16 School Days Remaining!

I know it seems silly, but I am so excited and am counting down the days until I am done with this long-term sub job.  The kids are getting rowdy as the end of the year approaches, and very few of my management strategies are helping at this point.  I am just relieved that there are only a little over 3 weeks left.  16 school days.  22 days all together counting weekends.  Ready to have my life back and some time to myself and time with my hubby.  Can't wait.  The countdown's getting smaller every day!

Day Off

I got an unexpected day off today.  I requested off from the jewelry store so that I could go to Douglas for the day and sell Pampered Chef.  But last night I got a text from the coordinator, a good friend of mine, saying she understood if I needed to bail.  She knows I'm pregnant and how many hours I've been working lately and also said she understands the pregnancy exhaustion.  So I took her up on the offer.  It wouldn't be hard work today, but it would be another long day away from home.  So now I have a whole Saturday off and nothing to do but spend time with my puppies, my baby, and my amazing husband.  :).  I am a happy camper.  Michael and I are going to try to get out and do some stuff together.  We've spent about 10 hours of actual awake time together in the last 5 days, so I'm looking forward to just spending time with him.  We're thinking the zoo and maybe some more work on the baby registry.  We will see how much energy I have today.  Thank you all for your prayers for me in my long work schedule.  It paid off and I am catching a break.  And a big thanks to Jenni for mentioning something to me.  I would have gone, had she not given me an out, which I appreciate so very much.  Happy Saturday to you all!  :)

All Work and No Play Makes Jen Terribly Sleepy

Today is Thursday...  I am on the downhill slope of the week.  This week I needed Saturday off from the jewelry store so I can go to a Girls Day Out convention and sell Pampered Chef.  So that meant my week was going to suck.  Sunday I worked 8 hours after being up late Saturday because of the storm.  Monday-Friday I worked(/will work) 8 hours at school, followed by 4 hours at the jewelry store.  Then Saturday I'm in Douglass selling Pampered Chef.  It's been/is going to be a long week.  But I will survive.  I always do.  And when the money starts coming in from this crazy work schedule, I will be thankful. 

I'm glad I'm in the second trimester of my pregnancy, for a number of reasons.  One, I worry less about problems like miscarriage.  Two, I have fewer of those less desirable symptoms (but still have a one in particular, nausiated in the morning).  Three, I have more energy, which is great, because there is no way I would survive 2 jobs and 70+ hours/week if I were still in the first trimester.  Four, the bump is starting to come in.  :)  So far I've been very nice to people about touching my stomach, but know that if you put your hands on me without asking, you might get a very rude response.  :)  But I will try to behave myself.  ;)

Michael is home again (has been for a week tomorrow), which is wonderful!  I wish I got to see him more.  But it will all be worth is for the extra money we can put towards the baby and the fence and the house and the bills.  He's been working hard on cleaning up the apartment so that we can turn it over and maybe not have to pay rent for May!  :)  He's the greatest.  Read previous posts it see me gush about what a wonderful and perfect man he is.  :)  Love him.

Kids are nuts, but what else is new?  ;)  I am surviving.  ;)  But keep praying for me anyway, I appreciate it.  :D

Daily Ramblings: Sunday

Well, today was kind of a stinky day at work.  No sales, or none to speak of anyway.  Glad I sold a Levian yesterday, makes today not so bad.  Hopefully having a customer tomorrow come in and upgrade his fiance's ring.  That should be another good sale.  The ups and downs of a sales associate...

Michael cleaned the kitchen up for me today while I was at work.  It looks so much better now.  It was nice to come home to that.  He's so good to me.  :)  He's been working hard on the yard and house and everything since he got back from Minnesota.  It's a good thing, too, because I have been no help with my schedule.  I love him something fierce!  He definitely takes care of me.  Don't know where I'd be without him.  :)

