I wanted to teach Kindergarten or Preschool. Then when we found out we were moving to Cali...I found out that my program was not offered through University of Phoenix in the state of California. Something about different credentials or crap like that. I didn't really pay attention to what my academic counselor was saying. I was just pissed that I would have to change my program and it would take me even LONGER to graduate.

Once we moved here, I looked into the schools nearby...which there is only ONE school in the lovely Antelope Valley. (Which is another great topic for blogging...the fabulous Antelope Valley! Can you sense the excitement?!?) Anyway... it is a piece of crap school. They have no funding and I couldn't get into any classes. Plus, they don't offer Bachelor's degrees in my program. The only college that had what I wanted was an extension college in Bakersfield, CA. Which is a little over an hour drive. No way was I going to drive that far to go to class. And what would I do with my kids? Bring them to class? (I was not willing to put them in daycare...at least NOT here...eww)

So I found that my only realistic option was to continue with University of Phoenix online, but changing programs. So I got put back in the system and am currently working towards my degree in Psychology. Funny thing, my first original plan (when I was like 16) was to get a degree in Psychology. So it all worked out fine!

Right now I am finishing up my last week in a basic math class. Well, technically I am not finishing the class...Jacob is. hehe. He has done all my homework for this whole class! It's been fan-freaking-tastic!

I've been thinking about what I want to do with my degree...and I just can't really think about what to do with it. :) You see, my next door neighbor has a bachelors in psychology. She has one little girl (one of Emerald's BFF's) and she doesn't use her degree. She actually went back to school and got her Nursing Degree. And now is looking for a job as a nurse. I don't understand people who get degrees and then just like DON'T USE THEM. I ain't goin through all this trouble to just NOT USE MY DEGREE. So...the dilemma...what can I do with a degree in Psychology? What would I WANT to do with a degree in Psychology?

Sundays

Today was a very important Sunday for us...we made it on time to church!! YES! I swear, no matter how early we wake up and start getting ready...we are still rushing to get there on time. What is the deal with that?!?

First off, let me warn anyone that is super "churchy" that may be reading this post. Stop now. Haha...it's not that bad, but I'd prefer to be open with what I write on MY blog. I don't want anyone coming back saying they got offended by what they read on my blog. It's my blog. You choose to read it, you suffer the consequences. (insert evil laugh here)

Sundays always make me GRUMPY. Pissed off. Upset. Frustrated. Annoyed. You get the picture. First of all, our church is from 10:30-1:30....the strangest time for church EVER. It's during my kids' naps and during lunch. It's very inconvenient. And yes, I know that I will be blessed and yada yada yada for sacrificing my child's nap if I go to church. But it seriously SUCKS. So we try to pack a lunch every Sunday that we put in the church kitchen so we can hurry and eat right after the church block. That way, we can feed the kids and then on the drive home, they fall right to sleep.

So why do I get so grumpy on Sundays?? Number one, I'm tired. Number two, my kids are tired. Number three, I'm hungry. Number 4, It's boring. Number five, I have a hard time seeing other people do their callings when I know I could do them better. Uhhh...there I said it. Do you ever think that? or is that just like a "ball family" trait? (we call it "ballitis"...pronounced like meningitis...lol) Oh and so number six, I don't have a "real" calling. We have lived here for a year this month! ONE WHOLE FREAKIN YEAR...and we are on the Activities Committee. Granted, it is a calling...but we all know that Activities Committee is for those people that the Bishopric couldn't find a calling for elsewhere...so ya stick 'em on the committee. Although I do plan Fan-freaking-tastic parties and events...I would like a calling that I can actually DO things. We need something that requires us to come to church on Sundays. That is the hardest thing we have been facing now that we have lived here for a while.

At the beginning, it was so fun and "needed" to go to church to meet people. We didn't know a single person here...so of course church is the place to go! Now that we are settled, we really thought we would be more involved in our ward. But it just ain't happenin....and yes, I have told the Bish a few times, "I NEED a calling!!" Jake has never been the super active type when it comes to church. So we really need more purpose to go to church...and a calling is just the right cure. A REAL one. :) It's hard with Jake because first of all, he is not the biggest social butterfly...I mean, he's an Engineer...nuff said. lol. And he could care less about making new friends and catching up with friends in the ward. He feels he has no purpose to go to church. He's even thought about just having them bring the sacrament to our house. We can read scriptures here in our home. Why do we need to drive the ugliest 20 minute drive of our lives, to go to church in Mojave?

