So, since I published Monday's post I keep realizing these weird things about myself. Funny how that works. I spent all day Monday coming up with my 10 and then I have 10 more without having even put forth ANY effort.
*Like the fact that I make lists for EVERYTHING.
*Or my seriously abnormal fear of camel crickets. Have you seen those things? No joke. They are horrifying. They have long hairy legs and bulbous bodies and creepy sticky-outty eyes. Eesh. I shudder just to think about them. Especially because when you go into the basement and turn on the light they freak slap out. And they jump all willy nilly. And they end up jumping ON TO ME! It is truly a horrific and traumatizing sort of experience.
*Or that I cannot eat a tuna sandwich without BBQ potato chips.
*Or how about the fact that I can read things upside down and backwards.
*I cannot sleep with socks on my feet. If for some freakish reason I am able to fall asleep with socks on my feet, they get kicked off during the night. Usually though I feel kinda like my feet are suffocating if I'm wearing socks in the bed.
*I am ridiculously ticklish and hate being tickled. Because I pretty much collapse in giggles and it kinda hurts.
*Even the roof of my mouth is ticklish. Seriously.
*My favorite drink is Cherry Limeade. My favorite movies of all time are Jaws, Sixteen Candles and Babe.
*I don't think I will ever be brave enough to try and light a propane grill. I am just so accident prone without trying to mix gas and an open flame.
*I like to drink a hot cup of green tea in the afternoon.
See look at all these weird things about me! haha.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Ten Things to Know and Never Share about Yours Truly
I've been having random thoughts lately about random little tidbits about myself that most people don't know. So I thought I would share these things with you! Please, don't laugh at me. Okay. You can laugh. I do. But just don't tell anyone else.
1 - You'd never think it looking through my music collection, but I love Britney Spears' music. No. Really! Her songs are the ones that I have to crank up and do my goofy dancing in the car. I'm going to embarrass the crap out of my children when they get older and have friends and reputations to maintain. And it won't even be intentional. Just the side effect of too much Britney Spears at a young age. My goofy wanna-be-a-teen-pop-star dance technique is one of my
2 - I am a total wuss about scary movies. Paranormal Activity creeped me out to NO end. Kujo made me scream. I saw Silver Bullet when I was about 10 and had nightmares for weeks. I cannot watch anything scary at night. If I do watch something scary then I have to either stay up all night or watch something light hearted or funny afterward so that I'm not thinking about the scary thing. Ironically, almost all I read is scary books. Stephen King, Dean Koontz...they are my absolute favorite authors. Some of King's books have actually made it impossible for me to sleep for several nights straight. Yet I continue reading them.
3- I'm not necessarily claustrophobic but I'm really paranoid about being trapped. No matter how large the space is I would completely lose my cookies if I wasn't able to get out of it. Being in the middle of a large crowd of people makes my blood pressure go up, I tend to clinch and unclinch my fists, chew my lip, etc. I can't handle it. I had to crawl under the bed the other day to retrieve a toy and it made me feel panicky to have the bed pressed so close. If I have an issue unlocking a door to get out of a bathroom I feel like I might scream. It's crazy bad!
4 - Conspiracy theories are incredibly interesting! Or at least the well thought ones. The crazier ones are...well, crazy. But some of the bigger ones are pretty wild to read up on and think about. Like all the conspiracies around JFK's assassination. Or the ones about the September 11 attacks. Theories about space travel and the government can be pretty far out there. But some of them are interesting to read about. Thought provoking. I doubt I will ever be selling everything I own and moving into a bomb shelter or anything but I could totally buy into some of them!
5 - Feet are super gross. Well, let me clarify. Other people's feet are incredibly gross. I don't want to see other people's feet very close. I hate it when my husband takes his socks off and rubs his feet. EWWW! Other people touching their own feet creeps me out. I don't have any issues with MY feet. And of course, I love my children's feet. I kiss on them and touch them without a second thought. But other people's feet, no way. Keep them AWAY!
6 - I am allergic to old school Cheeto's. There's some cheese powder they used back in the 90s that causes me to break out in quarter-sized hives all over my body. It sucks. But fortunately they don't use it anymore. So I can cheeto it up all I want to now! Unfortunately, my allergic reaction made me absolutely HATE cheese for most of my life. As a result I feel like I really missed out on some excellent turkey and cheese sandwich eating in my younger years.