I want to mention again how much I LOVE our new house.  It is absolutely amazing.  I cannot get over how great it is.  We are still working on getting everything put in it's place, but things are coming together nicely.  We have so much space!  The puppies love running around and chasing each other.  :P  We are down to only 1 bedroom that's really empty.  We have managed to fill (or at least put a few things) in all of the other rooms.  Upstairs we have our room, the nursery, and a guest room (sorry, only a twin bed, couples will have to get very cozy!).  Downstairs we have the office and an extra room that will eventually be another guest room, but is currently empty.  The closet in that extra room was our storm shelter last night.  I prefer a closet to a bathroom, feels a little more inviting.  ;)  Don't forget to mark your calendars for June 2nd, when Michael and I will be having our housewarming party and big reveal of our house!  We will make sure it's clean and everything!  Please join us!  More details to come.  :)

Our baby has been much nicer to me since we hit the second trimester (for the most part).  She (we don't know what we're having yet, but I'm not calling my baby an it, so until we know otherwise, I'm refering to her as a girl) is only making me slightly nausiated in the morning when I have no food in my stomach.  For those that don't know, the morning sickness caused me to lose 5 pounds in the first couple of months.  Since then I have stayed down those 5 pounds and not fluctuated much.  Well, I am proud to say that I am consistantly stepping on the scale and keeping about a pound and a half on!  Hoooray!  So now, at 15 weeks, 2 days, I am only 3.5 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight.  You wouldn't know it by looking at me, though.  :P  My belly is rounding out quite a decent amount.  I feel like I hold it in pretty well, but late in the day I get lazy and don't hold it in as well.  My stomach is getting firmer, but is not completely to the cool baby belly stage yet...  Hopefully soon.  ;)  May 15th is our next appointment and the day we find out if our baby is a boy or a girl!  We are pumped!  Only a little over 4 weeks away!  :D

My schedule for the week truly stinks, please pray for my stamina, patience, and feet.  On second thought...  When you pray for patience, God gives you opportunities to be patient...  So please pray for my happy teacher voice, and that I get an opportunity to use it.  ;)  Monday-Friday I leave home at 8 to teach 8:50-4:10, I leave school at 4:30 to go to the jewelry store and work 5:00-9:30, then I come home, eat, and sleep.  Saturday I requested the day off, but have to go to Douglass for a girls day out event where I will be selling Pampered Chef.  I'm afraid I'll be too tired to really sell well.  I hope the products just speak for themselves, and that people feel sorry for the poor pregnant girl.  :P  Might have to play that up...  ;)

Well, I think I'm done for the time being.  Love you all and hope all is well.  Michael, the puppies, and I send our love your way.  :)  Until next time, Au Revoir!  :D

Tornado

Hey friends,
Wanted to let you all know that Michael and I are safe after last night's storm.  It got very close to us, we actually had to hunker down in the closet in the basement.  Things within 2 city blocks of us are damaged or destroyed.  Thankfully, all of the family was spared during that crazy storm.  When the radio started mentioning Kellogg and Greenwich, which is where we tell people we live, we knew it was close, and sought shelter.  We had some friends from the area here with us who live in apartments, but don't have shelters.  Turns out our apartment complex got hit, but not the building we were living in.  Scary stuff.  We are thankful to have had the house and the basement.  Our power was out for about half of the night, but is back on now.  I worried a little in the middle of the night when the big thunderstorm hit, but Michael checked and assured me there was no tornadic activity.  Just a long and stressful evening.  Love you all, thank you for your concerns last night.  Glad all is well now.  Will try to get out and get some pictures today to show you what the neighborhood and the next few blocks around us look like.  Please pray for those who were not as lucky as we were last night.  I know a lot of people lost homes or incured damage.  Praise the Lord, we were spared.  Love you.
-Jen

