New Job???

Starting May 1st, I will be adding to my already hectic job of being a wife, mother, cook, housekeeper, hooker! LOL I will be adding a baby into the mix of Luck Chaos. I will start watching Mark (My cousin's baby) for May, June, and July...and MAYBE some of August. Here's are the things I am worried about - #1 Some days it's hard enough just watching the two I have. There is more that goes into being a stay at home mom than just "watching" them. #2 For the month of May, I will be watching him from 7am - about 2pm...but Tuesdays and Thursday I will get the priveledge of loading up all three kids to take Logan to school and picking him up from school! YAY! Not excited about that. #3 During the month of June I will be watching him from 7am - 6:30pm that's nearly 12 hours a day. Here's my dilemma...I have no problem watching him, but its a LOT of work. He just turned 7 months old and he doesn't sleep during the day ( I may have to try to fix that)...he cat naps....20 minutes heres, 20 there. They offered to pay me $200 a month...and although they are family, and I should probably do it for free...I am taking the money...although I kind of feel like it should be more. Does that make me a bad or greedy person? The month of May I will be watching him for 7 hours a day...35 hours a week...that pretty much means I am making a $1.43 and hour, and when June rolls around I will be wathing him nearly 60 hours a week...meaning I am making about $0.87 an hour. I guess I am not sure how to feel...in a way I feel a little taken advantage of, but then I feel guilty for feeling that way, because they are family. Plus, I know they are trying to save some money because they are moving back to Corpus Christi at the end of July/early August. I also feel like I should be grateful, because no matter what it's still $200 more than we had. But I also think $2 an hour would be more fair to both of us. It wouldn't raise the amount for May too terribly..well - $80...but I guess I would even be willing to say That May could be $250...but June should be more since I will have him so much longer each day. I have spent a few days thinkng on this and going back and forth, I have thought to just go with the $200 for May and ask for $300 for June and July since I will be keeping him longer hours, I have thought about setting a price per hour (but I think that may get too confusing), the problem is that I dont even KNOW how to go about asking for more money...but I really dont want to feel taken advantage of - and for all you mom's out there....keeping a baby happy is a JOB. They are my family, and I honestly have no problem watching him,and I am not trying to make a LOT of money, and I am not trying to take advantage of them either, I just dont want to end up resenting anyone because I am so tired all the time...I have enough problem with that as it is...being tired - not resenting someone. My initial thought was that I would just charge them half of what they paid for daycare...I figured that would be a win/win. I make a little money, and they save a little money...then I found out they were paying $900 in daycare...which would be $450 for me...and I didn't feel comfortably charging THAT much money...then again, that was also before I was told I would be watching him for 12 hours a day! LOL Anyway...any advice on what I should do?? Am I being selfish...and seriously - tell me if I am? Should I ask for more money...maybe the $200 for May...$300 for June idea??? And how do you go about asking for more money from your family?

House decor and party

Saturday night we had our house warming party. We had such a good time, and there were quite a few people here. I didn't take any photos at the party as I was a little busy being a host, but it was great. JR made some AWESOME burgers, he made some washer boards for people to play and then later we pulled out the poker chips. Ughh! I was up until 5:15 am We seriously do this crazy staying up until all hours, partying like we are in college about twice a year...and it gets harder and harder for me to recover! LOL Friday, before JR's mom and sister arrived we decided to go to Hobby Lobby for some decorations for the house...so here are the pictures. We still have a ways to go, but we are really happy with how it turned out!

I wish you could see the detailing in this mirror...its really pretty

This is the one piece that I bought several weeks ago...the star is actually a mirror, again its a little hard to see because of my camera phone, and reflections

These are just a few pieces we haven't hung yet, don't really know where to put them, I think we are going to go back and get a few more

JR found this cool star next to the cabinets...it says, "Welcome Family & Friends" and if you look on the window sill there is another decor that says America in red white and blue...that is going to go above the cabinets with some other things

Awesome star candle holders...and the one in the middle is from Brittany and Carol...and you can see another sign in the back ground that says FREEDOM...it goes with the America sign as does the red, white, and blue can...

