mamato3in3's Xanga

so it's been forever...

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:54:11 GMT

but I have been told that I should be keeping a journal of the crazy and silly things that my kids do. So I am not going to make any promises that I will be updating this on a regular basis but I sure will try. As you can imagine with three kids my life is already crazy and hectic but also I have started going back to school. I am currently attending Regency Beauty Institute in order to get my cosmetology license. I am in school at night so I can be home during the day with the kids since daycare cost is astronomical. I am at school Mon-Thurs 5-9:15 and Saturday 8:30-5. I have been going to school since March and should be done in June or July of 2010. I will finish up school just before Breanna starts Kindergarten next July. Unfortunately she misses the cut off to go to school this year by 4 days! I am not sad to have her home another year but I know how badly she wants to go to school and how ready she is to be there.

Recently there have been a lot of changes with our family. We had to give up our house and move back into an apartment. We really never could afford the house in the first place and we made the mistake of buying a foreclosure that needed more work then we could afford to put into it. So we are in the process of doing a short sale where a company goes to our mortgage holder and says these people can no longer afford to pay their mortgage, we will give you this amount (substantually less then what we owe) and the bank will take it since it works out better for them (and us) then doing a foreclosure. So we are back in an apartment which is not really the most ideal situation for us, but works and everyone is actually much happier here then we were in the house. There are kids here for our kids to play with, we are right across the street from an elementry school, in a much better school district, and we are saving almost $600 a month between mortgage/rent and now we have all eletric so we no longer have an enormous gas bill that we did at the house. Things are still tight because I am still getting caught up on the utitlity bills we had gotten behind on at the house and now paying the bills at the apartment. But we will just keep on swimming!

Well that will be there for my first update of many. For those who still read, I have missed you and love you for always being there for us when we have needed you. For new reader welcome, sit back and enjoy the ride of our crazy, fun and wacky family! Thanks for reading!

I would like you to meet Sprinkles

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:46:37 GMT

This evening this wonderful thing popped into my living room and introduced herself as Sprinkles. Now the following is a word for word conversation with Sprinkles.

S: Hi I am Sprinkles
M: Oh really, I am mom.
S: Breanna is not here right now she is with Ariel in the sea
M:(giggling) uh huh that sounds fun
S: Yes I am here to clean her room
M: Great, well it's messy so you better get to it.
S: I will and it will be perfect because I am a winner
M: (giggling still) really?
S: yes not a loser
M: (all out laughing now)

She disappears while I race to call my mom to tell her about my daughters new invention. She comes back in the living room to tell me about this toy and that toy that she is cleaning up, all the while calling me miss. I thought I was going to die I laughed so hard. I asked Sprinkles if I could take a few pictures of her, which she was more then happy to pose for.

Afterwards she tells me that she must sleep in Breanna's bed because her spaceship was gone. I said oh I didn't realize you were an alien. And she said yes but not a mean yucky alien but a nice beautiful alien. We made her take all the sticker jewels off before bed but she still insisted she was not Breanna but still Sprinkles. I think Sprinkles will be making several appearences in our house... at least until the jewels lose their stickiness.
Oh the imagination of a 4 year old!!

Huge company rave.

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:30:18 GMT

Sorry I haven't been around. My birthday was on the 9th and I have been spending time with family and friends and laying low in general. But I wanted to post about this.

In September sometime a couple friends of mine and I took a trip to the zoo with our kids. I of course too my Nikon with me to get some shots. Half way through the day I realized that my shots were coming out extremely dark no matter the lighting conditions (inside or out, with or without the flash). I called Nikon and the tech guy walked through some steps to see if he could determine the problem. He wasn't sure what was causing the problem so he instructed me to send it in. It ended up taking me like a month to finally send it in for one reason or another. After I did I received a letter in the mail about 2 weeks later stating that the damage wasn't covered under my warranty and would cost about $200 to fix. After talking to my parents about the issue I remembered that we had secondary coverage through Circuit City where we bought the camera. I called them and explained what was going on. I was given a case number and told to have Nikon ship the camera back to me and contact them back with my case number and they would give me instructions on what to do from there. It took Nikon over two weeks to send me my camera back. Which meant by now I had missed Christmas with it. When I finally got it back I called the number back as instructed with my case number. The man who answered the call was SO nice. He took my information and told me that he would have a box sent out to me to ship my camera in and from there I would just have to call fedex to come and pick it up. The very next day the box came with inside was a second box, packing material, a label and even tape to close the box. Fedex came back the next day and picked it up. Here it is less then two weeks later and not only did they fix my camera but I have it back no questions asked. AMAZING customer service and support. I recommend that if you or any family member plans on making any big electronic purchases soon please go through Circuit City and get their service plan. Now I know what you are thinking.... I thought Circuit City was going bankrupt. Well from what I have heard they are BUT their service plans are run through an outside company (the people who took care of my camera problem) so if they do go out of business your service plan will still be carried out. Customer service like this should be rewarded by people going in and showing that we appreciate it. Like I said if you plan to spend your upcoming tax returns on anything electronic please support this company and buy from Circuit City.