So everyday after church, we whine and complain about the fact that we have yet to get a calling more suited for our needs. Is that bad? I don't care. It's how we feel. And we need solutions. Ideas. Thoughts. Inspiration. To help us stay active and interested in attending church for good reason.

I could just keep going and going on this topic. All things I wish I could change and spice up in our ward. And maybe Jake will get lucky and get a calling soon so I don't have to keep pushing him to go to church. Do you ever feel this way? Is this really stupid to feel this way?

Hollywood...Here I come!

What did you do today?

Do you ever wonder what other people do during the day? You know, the people who don't work...stay at home moms....what do they do ALL DAY LONG??? I'm always curious to see how people like to spend their time. And I'm always asking myself "what did I do with my time BEFORE I had these rugrats?!" I must have seriously wasted a lot of time. I thought it would be cool to document what I do as a stay at home mom (aka professional caretaker...that sounds more like my style...).

Every single freaking morning I wake up at 7. I'm not gonna lie, I hate it. I am not a morning person. Emerald is the first to wake up with knocking on her door (we put child lock on her door handle on the INSIDE...so she can't get out...it's brilliant, I know). Today when I opened her door to let her out (sounds like I'm letting an animal out or something...), she started talking about how she was riding a tiny horse and went on the ferris wheel with Reese (her little friend). Sounds like she has some good dreams.

Emerald goes potty after that and then we both climb back into my bed and watch a movie (Dora, Tinker Bell, etc.). By about 745 we can hear Charlie jumping in his bed. I really need to get a video of him doing this. This boy can get some serious air. We go get Charlie and then we eat breakfast. Fruit Loops with a cup of milk. Same thing EVERY morning. After Emerald eats, she usually heads back to watch the rest of her movie and I jump in the shower while Charlie finishes his breakfast.

Then we all get dressed, Emerald plays and I put Charlie in his room to play. (They do not play together much...Emerald is mean and Charlie sits on her.) During this time I attempt to do the dishes...which usually takes me about 45 mins to do a 10 min job. I'm constantly helping with dressing up a doll or finding a different toy or picking out colors of crayons for Emerald to use.

Charlie takes a nap from 10-12 while I continue in my attempt to pick up the house. I try to do a load of laundry every day...yes, I said it....A LOAD EVERY DAY. It's a lot of laundry. I think I clean for a good hour or two until I take a break and start blog hopping, sending emails, doing homework and of course, Facebooking. (Is that a word?) We have lunch at noon once Char wakes up and then after lunch, it's time for Emerald to take a nap. I can get the most done while Emerald is asleep. And there has been a few days when I actually do stuff when she is sleeping, but I usually take that time to do whatever I want. Read, add to my list of things I need to do, more homework, meal planning, etc.

Charlie is so good to just play in his room quietly. Such an angel. A hefty angel. :) Emerald wakes up at about 330/4 and then it's time for Char to take his 2nd nap. Can't wait till they can take naps at the same time...I could get a lot done...or not. Once Emerald is up, we color or do a craft together. Then I start making dinner and try to entertain her at the same time. Not always successful. And at 5, Daddy comes home and Mommy leaves. Just kidding. That's only like once or twice or three times a week that I feel the need to leave the moment Jake comes home. :)

This is a typical "outline" of what my days are like. But this is only when Emerald doesn't have school. She now has preschool 3x a week for 3 hours...so that changes things a bit. I get more time during the day to run errands and do craft projects for me.

The strange thing is that as I write this down, I realize how much of NOTHINGNESS I do during my day. But yet during the day, I am always running around and always having something to do. I guess it's just hard to put in writing what exactly goes into my day-to-day schedule. Maybe I will actually keep track one day and see how productive I really am. That would be interesting. Or not interesting AT ALL.