How did I get myself into this?

I kept telling myself that I just needed a little time to adjust to the situation at home when my mother-in-law had to move in with us temporarily. Unfortunately, her plans fell through and temporary became permanent. I've tried so hard to be selfless and keep my mouth shut, but as time goes by, I find myself feeling bitter and resentful. I hate that feeling.
The last few days have been really hard on me and I feel like I've reached my limit and I have no idea what to do. On one hand she is Rory's mom and I know he worries about where she would go or what she would do if she wasn't with us. On the other hand, the drama and the stress is taking it's toll on our whole family.
For any of you that don't know her, she is a very different type of person. She is beyond a handful and it gets worse as the time goes on. Well, she talked her doctor into prescribing a diet pill for her. (It's been explained that it has a similar effect as speed). She has been taking this drug for a little while now and has been a bit more jittery and getting less sleep. Recently there was a situation that happened with her other son Derek that she got involved in and it "charged" her emotionally. With all those factors, she was bound to crack, and she did. She was practically hysterical when she was trying to explain that God was talking to her and that all of our worries were over. Now, I do believe in revelation and inspiration, but this woman was three shades of crazy and had no clue what she was talking about. She said that God had told her that some stranger was going to pay off our house so I could be a stay at home mom and Rory could be a stay at home dad and that she was going to find her "eternal mate" and get married and travel all over the world and bring millions of people back to God. In the middle of her tirade, she lost the ability to speak several times and once she recovered, she said it was Satan holding her tongue and that God had pushed him away to enable her to speak again.
The worst part of this entire situation was that, as I was trying to calm her down, there was a knock at my door. When I answered it, there was a lady I hadn't met before standing there with a little girl. To my shock and horror, I noticed that the little girl was mine! Lexie had wandered out the front door that had been left unlocked or possibly open by one of Cassies other family members bringing her back to my house. Needless to say my heart instantly sunk into my stomach and I started bawling my eyes out. What kind of mother am I, that instead of being able to protect my daughter and keep her safe I was trying to console a crazy lady that had all but turned our family upside down?! All the "what if's" started spinning through my head. What on earth would I do If anything ever happened to my little girl. I am literally at my breaking point. I am afraid that this was the very last straw. I am thinking that it has come down to she goes or I go.

What The........Twilight?

Okay, so I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I would rather sit down on the couch with a remote in hand and watch one of my favorite programs than to pick up a book. I consider myself a busy lady, and for some reason I just don't feel the need to make the time. I have a full time job, I have my girls to take care of and my t.v. time is my relax time.
So, after the movie Twilight came out, my mom borrowed the book series from Kristie. She was so consumed and excited about these crazy books that it got me a little interested. As soon as she finished the first book, she was going to pass it along. I decided to go ahead and find the time to read it. Imagine my surprise when I could not put this stupid vampire book down. I'm also a little embarrassed to admit I had to take a lunch break at work to run out and buy the next 3. How on Earth did I get sucked into the crazy madness of Stephenie Meyers series. I have never been so insanely obsessed about any book or book series. I have to roll my eyes at myself. What should have taken me all month, took me about a week and a half to read all 4 novels. CRAZY!!
At the end of the last book I felt at a loss. I felt really sad there was not more, that can't be all. What was I going to do now that I ate, drank and breathed Twilight for a week and a half and now.....nothing. Talk about addict. I may actually have to seek medical attention for my near disorder. I was pretty upset about not having more, so I pulled up Stephenie Meyers website and came across the beginning of a book that went along with the series but was put on hold indefinitely because of a leak of the draft on the internet. I was sorry to hear the book was put on hold but so excited that there was still more to read. How pathetic am I?
Anyway, I hope the movie New Moon will be good. Now that they have more money to work with and a new director. We'll see. I'll be waiting to get my next "fix" in November. :)

What?? Easter is over already???

You know how you start counting down the days to an event and then you blink and it's over. That's kinda how Easter this year was for me. Getting everything ready, buying the eggs and other groceries, finding the baskets, making Rory get the yard ready etc....... so much pre-planning and then before you know it, it's Monday and everybody is back to work. SIGH!!

We decided to have our Easter get together at our house again this year. I actually prefer it that way. If Lu-Lu decides to be a one man wrecking crew, it's my problem and I'll deal with it whenever I feel like it. Even if that means in a day or two.

We started with the traditional coloring of the eggs. I ended up having to chill out and just let Lexie do her own thing. She didn't quite get the concept, but she sure enjoyed handling all the eggs. All the other kids seemed like pro's.

Then we had a nice break for lunch. We had picked up a Honeybaked Ham and Honeybaked Turkey, and made some yummy sandwiches with Julie's homemade rolls. (Good job jules.) And thank you Deanna for bringing your world famous potato salad.

After lunch, Rory and I scattered the Easter eggs in the back yard. The kids were so cute during the hunt. Camrie wasn't wasting any time. She was so funny running from egg to egg. Next year she's going out the same time as the older kids. There's no way she even needs a head start. :)

After the hunt, almost everybody had to leave, so those of us that were still there put in a movie and just enjoyed the rest of the evening. And ate cheesecake.

I'm going to have to add the pictures in a day or two. My home computer won't let me log into my blog and my work computer does not have a way to load my pictures. Whatcha gonna' do?

By the way Sherri, thanks for the push to update my blog and LeAnne, I promise I'll post my 6th picture in my 6th folder. I tried to do it at home several times, but for some dumb reason, I can't even log in. Stupid technology!!!