7 - I still have my chicken pox scar. It's on my face just above my left temple. I can find it without thinking about it. Evie makes a sad face, pokes it and then gives me kisses for my booboo. I'm glad that my kids won't necessarily have to endure the chicken pox since they've been vaccinated. But something about missing out on that whole chicken pox misery is kind of bittersweet. It's nice to have some tangible proof of your childhood when you get older.
8 - I'm flat-out terrified of turning 30. I'm not sure why. I try to put on a brave face and joke about it. But there's something really horrible about rapidly approaching the big 3-0. Shoo. I think I will probably cry my eyes out on my thirtieth birthday.
9 - One of the reasons all four of my tattoos are on my back is I hate needles. I can't imagine getting a tattoo where I could see the needle going into my skin. (I'm kinda sensing a common theme on this list is how much of a wuss I am...haha)
10 - The song "It's Been Awhile" by Staind is still my all time favorite song. Despite it having fallen from popularity nearly a decade ago. It makes my stomach flutter to hear those opening chords.
1 - You'd never think it looking through my music collection, but I love Britney Spears' music. No. Really! Her songs are the ones that I have to crank up and do my goofy dancing in the car. I'm going to embarrass the crap out of my children when they get older and have friends and reputations to maintain. And it won't even be intentional. Just the side effect of too much Britney Spears at a young age. My goofy wanna-be-a-teen-pop-star dance technique is one of my
2 - I am a total wuss about scary movies. Paranormal Activity creeped me out to NO end. Kujo made me scream. I saw Silver Bullet when I was about 10 and had nightmares for weeks. I cannot watch anything scary at night. If I do watch something scary then I have to either stay up all night or watch something light hearted or funny afterward so that I'm not thinking about the scary thing. Ironically, almost all I read is scary books. Stephen King, Dean Koontz...they are my absolute favorite authors. Some of King's books have actually made it impossible for me to sleep for several nights straight. Yet I continue reading them.
3- I'm not necessarily claustrophobic but I'm really paranoid about being trapped. No matter how large the space is I would completely lose my cookies if I wasn't able to get out of it. Being in the middle of a large crowd of people makes my blood pressure go up, I tend to clinch and unclinch my fists, chew my lip, etc. I can't handle it. I had to crawl under the bed the other day to retrieve a toy and it made me feel panicky to have the bed pressed so close. If I have an issue unlocking a door to get out of a bathroom I feel like I might scream. It's crazy bad!
4 - Conspiracy theories are incredibly interesting! Or at least the well thought ones. The crazier ones are...well, crazy. But some of the bigger ones are pretty wild to read up on and think about. Like all the conspiracies around JFK's assassination. Or the ones about the September 11 attacks. Theories about space travel and the government can be pretty far out there. But some of them are interesting to read about. Thought provoking. I doubt I will ever be selling everything I own and moving into a bomb shelter or anything but I could totally buy into some of them!
5 - Feet are super gross. Well, let me clarify. Other people's feet are incredibly gross. I don't want to see other people's feet very close. I hate it when my husband takes his socks off and rubs his feet. EWWW! Other people touching their own feet creeps me out. I don't have any issues with MY feet. And of course, I love my children's feet. I kiss on them and touch them without a second thought. But other people's feet, no way. Keep them AWAY!
6 - I am allergic to old school Cheeto's. There's some cheese powder they used back in the 90s that causes me to break out in quarter-sized hives all over my body. It sucks. But fortunately they don't use it anymore. So I can cheeto it up all I want to now! Unfortunately, my allergic reaction made me absolutely HATE cheese for most of my life. As a result I feel like I really missed out on some excellent turkey and cheese sandwich eating in my younger years.
7 - I still have my chicken pox scar. It's on my face just above my left temple. I can find it without thinking about it. Evie makes a sad face, pokes it and then gives me kisses for my booboo. I'm glad that my kids won't necessarily have to endure the chicken pox since they've been vaccinated. But something about missing out on that whole chicken pox misery is kind of bittersweet. It's nice to have some tangible proof of your childhood when you get older.