The picture frame is from Carol and Brittany...but it went great with the HOWDY that we found!!!

LIVE LOVE TEXAS....also from Carol and Brittany...we just have to hang it!!!

It's hard to see...but we found the cute red, white, and blue stars (on second shelf)

Awesome coat/key hanger!!

We are actually going to move this Star somewhere else to hang a clock my parents got for us...

This is the clock

A really cool art piece..I really love it, I will have to take closer pictures later during the day so the reflection isn't so bad

JR's favorite 3 pieces...this awesome star and two pictures...the one on the left is a saddle and on the right are a pair of old boots!

A closer picture of the saddle

weekend pictures

Here are some pictures from this weekend! We had such a great time...you can see all of them over on facebook

Such a great weekend

This weekend was great for so many reasons. #1 We got to see our wonderful friends. It has been a while since we have seen the whole family. I was able to attend my friend's baby shower in late February, but my husband and kids were not with me. The last time we got to actually see each other as entire units was at Landry's birthday last October..and even then it was pretty hectic. #2 It was the first weekend since moving into our home that we were able to do something other than work on the house. #3 Our kids had a great time together. #4 It was really relaxing...sometimes having company can be really stressful - but it wasn't. It was laid back, no set plans...it was just fun!

I am not very good at making new friends, I can admit that. I feel like the last 6 or 7 years I have kind of been in a "no BS" state of mind. I can be in a group setting and get along fine with people, but I don't feel the need to kiss anyone's butt. I honestly only have a handful of people I consider friends, but as with most things in life, I feel that its quality over quantity. What good is a 100 friends if you can't share your secrets with any of them???

When I met Nikki and Travis, it was before either of us had children...although not long after meeting them I got pregnant! Nikki and Travis had recently gotten married and JR had just moved in with each other. We lived on the third floor above a bar across the hallway from each other. I remember when I first met them, I was shocked to learn that these two "grown-ups" were actually my age. While, they had what I called "real jobs" and had things like the internet, JR and I were more concerned with hitting the bars - EVERY NIGHT - and only worried about making enough money to cover rent and partying. Obviously, aftter I got pregnant, we grew up and stopped going to the bars all the time. JR and Travis played on a softball team together, so Nikki and I usually went to the games together and got to know one another. I really liked her, she was a fundamentally nice person, and I loved getting to hang out and talk to her. As time went by Nikki and Travis were getting ready to buy there first home, while JR and I were getting ready to move into an apartment a little closer to where he worked. The Ward's moved into their house in La Marque, and we moved to our apt. in Clear Lake (by that time JR had a "REAL job" LOL) Luckily we didn't live that far from each other and we were still able to hang out and keep in touch. Logan arrived about 23 days after the move on March 23, 2007.

A year later, Nikki told us the house next door to hers was up for rent, JR and I quickly jumped on it. I was so excited to get to live next door to them again! We moved in a week or so before Logan's 1st birthday. We had many good nights of hanging out with those guys, and the following year - a week before Logan's 2nd birthday, JR and I got married. In Ward news, they were expecting their first child. We, were expecting our second. Aiden Ward was born July 1, 2009. It was really neat to live next door to someone who had become such a great friend, unfortunately..a few months later we moved to north Houston. Landry was born Oct. 15, 2009 and 6 months later JR got transferred to Austin so we moved to Kyle.

