It's Been Awhile...

So, it's obviously been awhile since I updated my blog....oops.
I have since had a birthday, making me 29. Only 1 year away from the big 3-0. Wow I feel old. Plus, I always say that each one of my kids aged me another 5 years each. So, add 15 years under my belt. That makes me 44! Not to mention my health problems. I think all of my health issues age me as well. Let's just round and say I'm 50. 50 is about how I feel.
I went through a battle with T-Mobile. After a few shed tears, many phone calls, and an incredible amount of stress, I finally won the fight. It only took me filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Not long after I did that, I was contacted by the corporate office of T-Mobile. As a "one time curteosy" they were going to let me out of my contract because I've been  with them for so long (over 8 years). Funny, I had asked for that on multiple phone calls before and was always denied. But I'm glad to finally be done with the huge headache. I started service with Verizon, and I have had ZERO of the service issues that I had with T-Mobile. Not to mention, I have an awesome phone that I love! I got the Galaxy S3 and the only downfall it seems to have is the short battery life. But, I'm usually home which gives me access to a phone charger. Nick upgraded and got a RAZR Maxx. He seems to really like it a lot. And it's battery life definitely exceeds mine. I'm a little jealous, but I like my phone much better overall.
Now that the Christmas decorations are put away again, I need to find some barstools for our kitchen bar. They're tough to find because we need taller than normal ones - at LEAST 30" high. And we'd like them to have backs for when the girls sit in them.
Next month we get to take all the critters in for their rabies boosters (with the exception of Chloe since she just got her first one). And Chloe will be getting spayed. That should be a fun trip - I will definitely need Nick's help to accomplish that office visit.
Brooke still wants absolutely NOTHING to do with potty training. She got big girl panties for Christmas and when she saw them, she threw them. We all got a big laugh about it, but I'm still wishing that she would act even a little interested in using the potty. I'm so ready to be done with diapers. I even tried using school as a way to "bribe" her into going on the potty. She said she wanted to go to school like Lilly and Eadon. I told her that she has to be able to go potty like a big girl and not wear a diaper like a baby. She immediately told me that she no longer wanted to go to school. *sigh*
My sister is back from BASIC! She was medically discharged due to an injury she got while there. I'm glad I don't have to worry about her being deployed anymore!! And it was awesome to see her on Christmas morning :)
I think I've babbled enough for now. Until next time.....

What To Expect When You're Expecting - Review

I'd like to start by saying that I think almost all of the funny parts were already shown in the previews. However, the few that weren't had me laughing my ass off. It's wrong, but those parts consisted of a little boy falling down or getting hurt. Which makes me think of the shirt my Dad saw and wanted to get me - it said, "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt...and then it's freakin' hilarious!" - ya...that's totally me!! I'm not a Jennifer Lopez fan, so I didn't like her in the movie. Overall, it wasn't a terrible movie....but it wasn't awesome either. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. Ok, maybe 3 and 1/2 because it allowed me to oogle at Joe Manganiello :)

Things to blog about

I've decided that rather than just blog about my every day, and mostly boring, life, I'm going  to write my own reviews of books and movies. Here's my first review:

The Hunger Games
(the movie)

 

First off, I want to say that I don't understand the hype...AT ALL!! Was this the best film of the year? No way! Did it get so much hype because of the books?? That I don't know. I couldn't read the first book without getting bored and saying, "Never mind." And some of the critiques I'm about to make aren't necessarily just towards the movie, but probably the book as well.
Katniss takes care of her younger sister. It's later shown that it's because when her father died, her mother couldn't handle it and didn't take care of her or her younger sister. Yet, when preparing for the "Reaping" her mother is capable of laying clothes out and doing the girls' hair. She seems perfectly capable of being a mother to me.....but Katniss still steps in as the mother. It came across as a little of a power trip, in my opinion.      

In order to prevent her sister from being in the hunger games, she volunteers in her sister's place. When she initially gets on the futuristic train, she acts as though she wants no handouts from the authority. The people in district 12 seem to be starving, yet she doesn't eat any of the food provided to her. However, later on she seems to have no problem taking anything from the authority. So, initially she came off with this hard, I don't need your help attitude. But later accepted all the help she could get. Katniss makes an alliance with a little girl who basically saved her. Yet, she has no problem sending her out into the woods by herself. Did she REALLY think she'd be safe by herself?? Then she's heartbroken when the little girl dies. WHAT DID SHE EXPECT?? There can only be 1 survivor (or at least so far in the game). So why all the drama over this girl and no one else who was brutally murdered??? When Peeta "confesses" his love for Katniss, I'm a little confused. Is he actually in love with her? Or is it to get more help with the "star crossed lovers" act? How can he love her if he's really never talked to her? He provided her with bread, but only threw it out on the ground and in the rain. Then he claims to have followed her home every day. How would that make him fall in love with her?? And if he loved her, why did he make an alliance with the super duper angry mean and violent group that was trying to kill her? Was it a fake alliance to try and find her and help her? There definitely should have been more of an explanation of what he was doing, and how she was able to forgive him even after he made an alliance with the evil group.
I can't even have any appreciation for creativity with this book/movie. Why? Hm, has there ever been any other movies about people being entertained watching other people fight to the death? Gladiator, Unleashed, Lionheart, The Condemned...just to name a few that I have personally seen. So, what's new or different about this movie? That it's in the future? Nope. The Running Man did that already. That it's kids fighting? Battle Royale did that back in 2000. And Red Dawn (1984) consisted of teenagers who had to fight/kill to survive. So, can someone please explain to me how this is the "Best Movie of the Year"?? Because I just don't get it. And as I said earlier, I couldn't read the books because it was just too incredibly boring/slow to even get slightly interested to keep reading. I'd have to say the same with the movie. It was just as boring/slow for at least 1/2 the movie. Then the action picked up, but I think the acting was under par. "Whatever you do, don't let them starve!" Wasn't Gale already trying to prevent that from happening?? Why does she think she's the only one capable of taking care of the starving people? Does she really think that life wouldn't go on for anyone without her? Get over yourself, Katniss!
I was discussing this with my sister and her thought was that because District 12 was so poor, it was surprising to see her so good with a bow/hunting skills. That the richer and trained districts were the only ones expected to have any necessary skills for this challenge. I have to disagree. Yes, they're poor and therefore can't go buy food when they get hungry. What other options do they have? Starve? Oh wait, maybe hunting would provide food. Oh ya! That's how people survived for years....so why would anyone be surprised that she had learned to be a good shot with her bow and arrows?
I guess my final comments will be these: it wasn't a TERRIBLE movie, but it definitely wasn't my favorite. I probably will never watch it again and I don't think it has any elements that could consider it best movie of the year. I'd rate it 2 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.