SAVE HANDMADE PRODUCTS!

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:10:12 GMT

As I am sure many of your remember all those news stories about toys being recalled due to lead being used to paint or make them. It was terrible having to rush around the house checking to make sure that your child did not have one of the tampered items lurking in their bedrooms or toy box. I even remember two Christmases ago several mom's made the vow to only buy handmade items for their children and family members. This was a good thing for not only the parents to know the products their children were playing with were safe but also for small business owners who make these toys and other handmade items (ie. clothes, hair bows, cloth diapers etc.). This new law is there to protect our children but the problem is that it is too broad and will force small business owners out of business.
I planned to launch my hair bow business this year, but if this law passes I will not be able to sell my bows online or any where else. I belong to a bow group who has made a post talking about this law and what it will do, please CLICK HERE to read about it. There are also some great links on what you can do to help. I would really appreciate if you took the time to check it out. Thanks!

an update

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:59:00 GMT

So since it has been a while since I have updated on the things going on around here I will fill you in on the details. We have finally started decorating the house. After living here for 2 years I could take it no longer. When we bought this house we bought it as a foreclosure and knew that it needed a lot of work. What we didn't take into account was the fact that between the mortgage, utilites, and two (now three) kids was that we would have no money left over to do that work. The walls stayed white, there isn't a baseboard in the whole house, and our furniture was well... lets just say unpresentable. I was embarrassed to have anyone over in fear of the judgements that were sure to swirl around in their heads about us. Even worse I didn't feel like it was our home, but just some place we were staying. I didn't even put pictures on the wall or unpack any of my knic nacks. I felt like it was pointless, almost like tying a bow on a piece of crap and calling it pretty. My parents realized that I was pretty unhappy here and decided to help out. What started as just putting some color on the walls turned into a full out redecoration of the house. I couldn't be more thankful to them. Who knew a coat of paint could do so much to change my daily life. I am happier, more motivated to get things done, and am really starting to feel like this is our home. We still have a lot of work to do, because having three small children in the house and a husband who works tons of overtime doesn't exactly make it easy to paint and work on the things the need to be done. But hey we are getting there, and knowing that it's getting there makes things so much nicer. I almost wish I would have snapped before pictures so you could all see the huge difference, but I guess you will just have to live with the progress and finished work ones.

who thought I was leaving really?

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:58:51 GMT

Haha like I could ever really leave xanga. I mean I tried but it's like an addiction, you think you have it licked and then you feel the need to come back. In these days of facebook and myspace where you can reconnect with everyone you have ever known since preschool is great because it's nice to see what ever one is up to but it's not a place to just blog. I have tried other blogging sites too but it just never feels right. But this, this is home. I have been blogging here off and on since I was pregnant with Breanna. I have made some amazing friends on here. I am sorry I tried to leave, will you forgive me?

Just as a little insentive to forgive me for being gone so long here are a couple pictures we took Christmas eve.

good clean fun

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:58:59 GMT

Breanna is my little artist. She likes to draw on anything and everything, including herself. It is not a rare site to see my daughter covered from head to toe in pen or marker. We have had several conversations about how we only draw on paper, but it's like if she accidently get one mark on her hand well might as well just draw all over right? For this reason we keep pens, markers and other such items up out of reach and she can only use them under supervision. A couple days before my sister's wedding I was at my parents house helping tie up loose ends and such. The kids were watching Wonder Pets on DVD in the office, being good (or so I thought) and staying out of the way. Later BN came to dinner covered in orange and yellow marker. I asked her over and over again where she got the marker from and she just kept saying in there. Later that night while I was cleaning up we found the caps to two perminate markers from my mom's desk... orange and yellow. This being days before the wedding I was freaking out because not only was BN the flower girl but her dress was sleeveless and she had orange and yellow marker running up and down her arms. My mom did a google search on how to clean perminate mrker off skin and came up with a site saying that if you spray shaving cream on a table and let the kids "draw" in it the shaving cream would remove the marker. So I figured we would give it a shot:

It was a lot of fun and it actually worked! Some words tot he wise though...
Shaving cream will take the paint off of whatever surface you choose to use so make sure you do it somewhere safe. It also makes a HUGE mess so I would do it outside if that is an option. You also have to keep a close eye out so little hands don't make their way into mouths or eyes because shaving cream after all is soap. If you are just looking for a fun activity and don't need it for it's cleaning properties a tub of cool whip or a can of whipped cream will give you the same effect. I just tossed mine into the shower after wards and just rinsed them off- no scrubbing needed. Have fun!