8 - I'm flat-out terrified of turning 30. I'm not sure why. I try to put on a brave face and joke about it. But there's something really horrible about rapidly approaching the big 3-0. Shoo. I think I will probably cry my eyes out on my thirtieth birthday.
9 - One of the reasons all four of my tattoos are on my back is I hate needles. I can't imagine getting a tattoo where I could see the needle going into my skin. (I'm kinda sensing a common theme on this list is how much of a wuss I am...haha)
10 - The song "It's Been Awhile" by Staind is still my all time favorite song. Despite it having fallen from popularity nearly a decade ago. It makes my stomach flutter to hear those opening chords.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Autumn Leaves Festival
I grew up in the same area that I live in now. Every year we have what is called the "Autumn Leaves Festival." It is a street festival downtown. All of Main Street is blocked off, along with a couple of the side streets, and booths are set up. Vendors bring their crafts, homemade items, and food goods and sell them.
For whatever reason, a lot of the locals don't like the Festival. And yeah, a lot of tourists are in town bogging down traffic and causing accidents and generally getting in the way. And yeah, it's a little inconvenient to have to detour around downtown if you need to get around the city.
But it's so much fun!
And you know why? Two words: funnel. cake.
No really. It is a great street festival. There are a lot of neat crafts and vendors. Most of them are very Appalachian or country. And the food is spectacular! Ground steak sandwiches and collard green sandwiches and funnel cakes and blooming onions and...well, do I really need to go on?? There are peanuts and soft drinks and homemade ice cream. All natural honey and preserves and homemade jams.
I have gone pretty much every year for as long as I can remember.
It's great to get out and savor the sunshine. The Autumn Leaves Festival is usually the last good weekend of summery weather every year. You walk up and down the street, admiring the booths and crafts, you meet people that you haven't seen since last year. People you went to high school with, people you used to work with. You get to see that girl you had Biology with's new baby. And bump into that guy that you took Driver's Ed with, who you heard just got out of prison. And of course all the politicians are there...politicking.
All this down-home country goodness is mixed with all these out of towners. The Floridians and the Texans and the Yankees who think that the way we talk is just precious. And who just adore the blue grass music. And think our town is just quaint.
And they're right. We are precious. We're proud of our accents and our heritage and our music and our town. And to me that's what the Autumn Leaves Festival is all about. Getting back to our roots.
Most of the time, it's easy to forget that Mount Airy is a town that grew up nestled in the Appalachians. We are Appalachian people who got just far enough out of the mountains to survive the winters while keeping the beautiful Blue Ridge in sight. But I have always felt like the Autumn Leaves Festival takes us back to where we came from. Family gathering around listening to some raw fiddle and banjo jamming. Fried foods and homemade goods. Saying "Thank y'all" and "How y'all doin'?" and "See y'all next year."
It treats my soul. Makes me happy. And makes me look forward to this October weekend every year.
See y'all at the festival! Hope everyone has a great weekend!
For whatever reason, a lot of the locals don't like the Festival. And yeah, a lot of tourists are in town bogging down traffic and causing accidents and generally getting in the way. And yeah, it's a little inconvenient to have to detour around downtown if you need to get around the city.
But it's so much fun!
And you know why? Two words: funnel. cake.
No really. It is a great street festival. There are a lot of neat crafts and vendors. Most of them are very Appalachian or country. And the food is spectacular! Ground steak sandwiches and collard green sandwiches and funnel cakes and blooming onions and...well, do I really need to go on?? There are peanuts and soft drinks and homemade ice cream. All natural honey and preserves and homemade jams.
I have gone pretty much every year for as long as I can remember.
It's great to get out and savor the sunshine. The Autumn Leaves Festival is usually the last good weekend of summery weather every year. You walk up and down the street, admiring the booths and crafts, you meet people that you haven't seen since last year. People you went to high school with, people you used to work with. You get to see that girl you had Biology with's new baby. And bump into that guy that you took Driver's Ed with, who you heard just got out of prison. And of course all the politicians are there...politicking.
All this down-home country goodness is mixed with all these out of towners. The Floridians and the Texans and the Yankees who think that the way we talk is just precious. And who just adore the blue grass music. And think our town is just quaint.