How yesterday went

I absolutely LOVE my haircut!! It's so easy to take care of and style!!
The interview went well, but now I'm thinking that it's just not right for me to take a part time job where they want me to work 3 or more days a week. That kind of defeats the purpose of being a stay at home Mom who just wants to get out of the house a couple days a week. I'm supposed to hear from them on Monday to see if they even want me for the job. I'll feel really guilty and bad, but I'll be turning it down. Eadon has brought multiple papers home to sign up for extracurricular activities. She wants to try out of a school play and she wants me to coach her volleyball team again. That leaves little time for me to be getting home after 6pm 3 or more days a week. Not to mention, they only want to pay $9/hr and that won't pay for much daycare or gas. I gotta do what's best for the girls AND myself.
I'm going to hang out with my good friend, Lea tonight. The girls and I are grabbing some pizza and breadsticks and going to her house to hang out. I'm really looking forward to it because I haven't hung out with Lea in forever, and I want to see her to make sure she's really doing ok after her neck surgery. She broke her neck from diving into a swimming pool. She had to have surgery to fuse vertebrae together. She's incredibly lucky to not be paralyzed!!

Many a things...

Well, I actually have some things to write about.
Nick and I have started working out together doing Insanity. It's kicking our butts, but we're loving it.
Eadon had her first day of school today. She's officially a 4th grader and I can't believe it. She's growing up entirely too fast!! But she's such a great person. I love the lady she's turning into!!

First day of school picture

I'm getting my haircut tomorrow. I'm incredibly nervous and excited about it! I ALWAYS regret it when I cut my hair, but it's just getting so long and tangled and I just want to make it easy to manage. Hopefully I cut off enough to donate to Locks of Love!!
I also have a job interview tomorrow. It's just a part time job, but that's exactly what I'm looking for. That way I can get out of the house, but still be home with the girls a majority of the time. Nick gets a day off during the week, so that would help with not needing a babysitter as many days. I'm hoping for 2 days a week working, so then I'd only have to get someone to watch the girls for 1 day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out so that we benefit from me getting a part time job. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!
We're getting closer to being done with refinancing our home. It's been a headache!! But, we're locking in at a lower interest rate, and taking some equity out to pay off bills. I'm so ready to have it all done and be caught up again on bills.
I guess I'm done babbling now. I'll be back to do more later though. I'm good at it.

More Structure

So, I thought the girls could use a little more structure in their day. Rather than wake up whenever they feel like it, I thought it would be good to get them into a school schedule. So I'll be waking them up around 8am so they can eat breakfast. Then we'll go for a walk, do arts/crafts, have story time, have music time, and then they like to participate when I do my stretches and some workouts. We're trying things out today. So far, it has worked out well. We went for a walk (and came across a VERY large and scary spider). When I routed our path online, it turned out to be just under a mile. We played with foam stickers to make pictures. They colored on an activity pad. We sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "The Alphabet Song". I read 4 books to them. We also made jello cake, which unfortunately won't be ready to eat until tonight. We'll do dinner tonight, take showers and be in bed by 8:30. I'm very ready to have them back on a schedule - the summer has us all off.

Music

Music has always been incredibly big in my life. When I'm in a good mood, I can bust a move to a good song. When I'm mad, I can turn my "angry hate music" on, and let out some frustrations and anger. When I'm sad, I can turn on something sad or upbeat to try and cheer me up. Regardless, I can always seem to relate to lyrics of every genre. I think I can thank my Dad the most for having an appreciation for music. Growing up, we'd play (what I call) the music game. A song would come on the radio and Dad would ask, "Who is it?" If I couldn't figure it out right away, he'd give me not-so-subtle hints :) I do this now with my kids, and my husband...ok and some of my friends too. When I'm editing photos, I've got music on. When I'm cleaning the house, I've got music on. When I'm showering or getting ready, I like to have music on. Basically, I LOVE music and I've been trying to think of ways that I can do more with music. I have no instruments that I can learn to play on. I used to play piano & violin, but neither lasted long. I've been singing more, and the girls tell me that I sing good. Maybe one day I'll get up the courage to record my singing and post it for everyone to hear, and critique.