Race for the Cure

Play this GAME and Pepperidge Farm will donate $1.00 to Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure! You have a few minutes of FUN and breast cancer research gets paid. A win, win situation for all. ;-)

Target Markdowns

Huh? I just found all of this great info on Target markdowns. Since I can't shop right now (no place to put it!!!) maybe I can shop vicariously through my blog readers! Let me know if you're able to get any good deals!

Daily Markdowns – In addition to the odd lot items that may be lurking among the regular merchandise and could be haphazardly stashed at the end caps, Target has a system for marking down their merchandise weekly: Monday - Electronics, Kids Clothing and Stationary (Cards, GiftWrap, etc.)Tuesday - Domestics, Women's Clothing, Pets and Market (food items)Wednesday - Men's Clothing, Toys, Lawn & Garden, Health and Beauty itemsThursday - House Wares, Lingerie, Sporting Goods, Shoes, Music / Movies, Books, Decor and LuggageFriday - Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware, and Jewelry By closely following the markdown schedule, and hitting the stores early in the morning, it is possible to get what you want before anyone else knows about it. (We often hit the food items on Tuesday morning and come home with armloads of canned goods, boxed dinner kits, and gourmet juices for pennies!) Holiday Deals – Target participates in a generous markdown after major holidays, as well. Clothing is at a fabulous price during their after-holiday clearance, with many Valentines or Independence Day t-shirts for under a buck. (By picking some generic prints and designs, they can be worn year-round.) Their holiday markdown schedule is usually as follows (with the exception of Christmas, which can vary):50% off the day after holiday for three days75% off the fourth day after holiday for three days90% off the seventh day after holiday for 1-2 days. Some additional points to note about Target shopping: If you find an item at 75% off, and you want it, don’t let it get away! They rarely mark down non-holiday items below this discount. If it the price ends in the number 4, you may be looking at your last chance to buy.
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Just a feel

For all the stuff that I've been kvetching about lately. I KNOW that it will be beautiful when it is finished. Nothing that he does ever turns out bad. Nothing. So, I just bide my time, cry my tears of frustration that we can't wave a magic wand to get it done overnight. We're tired of camping in my bedroom. We have been getting on each others nerves like you couldn't believe. Check it out:
steps to main upstairs

hall to laundry/garage/powder room

stove/fridge area (fridge is moving)

sink dishwasher area

ceiling

entire kitchen

dining room

used to be living room/family room. like that fridge? Go scarlet knights!

Houston, we have a flipper (and other stuff)

We have a flipper. SweeTart has learned the fine art of flipping from her back to her stomach and then back again. While we've seen her do it here or there, I caught her practicing when she woke up from her afternoon nap -- and I was spying on her! Too cute! She's growing so fast -- she'll be 5 months old this week. It's been a roller coaster.

While I'm writing this, I'm listening to the echoing screams of DinoBoy and Twinkletoes through the house. See, is 7 o'clock on a Sunday night and as of yet, no one is bathed. They've been tinkering with the garage door opener, trying to program the outside keypad to the opener and trying to program the truck to the opener. We were almost late for church this morning because we had extra time on our hands and tried to program the truck's opener before leaving the driveway. Its hard to leave with such an important project unfinished. But we left it unfinished and made it to services on time. Just on time, mind you. Now, the Husband and the neighbor and the kids were working on the project. They're now in the house and the project remains ... unfinished.

We had 1/2 of the H family join us for services this morning. I can only imagine what is running through their heads. Jerbones joined the kids in Sunday School. The kids said they all had fun. I can just imagine what their conversation on the way home was like!!

We had our first days of 1st and 2nd grade this past week. What troopers they are! The first day, Dinoboy wound up in the wrong classroom but made it to Mrs. W's room okay and the 2nd day, Twinkletoes had to eat at the lunch table for "children with no lunch" because (as the directions indicated) I sent in a check for $45 for 20 lunches to her teacher. The lunchroom must not have had time to process all the new requests for lunch tickets and hence had these "special" tables for the kids. She survived. No big deal. Me, on the other hand, I am still having a hissy fit. I cannot believe the letter from the school indicating the teacher's name on it doesn't have her room number on it and that such special tables exist in the lunchroom. As if I would (ok my Mom would) send my child to school with no lunch!!!!!!!!