Self Sacrificing Love

I have seen so much of the character of my husband this week while he's been in Minnesota.  I have missed him terribly, but I know he's doing what's right for our family, what he needs to do to provide.  Michael didn't want to go to Minnesota.  But he knew it's what he had to do to take care of me, our baby, our puppies, our new life in our new home.  Michael has sacrificed his happiness and even time with his family in order to provide.  I think it takes a big man to do something like that.  It's easy to say I love you, but I think many men only say it, and few show what true love really looks like.  My husband is a truly magnificent man.  He tells me and shows me that he loves me.  He guides me and cares for me.  He is going to make the most amazing father this world has ever seen.  Michael shows me every day the way a woman should be loved.  He makes me feel special and important.  He never demeans me or says an ill word to me.  (I feel like I'm sounding like a spoiled child right now, but really, I'm just raving about the amazing man that God carefully molded to fit perfectly into my life.)  Michael will be an amazing father to a son.  He will teach our son to respect women and how to treat them appropriately.  He will show by doing, how to love unconditionally and sacrificially.  Michael has so much he could pass on to a son, and the world would be a better place if more people used his example and applied it to their own lives.  Michael will be an amazing father to a baby girl.  He will show her how a woman deserves to be loved.  He will give her hope that there are good men out there who will respect her, love her, and care for her.  He will teach her that she does not have to settle for someone who just seems to be good enough, but deserves the best man who will bring out the best in her.  My husband is truly the love of my life.  There is no greater man out there, than my husband.  Michael is one of the few true men who exist in this world.  Our honeymoon phase is not over yet, and will not be for some time.  Life is difficult, but marriage is easy.  I have never had to "work at it" in my marriage.  There nothing to work on.  We love each other, we treat each other with respect.  We talk and don't yell.  We consult each other.  We help each other (he usually helps more than I do, but again with the the self sacrificing love...).  We don't talk down to each other, and we don't argue in front of others, because there is nothing that needs to be said right now, that can't wait for the quiet and safety of a private conversation.  There is nothing that the two of us can't get through.  I wish everyone could have what we have, but I see that isn't the way everyone else has it.  I feel sorry for those people, because they are missing the most wonderful experience of their lives.  I love you, Michael, so very much.  I would not be the woman I am today without your gentle and loving prodding.  :)  I cannot thank you enough for the incredible man that you are.  Thank you for your sacrifices to meet the needs of your family, no matter the inconveniences you face.  You mean the world to me.

Basically....  My husband is great, and I love him.  :)

Day 1: I Will Survive

For those of you that don't know, here's the short and sweet story of Michael's departure:

Michael's company ran out of work for him to do.  Since he is still an hourly contract worker, they were not obligated to keep paying him if they didn't have work.  He missed a total of 6 days of work and pay, which is around $1200 before taxes.  Well, they found some work for him, but it's in Minnesota.  While he hates the idea of traveling and being away from me, especially with the baby on the way, we need the money.  So he will be gone the next week for training in Minnesota.  He will then trade off 2 weeks shifts with another guy from Wichita.  Please pray.

Now that the back story is out of the way....  I thought I did pretty good today, not crying at all as I left for work, knowing I wouldn't see my amazing hubby again for 5 long days.  I will be staying very busy between school and the jewelry store this week.  And by the time I have a moment to relax and think about missing him, he will be home.  :)  Can't wait! 

My anthem for the day:  I Will Survive!  :D

Miss you, Honey.  :)

Dream

Last night I had a crazy dream.  Michael and I were vacationing in Paris.  We went to the Eiffel Tower, only to find that they had built a roller coaster into the bottom, ground floor, so that you could no longer walk underneath the Eiffel Tower.  I was appauled!  I even cried in my dream that someone had taken this beautiful symbol of Paris and destroyed it with a stupid roller coaster for tourists.  I asked someone if the roller coaster ran at night, hoping the evening would be a better time to see the tower in all it's glory, but, alas, they said the coaster ran all day and night.  :(  We also went to the Arc de Triumph, but they had built buildings all the way around it, so when you reached the top, you could no longer see any of the beautiful Parisian landmarks, but only tall buildings all around.  They had even removed the tomb and fire from the unknown solder from underneath the arc.  I was shocked and saddened by all the changes that had taken place!  I think the dream was too depressing, so I woke myself up before we made it to Notre Dame.  No telling what they'd done to it.  I hope the next time Michael and I take a trip to Paris, I find it just the way I left it.  :)

14 weeks!