And they're right. We are precious. We're proud of our accents and our heritage and our music and our town. And to me that's what the Autumn Leaves Festival is all about. Getting back to our roots.
Most of the time, it's easy to forget that Mount Airy is a town that grew up nestled in the Appalachians. We are Appalachian people who got just far enough out of the mountains to survive the winters while keeping the beautiful Blue Ridge in sight. But I have always felt like the Autumn Leaves Festival takes us back to where we came from. Family gathering around listening to some raw fiddle and banjo jamming. Fried foods and homemade goods. Saying "Thank y'all" and "How y'all doin'?" and "See y'all next year."
It treats my soul. Makes me happy. And makes me look forward to this October weekend every year.
See y'all at the festival! Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Amazon is taking over the world...
And I'm okay with it.
Some people are a little...let's say unsettled, by the release of Amazon's new tablet. It's called the Amazon Fire and personally, I'm impressed. For just $200 you basically get an iPad, minus the logo and the camera. As much as I love my iPad and cannot leave home without it, I could see myself being as happy and $300 richer with a Fire. No joke.
I'm sure all the die-hard Apple believers out there are just shocked and appalled. But it's not brand loyalty that has so many less than thrilled with Amazon's release.
The product itself is a bit of a hot button for the privacy-paranoid among us.
Maybe it doesn't bother me so much because I have grown up submerged in media. I was in Facebook when it first started. My mom was a reporter and media was part of my life. Being in the know wasn't just fun, it was a job requirement. And whereas I despise the idea of identity theft as much as the next person. And I take what I think are necessary steps to prevent it. But I am in no way offended by the idea of media tracking.
If you didn't know, if you don't log out of Amazon, the site can track your internet activity and will use that information to try and market to your preferences. Ever noticed how eerily you were searching for ideas for an Autumn centerpiece on Better Homes and Gardens, then the next day you log into Amazon and they recommend you check out their awesome autumn centerpieces? Surely, you didn't think that was coincidence. Facebook does the same thing. I don't really see it as an invasion of privacy. To me, it's smart business.
If you owned a business and you could offer every customer that walked through the door EXACTLY what they wanted, wouldn't you want to do that? Yeah. Of course you would. Because pretty much guarantees you a sell every single time the door opens. Again, it's smart business.
So now Amazon has a tablet. The tablet is Amazon's. It uses their browser which pulls off Amazon Cloud to speed up searches. You can fairly well bet that Amazon is going to track the browsing and shopping of every person who buys a Fire. And why wouldn't they?
The biggest question though? WHO CARES?
Do you realize how much simpler Amazon has made my life? There aren't words.
An example: While I didn't do all of my Christmas shopping from them, I narrowed all of my ideas down via the Amazon lists. People post lists of "Favorite toys for Christmas" or "My 1 yo's favorite things" or "Best Toys for a toddler"...you get the idea. I had SOOO many ideas for the girls' presents and Amazon's lists and reviews really helped me narrow it down. Browsing through Amazon's favorite things, I even found my husband's Christmas present. I feel like I really got the perfect presents for my family with Amazon's assistance. And with their low prices, I could compare other sites and stores and got really good deals on everything as well.
Plus, you can get books and movies shipped to your house the day they come out. You can buy digital books, digital music, digital movies, etc and store them on the Amazon Cloud. It's phenomenal! I just wish that Amazon would get over their anti-Apple feelings and be just a little more simpatico with my iPad 2. Basically, I want access to the Amazon AppStore. haha. I love their free app-a-day!
The Amazon Fire is awesome. Gorgeous color touch screen that is supposed to be practically indestructible (Unlike the iPad's!). Everything is easy to access and totally synced. The system is smooth and sleek and has Wi-Fi.
So, yeah, I'm all for my activities being tracked. It makes my life easier! The simplicity and convenience is totally worth that minuscule loss of privacy.
Some people are a little...let's say unsettled, by the release of Amazon's new tablet. It's called the Amazon Fire and personally, I'm impressed. For just $200 you basically get an iPad, minus the logo and the camera. As much as I love my iPad and cannot leave home without it, I could see myself being as happy and $300 richer with a Fire. No joke.