Things at work are there. I'm still struggling to keep afloat. I know that it will all come together. We have 3 returning employees for this school year (me included) and 2 newbies. The newbies and I are pretty much at the same stage of the game. I left so soon after taking my new position ... I hope I can get back up to speed asap.

Ok, I've taken 12 minutes to put these words onto the computer. In the meantime, the kids are now in tears after bouncing off of the walls and presently I believe Twinkletoes is hurt. Could she have been running around without shoes on our bare floors? Oh goodness - now SweeTart has joined the crying club. I must go see what the heck is going on upstairs before I start to cry with them. Give us all STRENGTH. Goodness.

Post Partum ... as defined by ... ME (and other stuff)

I've figured it out. Not how to fix it but why it exists and why certain people get it and others don't. So - take a peek.

I've heard it frequently lately. Nine months up, nine months down. SweeTart is 5 months old in a few days. I'm well on my way to going "down". Not all the bumps and rolls are in the right spots (reason #1) and my boobs are at my knees (reason #2 for post partum). There are times when I'm exhausted for no reason at all, and others when I can't sleep. (like tonight - reason #3) This is especially annoying when she sleeps all night but I do not. Reason #4: I'm 35 and bald. You think its not so bad but really, if i don't cover up the holes in my head, you will notice and you'll do your best to try to look away but it's awful. Dreadful. So - I just do what I do best, pull it back and show it all off. Bald spots and all.

Tomorrow starts my "official" start of going back to work full time. Yay. (Reason #5 - not that I get much of anything done at home but it sure is fun playing with the baby and watching the other two engrossed by their Webkinz games.) I still want to nurse the baby. It's convenient. It's inexpensive. At times, when we're alone, it's soothing. To both of us. It may be the one thread I have still attached to being sane. With the students coming back to the building on Wednesday or Thursday, I have a feeling I won't be able to pump once a day as I've been doing throughout the summer. Do I wake her before I leave in the morning to nurse her or just wait until when I come home? Wait, it can't be when I come home - the kids need to fed then rushed out the door to soccer practice. It will have to wait until bedtime, which is generally before the kids are finished with soccer practice. Egh. (Having to make decisions like this: Reason #6.) The alternative of nursing, food and formula. Yech. I got my first "gagging" diaper today. If I could avoid these types of BM's, I'd nurse her til she's old enough to wipe her own butt. GROSS!

Someone really must have had a good time trying to figure out how to mess with women even more than having them deal with morning sickness, prenatal vitamins (made me want to puke all the time!), labor, birth, recovery, and post-partum. I know, complain, complain, complain.

I just can't help it. I spent today ... let's see: feeding the baby, changing and bathing the baby, packing pieces of the kitchen, packing again (not that you can even tell I made a dent in it at all), helping the kids on Webkinz, running to the grocery store for apple juice and coffeemate (this morning I didn't have coffee until after 10 ~ I was not a pleasant camper!) Still not really complaining ... okay, maybe about the kitchen part.

It will be beautiful. Everything that the husband plans turns out beautiful. Everything. Its just a pain in the butt to rearrange everything to get it to where it needs to be for demolition then construction. The cabinets are scheduled to arrive Thursday. I'm not quite sure when the carpenters will be able to install them. Then we need to get the countertop and appliances. And I am allowed to order all new dishes and glasses. I just got new pots and pans and I cannot part with them. I'm having a hard time parting with my dishes already. I've got them all packed up into a tote. The tote has wheels but its so heavy it won't move. And, its not all of them. I probably have another whole tote to go. Should I sell them? Donate them? Another perplexing moment in my life. I am going with putting them in the shed for now and selling them later. Maybe someone can use them for their beach house or something (Or ... maybe I'll get a beach house! Hahahahahaha - thought that would make you laugh!)

Enough whining. Jimmy Buffett should be playing tunes while you're readng this extra, extra long post. At least you can relax and pretend you're on the beach sipping a fruity drink while listening to me whine!! If you don't hear music and your speakers are on, let me know so I can figure out how to fix it. It was a major project for me to figure out how to put that together tonight. I've got my fingers crossed that it will work!

I'm going to try to go to sleep now. Hopefully soon. I have to be at the office tomorrow no later than 7:30. That I am not looking forward to ... nor the rest of the day. Oh well. It will get better. I will get back into the swing of things. It won't kill me and I will continue to lose the baby weight for JAMAICA in April to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! Yahoo!