Hello there, friends!  Here's a short update on everything that's been happening in our lives lately, baby and non-baby items all included:

We moved into our house!  It is beautiful!  I have taken a few pictures, but am waiting for everything to be unpacked and cleaned up before I take tons and post them all.  The jacuzzi tub is awesome!  We have tons of space in the living room in the basement and the girls LOVE all the extra room to run around.  We haven't got the fence yet, as we've run into some financial issues, that update coming next, so when they are outside, they are on leads.  They do enjoy being out in the sunshine though.  :)  The house is perfect.  Can't wait to get the crib and changing table over and begin decorating the nursery!

We would like to ask for your prayers with our financial situation right now.  As soon as we moved into the house, Michael got word that they no longer had any work for him, and that he would need to take a couple days off without pay.  The first couple of days were ok, as we were packing, closing, and moving into the house.  But now we're up to 6 day, which is a huge chunk of our income.  His employers claim that they will have work for him again on Monday, and are supposed to be calling him today with the details.  Please pray that all goes well and that he's back to work soon.

Dayton James Roths made his way into the world on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012.  :)  His delivery was just as easy as his incubation.  Sis did great and her and Adam now have a perfect and wonderful baby boy.  He was born at 1:35pm after only 8 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing.  He weighed a healthy 7 pounds and 11 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long.  He also has a head full of dark hair.  He's an absolute angel.  We saw the happy family and passed Dayton around, only hours after he was born.  I haven't seen him since, as I want to give the new family quiet time to themselves and time to adjust to the new lifestyle.  I am hoping to see him on Saturday for my birthday if Sis and Adam are up for it.  And if I get the approval, I will post pictures just as soon as I can.  :)

With the arrival of Dayton comes the end of my free time.  I am now subbing 40 hours a week in Sis' 1st grade class, as well as working 30+ hours a week at Belden's in order to maintain my full-time status and my insurance.  It is going to be a long and rough 6 weeks, but I will survive.  The two jobs actually came at a really good time, as Michael is not working currently.  I hope the small amount that I am able to bring in will help cover some of those larger expenses that we are anticipating.  The first day of working both jobs was fine, tiring, but fine.  The second day I only worked at school.  The kids were terrors, and my pregnancy hormones weren't helping me out any.  Hoping that the management side of the class comes easier soon, so I don't end up crying in front of her students.  As a sub, crying means you're toast, you cannot show weakness.  Today is Good Friday, so no school, only 8 hours of work at the jewelry store.  Then I have both Saturday and Sunday off for my birthday and Easter!!!  Hoooray!!!  I have already started my school countdown until Sis comes back.  Counting today there are 3 school days down and 27 school days to go.  Wish me luck, and please keep praying!!

In baby news, Michael and I hit the 14 week mark today!  Hooray!!  Lately since we've entered the second trimester, things have been tons better.  The morning sickness is settling down, and I've got more energy, which I will definitely need with a class full of 1st graders!  I also feel like eating more often, which is always a good thing for me and for the baby.  I'm not sure how many of you have read our baby website, but I was pretty sick early on with morning sickness.  I ended up losing about 5 pounds.  Well, since that time, I have continued to stay 5 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight.  Most of this is probably from eating smaller portions because I can't seem to handle large portions anymore, and by the middle of a meal, the food begins to look gross and taste bad and I don't want anymore.  I'm still at the same place weight-wise.  We have our next doctor appointment on Monday morning, I'm hoping the weight thing is ok, and that it will start picking up soon.  Even though the weight isn't going on, the roundness is coming in.  As the baby grows and pushes all my innerds up, they are slowly beginning to poke out my belly.  It must be more obvious than I think it is, because I had 2 people on Wednesday ask if I was pregnant.  Now, most people know, that you just never ever ask a woman that question, so, in their defense, one was an autistic 1st grade student, and the other was a man from Israel who works at the mall with me, and it may just not be a faux pa (sp) in his country to ask that.  :P  14 weeks still seems early to me, and I think I will stop worrying so much when we hit about 20 weeks.  Only 4 more weeks until we find out if we're having a boy or a girl!  And only a few more days until I heart the beautiful heartbeat again.  :D

That's about all that's going on right now.  Sorry the update got so lengthy.  I will try to keep it shorter next time.  Love you all!
-Jen

WE HAVE A NEPHEW!!!!!