I'm sure all the die-hard Apple believers out there are just shocked and appalled. But it's not brand loyalty that has so many less than thrilled with Amazon's release.
The product itself is a bit of a hot button for the privacy-paranoid among us.
Maybe it doesn't bother me so much because I have grown up submerged in media. I was in Facebook when it first started. My mom was a reporter and media was part of my life. Being in the know wasn't just fun, it was a job requirement. And whereas I despise the idea of identity theft as much as the next person. And I take what I think are necessary steps to prevent it. But I am in no way offended by the idea of media tracking.
If you didn't know, if you don't log out of Amazon, the site can track your internet activity and will use that information to try and market to your preferences. Ever noticed how eerily you were searching for ideas for an Autumn centerpiece on Better Homes and Gardens, then the next day you log into Amazon and they recommend you check out their awesome autumn centerpieces? Surely, you didn't think that was coincidence. Facebook does the same thing. I don't really see it as an invasion of privacy. To me, it's smart business.
If you owned a business and you could offer every customer that walked through the door EXACTLY what they wanted, wouldn't you want to do that? Yeah. Of course you would. Because pretty much guarantees you a sell every single time the door opens. Again, it's smart business.
So now Amazon has a tablet. The tablet is Amazon's. It uses their browser which pulls off Amazon Cloud to speed up searches. You can fairly well bet that Amazon is going to track the browsing and shopping of every person who buys a Fire. And why wouldn't they?
The biggest question though? WHO CARES?
Do you realize how much simpler Amazon has made my life? There aren't words.
An example: While I didn't do all of my Christmas shopping from them, I narrowed all of my ideas down via the Amazon lists. People post lists of "Favorite toys for Christmas" or "My 1 yo's favorite things" or "Best Toys for a toddler"...you get the idea. I had SOOO many ideas for the girls' presents and Amazon's lists and reviews really helped me narrow it down. Browsing through Amazon's favorite things, I even found my husband's Christmas present. I feel like I really got the perfect presents for my family with Amazon's assistance. And with their low prices, I could compare other sites and stores and got really good deals on everything as well.
Plus, you can get books and movies shipped to your house the day they come out. You can buy digital books, digital music, digital movies, etc and store them on the Amazon Cloud. It's phenomenal! I just wish that Amazon would get over their anti-Apple feelings and be just a little more simpatico with my iPad 2. Basically, I want access to the Amazon AppStore. haha. I love their free app-a-day!
The Amazon Fire is awesome. Gorgeous color touch screen that is supposed to be practically indestructible (Unlike the iPad's!). Everything is easy to access and totally synced. The system is smooth and sleek and has Wi-Fi.
So, yeah, I'm all for my activities being tracked. It makes my life easier! The simplicity and convenience is totally worth that minuscule loss of privacy.
Stress stinks
So I have been really stressed and worried about our financial situation.
Me being stressed = me not sleeping.
Also, enough stress causes me to lose my appetite, not be able to keep food down, have migraines, etc.
So after a little more than a week of worrying and not sleeping...well, to say I'm frazzled is an understatement.
*sigh*
So far I'm just sleep deprived. Not having a huge impact on my appetite yet. But ugh.
It is really amazing how much not getting a decent night's rest affects so much of your daily functioning. My blogging ability was pretty much the first thing to go. I cannot carry a cohesive thought for more than a couple of sentences. lol. Sorry guys!
Me being stressed = me not sleeping.
Also, enough stress causes me to lose my appetite, not be able to keep food down, have migraines, etc.
So after a little more than a week of worrying and not sleeping...well, to say I'm frazzled is an understatement.
*sigh*
So far I'm just sleep deprived. Not having a huge impact on my appetite yet. But ugh.
It is really amazing how much not getting a decent night's rest affects so much of your daily functioning. My blogging ability was pretty much the first thing to go. I cannot carry a cohesive thought for more than a couple of sentences. lol. Sorry guys!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Learning new things
Well, I was completely out of service yesterday due to a seriously sucky headache/migraine. And I think it killed some brain cells, because I had some great blog ideas last week and I can't remember a single one.
