And We're Off...!

Started work today...just a half day. I was up too early, around 4:30, because I was worried that I wouldn't hear my alarm clock, or that it wouldn't go off, or something of that nature...so I was up, sort of. Drifted in and out of a light slumber I suppose until 6:00. Got up, showered and got ready, and my lovely little children, who usually wake ME up around 6:30 or so, were not even close to waking up at 7:15!!! Mind you, we need to be out the door by 7:30. So of course I had to wake them up, which is just about all of our least favorite thing to do! Grumpy, whiney children. That's what I dropped off at the daycare. Nice, huh? At least I didn't have to deal with them though!!!!

Alex wouldn't let go of my leg, and Ellie was screaming as I handed her off to Miss Teresa, one of my favorites. We gave the ol' daycare a test drive last week, and it went as well as could be expected. So at least we all kind of knew the teachers today. That helped. Alex didn't cry at all while I was gone, and had a lot of fun. Ellie didn't fare so well. She didn't really eat, didn't really play, just kind of hung out and/or cried :-( But I'm sure she'll come to enjoy it...soon I hope!

So back to work was nice, but a little boring. Naturally, as I expected, they didn't have a computer or a chair for me to sit in (this is simply how they have always been, unprepared!), and I arrived there approx. an hour before my boss got there. I did have the trusty ol' pile of paperwork to fill out. That helped pass the time. And here I sit, waiting for software to load on my computer so I can work from home. My boss had something he wanted me to get done today. Glad I only was supposed to work half a day! Oh well, I'm logging my time. At least I'm getting paid!

Talk soon,
Lisa

I'm Just Done...

So, we've spent over $2000 on my stupid mini-van to fix the A/C, and boy is it working great. However, in the last couple of weeks, we've noticed a burning oil or anti-freeze smell after turning the piece of crap off. No smoke, no leaks, no rising temp. Just a bad smell. So I take it in for an oil change today, and had to have a safety inspection (in stupid Missouri, you have to have your vehicle inspected every other year in order to renew your license plates). I also mentioned "the bad smell"...WELLLLLLL....now my van needs another at least $1000 worth of work. Most of it is regular vehicle maintenance. However, after just spending $2000 just on the A/C and a couple of other leaks, it doesn't really seem to matter that it is just regular maintenance! I'm so sick of putting money that I don't have into a piece of crap vehicle that I don't even like! And it won't pass inspection until I spend at least $400 to fix the brakes and the whole tail-light assembly thing. So now I can't renew my plates either. Luckily I have until the end of July!
I HATE VEHICLE MAINTENANCE.
I'm done now, thank you...
By the way, the bad smell is a leaking valve cover gasket. Nice, huh?

Little Bug Problem

OK, so I HATE bugs...but they seem to love me and my house. Last year, it was the ants and waterbugs. This year, it is some unidentified little creature, and I mean little, almost microscopic. It's black, oval shaped, with two little short antennas. It crawls and hops, and they seem to mostly stay near windows on the back side of my house, which faces the northeast, I think. Anybody have any ideas as to what they might be, and how to get rid of them? I have those Terro liquid ant traps setting inside the sils of all my windows. Those have pretty much kept the ants out, but these little critters don't seem to take that bait.

I've sprayed Raid when I see them, but I hate spraying that stuff around my kitchen sink. And it only lasts until the next day, when a fresh batch has creeped in. What to do, what to do?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go...

Well, for those of you who don't know...I'm going back to work after two years+ of being a stay-at-home-mom. I've spoiled my kids rotten and I can't handle them anymore, so now it's someone else's turn! :-) So really, it's just time. I'm going back to Contract Furnishings, the same place I worked when we first moved here, over THREE YEARS AGO! Can you believe we have been here that long?! Time sure flies. So anyway, I'll be designing office spaces again, and doing some admin stuff. But I have a little softer schedule this time, working 8:30-4:30. Hopefully that gives me time to get home and get the big kids off to wherever they need to be...practice, game, concert, camp...whatever, and find time to make supper.

So Ben and Greg will be hanging out at home for the summer (maybe not for long...we'll see how they do), and Alex and Ellie will be going to a daycare center. It seems to be a really nice, fun, organized place. I'm just horrible at taking the kids outside (I bow down to the person or persons who invented climate control!), and at the daycare, they will get to go crazy on all kinds of slides and swings and climby things TWICE DAILY!!!! So excited! They seem to have a pretty good cirriculum as well, better than my school of Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, and the latest...the evil, stupid, lame, IQ-reducing Spongebob!! However, my dear friend Cathy pointed me to a GREAT show on PBS called Word World. It actually is a pretty good show, and they learn letters and sounds, etc. etc. all while being entertained. I had to go buy Alex "letters" so he can "build a word, let's build it, let's build it now...".

So anyway, I'm everything you can imagine I would be. Nervous, excited, anxious, joyful...I finally get to go to the bathroom all by myself!!! Don't have to check in with Alex before I go anywhere or do anything...but I'm sure I'll miss it at some point. My first day back is June 23rd, and I'll be just doing 1/2 days that first week, just to kind of ease into it.

Well, I'll try to keep in touch.

Pray for us...

Lisa