Wow!  That went fast!  She didn't even have to push for a half hour!  Dayton James Roths is here and we could not be more excited!  We have not yet got to go back and see him or Sis.  We don't have an exact time, weight, or length yet, but he is here.  Mommy and baby are doing well.  More info to come!  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!  I'll get pictures up as soon as Sis and Adam give the approval!  :D.  Stay tuned!

Nephew Alert 2.0

Well, things progressed pretty quickly around here!  Sis was progressing at a pace of about 1cm/2hrs from 5:30 to 11:00.  At noon she was at about 4cm.  We were going to wait until 5cm to go to the hospital.  But I got a call from Adam at about 12:25 saying we needed to get down to the hospital because she was up to 9.5cm!  Michael, Mama, and I rushed to the hospital!  I was worried she'd have the baby before we got there!  She started pushing around 1:30ish, and now we're just waiting.  I'll update you again, probably to tell you that I have a new nephew!  :D.  Stay tuned!

Nephew Alert 1.0

Sis and Adam are at the hospital.  They have induced her and she is contracting nicely.  She reports that the contractions only feel like pressure, and that nothing is hurting right now.  This is great news!  Hopefully the delivery goes as smoothly as the pregnancy has gone.  The family will be called when Sis is about halfway there...  Now we just wait.  Can't wait to meet little Dayton for the first time.  We have long anticipated this day.  Stay tuned for more nephew arrival news!

Pregnant!

Well, the news is out!  Michael and I are pregnant and expecting our first little one on October 5th!  We are very excited!  It has been a long 13 weeks keeping this a secret.  Several people knew beforehand.  Some, because they were family and deserved to know first, others, because I'm a bad secret keeper and spilled the beans.  :P.  Tomorrow begins my second trimester, and I must say, I am thrilled to be done with the first.  The morning sickness hit me pretty bad, but I have survived.  It doesn't seem to be completely over, but definitely getting close.  Michael and I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we begin this exciting new step in our lives and transition into our new rolls of parents.  We love you very much and will keep you updated all along the way!  Don't forget to check out our baby website to see how the baby and I are growing and to see exciting things like sonogram pictures and movies of our little pumpkin moving around in there.  Love you!

A Near Heart Attack...

Today I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  I had just gotten out of the shower and was checking my phone to see if I'd missed any messages, when I heard our front door open.  I was overjoyed at first, thinking Michael had come home early, as I asked before I got into the shower.  I waited for him to walk into our bedroom and continued getting ready.  However, after a couple of minutes, he didn't come in.  I began to get worried.  I hid in our closet for a moment, trying to figure out what to do.  First, I decided I should probably get dressed, as I didn't want to have to fight off a burglar in a towl.  I threw on some clothes and thought of my next move.  I looked over our room for something to use to defend myself, but the best I could come up with was a heavy dinner plate (looking back now, the lava lamp might have also made a good choice).  Armed with a plate, I crept out of our bedroom.  I considered letter the dogs out, but then I decided they might not be much help, and I didn't want to risk them getting hurt.  No sign of anyone yet.  At the end of the hall I causiously looked around the living room and kitchen, still didn't see anyone.  Finally, I looked in the dining room, no one there.  By now, my heart is pounding a thousand miles a minute.  I go to the window to see if Michael's car is there, but it's not.  I notice the entertainment center open and an empty shelf on the top and bottom.  I worry that someone has come and stolen stuff and will be coming back for more.  I creep to the door and turn the handle, but it's locked...  Now what kind of thief locks the door behind him.  Now I'm freaking out a little less.  I realize Michael packed up the movies and video games the other day, and that's why they aren't in the entertainment center.  But I'm still confused.  I know I heard the sound of the door open.  I unlock and open the front door and peek out, but don't see anything out of the ordinary.  Then I notice it, a rolled up blue paper in the handle of my neighbor's screen door.  I open up my own screen door and find the same paper.  Turns out, someone from our apartment complex was putting the monthly newsletters in our doors.  The sound I heard was them putting it into the door handle.  I must say, I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest!  Glad everything was ok.  That's enough excitement for one day!!!