Here we are, April 16, 2012 - 6 years later, and we are still great friends with the Wards. Their second baby will be here in May...it's amazing how much we have each gone through in 6 years. I truly consider Nikki to be one of my best friends and I love getting to hang out with them. I just wish I could talk them into moving here! LOL

Our kids played so well together. Aiden and Landry are only 4 months apart, while Logan is a little over 2 years older than they are...but it didn't matter, Aiden and Logan had a great time playing - and they were really great to each other, and Landry and Aiden played wonderfully together as well. I am always a little nervous to see how my kids will interact with other kids. I know I have great kids...but, I'm their mom, so of course I think they are great. LOL The thing is, my kids like to irritate each other. Oh, they love each other, and some days they don't fight at all..some times they cuddle and love on each other...while others - they seem to have more fun getting on each other's nerves. This is why I worry...however, they all did awesome. At one point Logan came and told me he wanted to play with one of the toys that Aiden was playing with. I told Logan just to go ask Aiden and I bet that he would share. It took a few times...not because Aiden didn't want to share, but because Logan gets shy and mumbles so no one can understand him. So I had to keep telling him to speak up. Once Aiden understood what Logan was saying, he handed the toy right over! GREAT SHARING! I told Nikki, that I was actually happy Logan came to me...although I wish he would have just asked Aiden to begin with, I was glad he didn't just take the toy. If Landry would have been holding the toy..I am pretty sure he would have just taken it from her and vice versa. As far as I can remember, none of the kids fought, they all shared really well, and enjoyed playing together. So I just have to pat the Wards on the back, and myself and JR too for doing such a great job being parents. It is so easy to second guess myself, and I am sure I have made a thousand mistakes parenting...but watching my kids get along with others...well it certainly makes me feel good!

Don't worry - this is not an opportunity to tell you how awesome I am...both of my kids had their meltdowns...Logan was upset that I cut his corndogs, which resulted in him refusing to eat for about 30 minutes...Landry had a seat belt freak out. Heck - my kids aren't perfect and neither am I...the point is, I am really proud of them and of Aiden for how well they played together, and how nice they were to each other. It just really makes me happy.

On Sunday we took the kids to the park and the pool. All three of them got into the freazing water, and played their little hearts out! Again, they did great, they all played together really well. I went through my pictures last night...I took 212 photos - GEESH! I deleting over a hundred and got it down to 65! LOL I am hoping to take those up to Target today or tomorrow so I can upload them on the computer!

Anyway, we had a really great weekend! Now, I have to continue working on the house, because our house warming party is this weekend! YIKES!

Settling in???

Tomorrow will mark 4 weeks since we closed on the house. I can't believe it has been a month. We are still not done with the house....we still have things in boxes, furniture in the garage, etc. On a good note, JR and I finished the floors last night - well, we finished laying the wood, tonight we will be cutting all the quarter-round and trim pieces, tomorrow I will paint them all, and tomorrow night we will put them up, along with the chair rail in Logan's room. I kind of feel like..WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING FOR 4 WEEKS???
Well, painting took nearly every day for 3 weeks, and I still haven't painted my bathroom! The floors have taken all week because I refuse to use the saw...I like all my fingers thank you very much!...JR doesn't get home until around 7, and then we eat, and work for about 2 hours then its showers and bedtime. It's a little frustrating that we haven't gotten further..I haven't hung a single thing on my walls! Oh well, I had really hoped to have the entire thing done by this weekend, but it isn't going to happen. In fact, it may take another 6 months before we actually get everything the way we want it!
Today, I am just going to work on getting some of it done...getting things in their proper places, and getting the bedroom furniture organized. I guess all I can do is work on it each day and get as much done as possible. I guess it just irritates me that I can't do it faster!

Coming Along!!!

The house is coming along...very slowly! I really thought that by this time I would be relaxing and enjoying the house....oh how wrong I was. We are only a week away from having company, and 2 weeks away from the house warming party...so hopefully we can finish up most of this stuff this week!