Just a few random thoughts

There is actually really nothing new and exciting happening in my life, but I still wanted to update my blog. It's been sitting on the same post for almost a month.

Work is going great. I am really enjoying the change of pace. It was a little difficult at first, but now that the in-box is under control, I have been able to relax a little and enjoy it a whole lot more. My co-workers are a riot. There have been quite a few "laugh breaks" when we take a break and end up laughing almost the entire time. I really feel so blessed to have found a job I love so much before my last job closed up shop.

Home life is still a little crazy. Lulu is still a little terror. I love her dearly and she's getting a little better, but this child has a bit of a mean streak. She's into hitting an pulling hair. She looks at you with her adorable eyes and grabs a lock of hair and just pulls. Poor Jaelynn has been the victim of this on several occasions. She has so much hair and it's so easy to get a hold of. It's a good thing Jae loves her little sister, otherwise there may be trouble.

Jaelynn is still the best big sister in the world. I don't know how long it will last, but I love that she loves her little sister so much. She still says "Mom, I love being a big sister." That makes me smile. Another thing that made me smile is one of her "kidisms" The other day I was watching T.V. with the kids and told Jae that I would be right back, I just had to go potty. That's when she said "Well mom, since you never get any privacy........We're coming with you."

Rory is doing really well at work. His store looks awesome and he's been "unofficially" named the new training manager. They keep giving him "MIT's" (Manager in training), to train and then set them up in a new store as manager. I say "unofficially" because he has not been promoted, just nominated for the task. He has such a good reputation with his training abilities and his dedication to his own store that they decided he was the best man for the job. Unfortunately, he just earns "kudos" instead of an increase in salary. Too bad.

We still have a full house. Rory's mom and brother are still living with us. It's a bit difficult at times, but I'm trying to be more positive about it and just hoping that I am earning mega points in Heaven. If this goes on much longer I think I'll be a shoe in.

I hope that next time I post I'll have somethig really good to post about and not just a recap of everyday life.

The New Job

This year I started the new year off with a new job. JoAnn's son Al owns a business in West Jordan called Engineered Wall Systems. It's a construction company that puts metal paneling up on buildings looking to remodel or go for a more "retro" look. They also make signs and other fun things like that. I've been hired to take over the Accounts payable/receivable dept., make travel reservations for the guys on the out of stat jobs, answer phones, enter in the time cards for payroll and pretty much do anything they ask me to do.

So far it's been fun. Busy, but fun. I found myself in a situation where I've had to play catch up from the previous girl. Apparently she wasn't quite on top of things and she let a few things slide. I am just now getting to the point where I can breathe a little.

The people at the new place are really fun and really nice. I think we'll get a long just fine. There have been a couple times we've taken a break and just visited and ended up laughing so hard our guts hurt. I think I'm really going to enjoy it. :)

The only set back in my mind is the fact that I'm not used to having to be to work by 8 a.m. For those of you that know me well, know this is VERY DIFFICULT for me. Rory has been a lifesaver. The whole first week on the job, Rory scheduled himself later in the day so he could get the girls ready and off to daycare and/or school. He has been so good to help. THANK YOU, THANK YOU Rory!!!

Anyway, I'm sorry if I haven't been in touch or up to speed with all of you, like I said I am just now able to slow down and take a breath.

Stuff Happens

I want to start off by saying Jaelynn's birthday was a huge hit. Jaelynn was the star of the day! She had so much fun being the Magicians helper. Sometimes Jae is a little nervous and shy when it comes to getting in front of large crowds, but it was her day to shine and she loved it. I will post a couple pictures as soon as I have them in the computer.

As for the title "Stuff Happens", I just found out that Western Travel will be closing it's doors for good! As of January 1st I will be jobless. I know we've been slowing down for some time now, but it's still kind of a shock when it's official. We've made jokes about it for a couple of years, but it still seemed like it was going to keep tickin' for a while.

I started at western travel about 12 years ago. It's been a fun ride. I have been able to take advantage of some pretty terrific deals and have been to some pretty fun places. Places I would have most likely never gone.

I will miss the friends I've made here. Friends that have been through almost all of the major moments in my life right along with me. They were there for my wedding and they were there through both pregnancies. I hope that even though we won't be working together any more, we can still keep in touch.

On a positive note, there have been a few doors opened to me that I will be able to explore. JoAnn has some son's that own their own businesses and are always in need of a little help. I'm not sure what the positions would be but they have both offered to hire me if I need a place to go. I have also been advised of other positions with friends or family that might work out to my advantage too.

I guess it's time to move on to the next chapter in my life and hopefully be able to help provide for my family and find something I also enjoy doing. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

December Birthday

Can I just say that December birthday's are hard. Jaelynn's birthday is December 7th and she is sooooo excited. I am excited for her but also a little bit frazzled. Everybody is so busy this time of year. We're all trying to recover from Thanksgiving and get ready for all the family Christmas parties. WHEW!
My mom always made my birthday special. I never felt like I was overlooked because my birthday was so close to Christmas, so I want to be able to do the same thing for Jaelynn. This year we decided to hire a magician for her party. (We saw a magician over at Hollywood Connection the other day and she was so in awe over the tricks) It was so cute to see the amazement in her eyes. That's how we decided to look around for one.
I would love for all of Jae's little friends and cousins to be able to come so for those who are free this Saturday, December 6th, leave me your e-mail addresses so I can send you the details. We will be having it in a public place so if the parents want to stay and watch, they are more than welcome. :)