Our New Home

Hey there, friends!  Michael and I had our home inspection yesterday!  It went very well.  There were a few minor problems and a couple things we want to bring up to the sellers, but overall it's in very good shape.  :)  The inspector said as far as home inspections go, that the damages on this home were very light.  We took tons of pictures and are looking forward to closing in another month and a half.  If you haven't seen the pictures on facebook yet, I thought I'd post them here as well.  Enjoy!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!

Well, for those of you who haven't heard yet, Michael and I bought a house today.  :)  We hadn't planned on buying one for a few more months, closer to when our lease is up.  But today we went in and looked at it and instantly fell in love with it.  It's absolutely perfect!  5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2800 sq ft, fireplace, huge kitchen, vaulted ceilings, jacuzzi tub, split level deck, split level walk out, yard (still needs a fence put in), and 3 car garage (just to name a few things).  Our closing date is March 30, which is great because it gives us time to get even more money together for a downpayment, and leaves fewer months where we will be paying rent and a mortgage.  We will get pictures posted soon.  Until then, you can check it out online.  Thanks for all your love and support!  We are WAAAAAY excited!!!!!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1105-S-Bracken-Cir_Wichita_KS_67207_M75278-97149

House Hunting

Hello again, friends!  I thought I would update you on the newest adventure Michael and I are taking on...  We are searching for a house!!! 

Our lease isn't up here until the end of May.  The plan was to begin looking for houses in April (I know, we're a couple months early).  But as we were randomly perusing the houses on the internet, we found one that caught our eye.  We emailed the realtor and asked for more information.  When he told us the master bathroom only had a shower, we decided that house probably wasn't for us.  The realtor then asked what we were looking for in a house.  Now I considered telling him that we weren't seriously looking until April, but then I decided, hey, why should I do all the work looking for houses...  Why not let someone else do it?!?!  So I told him what we would like in a house:

4+ bedrooms
3+ bathrooms
2,200+ sq ft
Basement (walk-out if possible)
3 car garage
Nice master suite
Nice kitchen
No hard wood floors
Wichita

So he did some looking and sent us a list of houses (all with walk-out basements) that met our criteria.  He said it was about all he could find.  We looked through them and found about 5 that we liked.  One of them has gone under contract, so someone else is already in the process of buying it.  The other 4 we are looking at tomorrow evening.  :)

Now, since we're looking so early, we're going to take this time to be EXTRA picky.  We want to get a house that can grow with us and eventually a family.  We want to find a house where we will be comfortable for the next 30 years or so.  And if we're going to pay so much of our hard earned money, we're going to make sure we LOVE the house.  So don't expect to heal that we're closing any time soon.  We do have a decent downpayment saved up already, but we want to have a bigger one and we want to see lots of houses to make sure we pick the right one.

So please keep us in your prayers as we start this exciting new adventure of house hunting.  God has been so good to us giving Michael a great job and keeping us more than afloat the last few months.  I'm just praying He continues to bless us and make the way easy as we look for the perfect house.  :)  Thanks everyone!  We'll keep you posted as we do more searching.  Love you!

-Jen

Full Time!!!

Hey there!
Couldn't remember if I updated the blog and told you guys, and I'm too lazy to look back and see, so I thought I'd write a new post saying that I am officially full-time at Belden's!!!!  Woooohooooo!!  What this means is that I will have to average 30 hours/week over the month, I will begin accumulating paid time off and vacation time, I will have benefit options (including a stock option in Sterling Jewelers, the biggest jewelry company in the United States), and I will have the option to enroll in company insurance!  Pretty sweet, huh??  :D  The reason I really wanted to go full-time is because of the insurance.  Our company offers some really nice insurance and the insurance Michael and I have right now is basically like not having insurance at all.  Here's the difference in the plans, for those of you that care:

Current Insurance
$150/month
$5000 deductible
80/20 after deductible
Maximum out of pocket: $20,000
Beldens Insurance
$185/month
$1000 deductible
80/20 after deductible
Maximum out of pocket: $4,500
Vision and Dental included

So, as you can see, the new insurance will be much better.  After having to have my Gallbladder removed, I'm leary of having bad insurance.  But I just couldn't keep paying $400/month on school insurance when they ripped me off so bad after I did have to get my Gallbladder taken out.  Stay away from Prefered Health Systems!!