I still have a ton of pinterest projects that need to be done for the house...but before I can start on that stuff, I need to get the house finished. We STILL have stuff in boxes! UGHHH

Our floors arrived yesterday, so the carpet will be pulled up tonight, and the floors will go in tomorrow! I still have about 12 loads of Laundry to do. By the way, the delivery weighed 1200 lbs. LITERALLY, it was just divinded into 37 boxes, in which I had to carry into the house and take the wrapping off in order to get it acclimated! Geesh

It sucks because I purposely washed everything before packing it, but there were bugs in some of the boxes, so I am now rewashing everything. This included the dishes too! Which we still need more of!

I have to get the guest room finished this week, since we have people who will be slieeping in there. Basically we still have a ton to do.

My mom and dad came to Logan's game on Wednesday, then offered to take us to dinner, then came over to look at the house. The entire time she was very pleasant, and talked a whole lot. Who knows what goes on in that head of hers, but apparently she's over it! It's so hard to keep up with her.

It's been a while...

I have not been good about blogging as of late...I have just bee soooo very busy. I am happy to say that there is only one room left to paint (the master bath). It's a two coater, so I will start on it tomorrow. Yesterday, I took the day off from painting. Instead, I unpacked some boxes in the garage. I needed to make room for JR to get the table saw out in order to cut the chair rail going up in Logan's room. JR has been doing Logan's room....it is blue on top and red on the bottom ...the red took 3 coats! yuck! and it will have white chair rail where the ttwo colors meet. We are ordering some Super Mario decals for his room, so I think it will look great! I finished painting Landry's room on Monday, and it's pretty darn cute. It's pink....and it's a lot of pink, but its a pastel, so it isn't too overwhelming. I will get some pictures...the problem is that then I have to take them to target to get them put on a cd...then I have to upload and save them on my computer. It's such a hassel, but then I get so far behind on photos...ughh!

Landry is so very smart! LOL - I know, I'm her mom, so I am biased. Anyway, last week, I took my phone to verizon. I had already dropped Logan off at school so it was just Landry and I. While the verizon guy fixed my phone, Landry watched the cars go by through the glass. She kept telling me about a yellow car...but there were no yellow cars, so I figured she just liked the word yellow, and maybe to her every color was yellow??? When we left, she let go of my hand and bolted. I followed her, telling her to stop running, and she actually stopped!! We were standing in front of the HEB carts, and she started pointing and telling me yellow car!...It finally hit, she wanted to ride in the yellow car cart! HA!

Yesterday, Logan came home with a little cross project they made at school, it had a bunch of different color foam stickers on it. Landry started naming the colors! I was so impressed. I knew that she knew some colors...but I guess I didn't grasp how well she knew them.

Landry is seriously such a ham. She is so animated when she talks, she just cracks me up. Last night JR got her food cut up and put it on the table for her..she said, "Gracias". Bwahahha..when I ask what color something is that is red, she says its rojo! She is just too cute, I can't believe how much I love her! It really is true that you can have two children and love them both the same amount, and yet differently at the same time. My kids are so different from each other, and yet so much the same!

Logan has NO inside voice. I am constantly telling him to be a little quieter, or to stop yelling, or to use his inside voice...but it never lasts! I think he may have grown an inch in the last week...I am probaly exaggerating, but he is getting so tall. He will probably be taller than me by the time he hits 12. I still can't believe I have a 5 year old. I don't feel like I am old enough to have a 5 year old! Logan has a t-ball game tonight, which is why I am taking another day of from painting. Instead I will try to organize a little...and unpack some more boxes.

I love my son. While he is very loud, he is also so sweet. He is so tender hearted, which I think its great (most of the time). JR wants hiim to toughen up a little, which I think he will as time goes by and he gets older.

I just checked the tracking number on our floors, they reached the destination terminal this morning...so, I am hoping that means that we will get the delivery today. They have to sit for 48 hours to get acclimated, so if we get them today, we will be ready to start this weekend. I am so ready to say goodbye to the carpet. It really isn't so bad in the living room and entry - and hello, it's brand new...but the carpet in the dining area drives me absolutely nutty!

Tomorrow, I will try to get some photos up, unfortunately it is taking too long right now!