I remember an opening line to one: "Being a parent is tough, I think all of us can agree." But that's where the train of thought stops. I cannot remember where I was going to take it. And for the life of me I can't remember what the overall blog was going to be about. But I remember thinking "What a brilliant idea for a blog!" and then the opening sentence popping into my head. Mentally I told myself not to forget it. And of course, I am totally lost now.
So instead of where ever in the world of writing I was taking that sentence, I'm going to talk about my once wordless toddler who has turned into a terribly talkative two year-old. Seriously. I remember saying "I will be so happy when she starts talking." Now I just wonder when she's going to take a break.
Well, it's not that bad.
Yet.
But she does pretty much narrate our day from sun-up to sun-down. And there are times where I have to interrupt her and try to divert her train of thought onto something else because after hearing her tell me the same thing 30 times I cannot handle hearing it again.
It is so much fun to have little conversations with her now. Especially because so many of her little phrases are so funny. Like the way she says "Oh no!" You'd have to hear it to really appreciate how adorably hilarious it is. But trust me. It is. Or the way she says "help," it sounds sort of like "holpe." It's adorable. Really.
The other night we were talking about the moon, which she loves. She talks about how it's white, how it's bright, how there are stars near it, how much she likes it, and how it is hers. Yes, it is her personal moon. But during this conversation, I told her that the moon was far, far away. As she processed this her little happy face just melted and she cried "Oh no!" (Which sounds like "no no" when she says it) and put her head in her hands.
She's just so funny.
She's over being traumatized about how far away the moon is as well.
A big up to Evie's slight delay in speech though?
Her language is still simple enough that Elly can easily understand her and she's catching on very quickly to language. I think by the time she's 18 months old, she will be on the same page as Evie (who will be 3 then, in case you don't like doing math). It may sound weird, but I really think she will be talking on the same level as a three year-old. I could be wrong though.
Evie does occasionally ramble off in sentences that don't seem to be in English. Just gibberish. Sometimes it's just because she gets in a hurry and her words ran together. Sometimes she just is saying nonsense. I think that's pretty normal for two though. By three everything is supposed to be discernible and I don't have any fear that she will meet that.
Plus, she knows all her letters. She's learning the alphabet song. And I'm trying to teach her to count. So far she can count to two...sometimes three. And she knows all of her colors. And shapes. And she's learning to spell.
One of my favorite things about kids is watching them learn new things. It is amazing! Two years ago, Evie couldn't get her hand in her mouth without help. Now she's building houses out of Legos and spelling her name. Coloring pictures and narrating stories. So much and it all happens so fast! It's just amazing.
I think one thing that I am most looking forward to though, as far as learning, is reading. I cannot WAIT for them to learn to read. And for them to start wanting to read longer stories. Like Winnie the Pooh and Charlotte's Web and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe...things that I remember my mom reading to me before bed when I was young. I hope they are both avid readers. Reading has been something that I have absolutely loved and has been an important part of my life and cannot wait to share with them.
Regardless of what they're learning, watching them learn new things is so much fun.
I remember an opening line to one: "Being a parent is tough, I think all of us can agree." But that's where the train of thought stops. I cannot remember where I was going to take it. And for the life of me I can't remember what the overall blog was going to be about. But I remember thinking "What a brilliant idea for a blog!" and then the opening sentence popping into my head. Mentally I told myself not to forget it. And of course, I am totally lost now.
So instead of where ever in the world of writing I was taking that sentence, I'm going to talk about my once wordless toddler who has turned into a terribly talkative two year-old. Seriously. I remember saying "I will be so happy when she starts talking." Now I just wonder when she's going to take a break.
Well, it's not that bad.
Yet.
But she does pretty much narrate our day from sun-up to sun-down. And there are times where I have to interrupt her and try to divert her train of thought onto something else because after hearing her tell me the same thing 30 times I cannot handle hearing it again.
It is so much fun to have little conversations with her now. Especially because so many of her little phrases are so funny. Like the way she says "Oh no!" You'd have to hear it to really appreciate how adorably hilarious it is. But trust me. It is. Or the way she says "help," it sounds sort of like "holpe." It's adorable. Really.