4 years ago

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:47:42 GMT

Four years ago my life completely changed, I became a mother for the first time. I remember I was still basking in the joy of my husband being home after a very long 15 month deployment in Iraq. I was huge and uncomfortable, but so ready to meet my little girl. I went to the hospital at midnight to be induced. After 17 hours of hard contractions, fears of needing a c-section, and some pushing she came into our lives kicking and screaming... completely in character for her. Breanna Nicole was here, all 8 pound 3 ounces and 20.5 inches of her.

I never knew I could love someone so much and so completely. I watched her roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, and grow with such amazement and joy.

After her first birthday she became a big sister and I watched her learn love and compassion for that little brother. It was like she knew that they would be inseparable and partners in crime. Their love is like no other I have ever seen.

In her second year her curls came in and so did her amazingly strong personality. She is the sweetest happiest little girl, but boy when she is mad look out. She is wise and compassionate way beyond her years.

After her 3rd birthday she became a sister once again. Showing her love for yet another baby that will be apart of a tight sibling-hood most would give anything for.

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet BN, I love you more then you will ever know. Keep dreaming and reaching, you are something amazing!

Wedding Bells

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:07:16 GMT

ahhhhhh... after months of preparations it is all over. It was a very exhausting run of it all but I think a good time was had by all. Friday morning all the girls in the bridal party headed over to have our nails and toes done for the wedding. While we were there we sipped on champagne and ate huge chocolate covered strawberries. Afterwards we headed over to pizza street for some lunch. Next we headed to the mall to have our rings cleaned and pick up some last minute things. After that we headed over to pick up our dresses from alterations where they had been freshly steamed. Next came the mad dash of hair, make up and getting fancy for the rehearsal and dinner. It was a very good time of great friends and family.

Saturday morning we all woke up earlier then expected due to not being able to sleep, mostly excitement with a little bit of nerves mixed in. By 8 in the morning we started on the marathon of hair curling that needed to be done. Thankfully I had the help of my amazing friend and hairstylist. I only stopped curling and fixing hair long enough to have my own hair done and shove some food in my face. Before we knew it 2 in the afternoon came and the awesome stretch hummer limo was there to pick us up to take us to the wedding site. We had an hour to get into our dresses, shoes and jewelery but it seemed to fly past in minutes and they were asking if we were ready to head down the aisle long before we were. After a little break down from BN and Jacob about walking we finally got everyone down the aisle including Jacob's Woody doll (from Toy Story) and some tears from BN. The minute I saw my sister walking down the aisle in all her bridal glory I started crying. I am not sure why it hit me at that moment, because I had helped her get ready and had seen her all done up to go. Maybe it was I was standing still long enough to really grasp the situation and how beautiful she looked. After a short and sweet ceremony, the marriage license was signed and it was picture time. After over two hours of pictures it was time for us to be announced and walk into the reception. Best man and Maid of Honor toast were first up and I barely made it through. I cried when I read it to my mom and Devin but I some how held it together when it counted. Although I was shaking so hard I even felt a little faint... nerves always do that to me. We ate, we danced, we drank, danced some more and had more fun. After the reception and clean up we headed over to Beckey and Jeff's to drop off and watch them open their presents. They went off to their hotel room for the night and met us the next morning for breakfast before we sent them on their way to their honeymoon at Walt Disney World in Florida.

I would like to thank all of those who helped so much in making this weekend amazing for not only Beckey and Jeff but also for my family. I would also like to thank everyone for being so patient with me in my stress and forgetfulness during this busy time, especially my amazing husband who has endured the brunt of most of it. Please swing over to my dropshots account to check out all the great photos that I was able to capture this weekend. Please excuse any red eyed photos that I may have missed, most of the bridal party was wearing contacts which caused their eyes to be red in almost every photo and after hours of editing I finally gave up and posted them as is. If there is a particular picture that you would like to see fixed just let me know and I will be more then happy to fix it for you. Please leave lots of comments so Beckey and Jeff can see how much they are loved! Thanks a ton!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:58:35 GMT

Things are super busy with the wedding coming up THIS WEEKEND but I wanted to stop by real quick and throw this out there for all baby wearing mamas:

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)
All you have to do is go fill out a survey and you will be entered to win.

I will have a better update for you all after the wedding plus LOTS of pictures.