Anyways, I got my sales up and have been doing well, so our district manager finally agreed to let me go full-time.  I think he's worried that I don't have much sales experience, but I am learning quickly and am going above and beyond my goals.  So I think I will do just fine in a full-time position.

Because I'll be putting in 30+ hrs/week at the jewelry store, I won't be subbing quite as much (Until March).  I will go ahead and take jobs for people who put them in early, because I can request evening shifts for those days if I know plenty in advance.  Between the jewelry store, subbing, and Pampered Chef, I'm sure I'll stay plenty busy!!  Not to mention, I might be doing a little babysitting here and there....  :)  One of the girls at work has a 4 month old baby boy and her and her husband's schedules vary quite a bit week to week, so they might need someone to watch William here and there.  :)  I can't wait!!!!

March-May is going to be interesting and very busy!!  Sis is due March 28th, and I will be her long-term sub.  That means I'll have to work 40+hrs/week at school, then still average 30+hrs/week at the jewelry store in order to keep my full-time status and my insurance.  It will be quite the juggling game!  So don't expect to see me much during those 3 months, because if I'm not at one job or the other, I plan on being asleep.  ;)

Well, this has gotten way too long, so I'll sign off now.  Hope you all are enjoying 2012.  :)  I know this year is going to be an excellent one!

Pampered Chef

Well, many of you know that I had a Pampered Chef party yesterday.  I was a little worried about how the party would go.  I'm in kind of the wrong age group to be hosting a Pampered Chef party, because all of my friends are young and just out of college and none of us have any money.  I understand that!  We haven't had money for so long, I was starting to forget what it looked like!  But Amanda assured me not to worry and to get excited about my party.  I had only family show up (again, my friends are poor, I understand), and Cathy invited her friend Tony who loves to cook and loves Pampered Chef.  Well, turns out that having just family at your party can actually work out quite well for you!!  Everyone bought LOTS of stuff!!  Which meant that I got LOTS of FREE stuff!!! 

I decided that 2 jobs isn't enough for me, so I went ahead and signed up to be a Pampered Chef consultant!!  :D  I'm very excited about it!!  It cost a little money to get started up, but I figure that with all the perks and free stuff that the company gives away for being a consultant, that I'll never have to spend my own money on the products again!  Plus, I'll get great deals for friends and family and plenty to give away as gifts!  So what I need from all of you, is to host a party!!  There's no cost in hosting a party, just invite your friends, I will come and show the products, your friends buy, and you get tons of free stuff!  (I got $190 in free products from my party, and that doesn't include any of the extra bonuses of being a consultant!!)

So if you're interested in hosting a Pampered Chef party, please let me know!  I will travel to you to make things easier for you to have your party where you live and close to your friends.  Just tell me when you'd like to have it and I will work it out with my schedule!  Can't wait to get started!  Thanks guys!!

Michael's Birthday!!

Hi Friends!

I've been dieing to update the blog and tell everyone about Michael's birthday, but of course, since it was a surprise party, I couldn't!  Now that it's over, here's how it went!  We had 18 people there celebrating Michael's birthday!  Thanks everyone who was able to show up!  Michael loved seeing all of you!  A big thanks to all those of you who came from out of town, we appreciate you giving up your evening and traveling so far.  :)  We had people from Manhattan, Topeka, Kansas City, and Wichita all there!!  It was a great success!  THANK YOU!!!

I thought I was pretty sneaky about the whole thing, turns out, I wasn't as sneaky as I thought.  Michael started getting suspicious when I told him we had reservations....  4 days in advance...  Oops!!  Didn't even think about that!!  He also thought it was a little strange that I was cleaning so extensively for my Pampered Chef party.  Then, after Glenn and Linda had come down for the afternoon and taken us out to lunch, Michael didn't really feel like going out to dinner the same night.  I had to twist his arm a little.

He was very surprised when we got there and everyone shouted Surprise!!!  He was really excited to see his friends who live out of town who he hadn't seen for several months.  It was a great night!!  Thank you all for helping to make Michael's birthday truly special for him.  :)