The other night we were talking about the moon, which she loves. She talks about how it's white, how it's bright, how there are stars near it, how much she likes it, and how it is hers. Yes, it is her personal moon. But during this conversation, I told her that the moon was far, far away. As she processed this her little happy face just melted and she cried "Oh no!" (Which sounds like "no no" when she says it) and put her head in her hands.
She's just so funny.
She's over being traumatized about how far away the moon is as well.
A big up to Evie's slight delay in speech though?
Her language is still simple enough that Elly can easily understand her and she's catching on very quickly to language. I think by the time she's 18 months old, she will be on the same page as Evie (who will be 3 then, in case you don't like doing math). It may sound weird, but I really think she will be talking on the same level as a three year-old. I could be wrong though.
Evie does occasionally ramble off in sentences that don't seem to be in English. Just gibberish. Sometimes it's just because she gets in a hurry and her words ran together. Sometimes she just is saying nonsense. I think that's pretty normal for two though. By three everything is supposed to be discernible and I don't have any fear that she will meet that.
Plus, she knows all her letters. She's learning the alphabet song. And I'm trying to teach her to count. So far she can count to two...sometimes three. And she knows all of her colors. And shapes. And she's learning to spell.
One of my favorite things about kids is watching them learn new things. It is amazing! Two years ago, Evie couldn't get her hand in her mouth without help. Now she's building houses out of Legos and spelling her name. Coloring pictures and narrating stories. So much and it all happens so fast! It's just amazing.
I think one thing that I am most looking forward to though, as far as learning, is reading. I cannot WAIT for them to learn to read. And for them to start wanting to read longer stories. Like Winnie the Pooh and Charlotte's Web and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe...things that I remember my mom reading to me before bed when I was young. I hope they are both avid readers. Reading has been something that I have absolutely loved and has been an important part of my life and cannot wait to share with them.
Regardless of what they're learning, watching them learn new things is so much fun.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Shakey foundations...
I am a worrier. If you don't know this about me...well, I don't know how you missed it. It's a pretty prominent part of my personality most of the time. I come by it honest. My great grandmother (whom I have a lot in common with I think) was a worrier. I loved my great grandmother. Everyone I knew called her Ma Mary. And she was a worrier. She would dream up stuff to worry about. Would call to ask you if your car tires were okay and would fret over you if she heard you were sick. She was an incredibly sweet woman. And she was a worrier. Hard core. And so am I. Some how this worry gene skipped the two generations between me and Ma Mary. But I inherited a healthy helping.
Sometimes though, worrying is just necessary. Okay, maybe not helpful, I admit. But nonetheless, I feel that a moderate amount of worrying isn't just my nature but a realistic response.
(If I'm overly verbose in this post, I apologize. For some peculiar reason I have been struck with the notion to read Hamlet. So I might wax a bit poetic...)
Yesterday my husband found out that the company he works for has been sold. Who knows what the future will hold for the hundreds of employees.
Needless to say, I'm kinda freaking.
We've already been dealing with a cut in hours over the last couple of weeks but that was supposed to end next week with a transition back to Josh's original store. Now, we don't know if he's moving back or staying where he is.
He will have to reapply for his job. The new company doesn't know if pay rates will stay the same. If everyone will be rehired. They don't know what the insurance situation will be. They don't know what kind of hours employees will have. There are just dozens and dozens of unknowns. In fact, about the only thing that is KNOWN is that there will be a lot of changes in the coming months.
Needless to say, I'm kinda freaking.
While my husband doesn't think it's a huge concern (the company claims that the reapplication process is just for paperwork, that if employees want to keep their new jobs there will be no problems), basically it all sums up in my mind to we don't really know if my husband is going to have a job. And that is terrifying.
I have been through a lay-off, no income situation before. It was several years ago. I voluntarily left my previous employer to start training at the 911 center and the week after my husband came home really early from work and told me that he'd been let go. Suddenly we went from great income to no income. I was terrified. But another week later, Josh had gotten a new job working for the convenience store chain. Over the years the pay has been really good, the benefits have been good. It seemed to work out for the best. Back then, we had some savings. And we didn't have kids. The only ones going hungry if we lost our jobs was us.
Fast forward to today. No income now would be disastrous. Since I just finished Christmas shopping our savings account is kind of depleted. We only have enough to get by for maybe a month if Josh lost his job. And in today's economy, it's hard to find a new job in less than a month. We could lose our house, lose our cars...the possibilities are just...well, just typing it brings tears to my eyes. I don't know what we'd do.
And I know you should really have more saved than that, but with our finances, I'm pretty proud that we have a month's worth. There's not a lot of extra and we do a pretty awesome job sticking to our budget and putting at least SOMETHING in savings every month.
Even if he keeps his job, which in all honesty, he probably will. It's more often the ones at the very top and very bottom who go when these kind of company acquisitions happen. And Josh is comfortably in the middle. But even with him still employed there are so many things that we just don't know. Like insurance. Both of our kids are on his insurance. Because, honestly, we cannot afford to have them on my insurance. And with kids you really have to keep them insured. And pay. Even if he keeps a job, if his pay goes down much we still won't be able to make ends meet. They might move him to a store that is so far away that we can't afford the gas. They could put him back on thirds and we'll never see him. We have two kids to feed and clothe and shoe and those are EXPENSIVE things to do.
I'm just hoping and praying and cringing and crying and keeping my fingers crossed that everything turns out for the best. In the long run it always does, but it's the path in between that gives me indigestion. Too much to struggle with.
Sometimes though, worrying is just necessary. Okay, maybe not helpful, I admit. But nonetheless, I feel that a moderate amount of worrying isn't just my nature but a realistic response.
(If I'm overly verbose in this post, I apologize. For some peculiar reason I have been struck with the notion to read Hamlet. So I might wax a bit poetic...)
Yesterday my husband found out that the company he works for has been sold. Who knows what the future will hold for the hundreds of employees.
Needless to say, I'm kinda freaking.
We've already been dealing with a cut in hours over the last couple of weeks but that was supposed to end next week with a transition back to Josh's original store. Now, we don't know if he's moving back or staying where he is.
He will have to reapply for his job. The new company doesn't know if pay rates will stay the same. If everyone will be rehired. They don't know what the insurance situation will be. They don't know what kind of hours employees will have. There are just dozens and dozens of unknowns. In fact, about the only thing that is KNOWN is that there will be a lot of changes in the coming months.
Needless to say, I'm kinda freaking.
While my husband doesn't think it's a huge concern (the company claims that the reapplication process is just for paperwork, that if employees want to keep their new jobs there will be no problems), basically it all sums up in my mind to we don't really know if my husband is going to have a job. And that is terrifying.
I have been through a lay-off, no income situation before. It was several years ago. I voluntarily left my previous employer to start training at the 911 center and the week after my husband came home really early from work and told me that he'd been let go. Suddenly we went from great income to no income. I was terrified. But another week later, Josh had gotten a new job working for the convenience store chain. Over the years the pay has been really good, the benefits have been good. It seemed to work out for the best. Back then, we had some savings. And we didn't have kids. The only ones going hungry if we lost our jobs was us.
Fast forward to today. No income now would be disastrous. Since I just finished Christmas shopping our savings account is kind of depleted. We only have enough to get by for maybe a month if Josh lost his job. And in today's economy, it's hard to find a new job in less than a month. We could lose our house, lose our cars...the possibilities are just...well, just typing it brings tears to my eyes. I don't know what we'd do.
And I know you should really have more saved than that, but with our finances, I'm pretty proud that we have a month's worth. There's not a lot of extra and we do a pretty awesome job sticking to our budget and putting at least SOMETHING in savings every month.
Even if he keeps his job, which in all honesty, he probably will. It's more often the ones at the very top and very bottom who go when these kind of company acquisitions happen. And Josh is comfortably in the middle. But even with him still employed there are so many things that we just don't know. Like insurance. Both of our kids are on his insurance. Because, honestly, we cannot afford to have them on my insurance. And with kids you really have to keep them insured. And pay. Even if he keeps a job, if his pay goes down much we still won't be able to make ends meet. They might move him to a store that is so far away that we can't afford the gas. They could put him back on thirds and we'll never see him. We have two kids to feed and clothe and shoe and those are EXPENSIVE things to do.
I'm just hoping and praying and cringing and crying and keeping my fingers crossed that everything turns out for the best. In the long run it always does, but it's the path in between that gives me indigestion. Too much to struggle with.
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