Birthday Celebrations

We had the family over to celebrate Mam's birthday- earlier in the month and Jas' birthday- last week.

I grilled chicken and brats for dinner. As I was making Bug's plate, he looked at me and said "CORN- YUM". Now the problem with this statement is that I did not get corn on the cob for dinner tonight. His entire face just fell with disappointment.
So being the good momma I am- I offered him corn that I could make quickly. No go on that, he insistent on corn on the cob. So remembering that I had corn cobs in the freezer, I made Bug corn on the cob. he was so happy- he ate a piece of chicken too!!!!!!


Bug practicing for his birthday in 12 weeks.

"Happy birthday to me". Jas has 5 more days of school and then he is officially a SENIOR in high school. Wow- time has really sped by. I remember the day he was born- was it really 17 years ago?????

yummy cake- Mam made for us to share

Before birthday celebrations- Bug played on the swings. he loves that the swings are low enough for him to get into and to push off the ground. He was practicing "in....out....in....out" here.

some spinning- protecting his head from the legs of the swing set- he got close a couple of times.

Super Nene taking off.

just enjoying it. He also discovered that he can climb up his slide. This made the slide portion so much more appealing for him.

Sitting down and get ready to swing.

We are starting the count down to vacation. I am ready now. Bug and I are going to work on a count down calendar tomorrow evening and watch the DVD for our vacation. I think it will help us get prepared. I need to start packing - or at least determining which clothes are going on vacation so I can make sure they are washed and folded soon.

Love and hugs,

Deb

We went to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo, what about you????

We headed to the zoo this morning. We met up with T and Y and their cousins M&M. Later L and A, and K and A joined us. Typically we stay for 3 hours, but today we were there 5.5 hours. We were worn out after the outing. Bug enjoying the Rhino as we left the zoo.

Putting money in the wishing well for the support of the cat house.

Having a drink after some heavy duty playing.

Monkey boy

Turtle Boy

The rhino baby- he was covered with mud.

A petting the turtle

Bug petting the turtle

Other A petting the turtle.

The zoo keepers had various animals out- turtles, snakes, owls and you could pet some of them, ask questions, and just see them up close. It was very cool. Bug and I only touched turtles.

M posing in the jungle

Little M posing in the jungle

T and Y near the polar bears

The lion was roaring at someone. The kids loved it.

Bug enjoying the polar bears. All 3 bears were right in front of him.

Momma and Bug in front of the Manatees. They were eating lettuce and the other fish in the tank were helping the manatees eat. Too cute.

Little M riding the elephant. She was on the other side of the carousel from us.

Bug styling on the tiger.

T and Y. Other M is behind them.

My Bug- brave little man, riding the the tiger.

We had some tomatoes while we waited for T and Y and M&M to arrive.

Near the Red Pandas

Mr I am so cool, lounging in my stroller. We like the waterfall behind Bug.

We had breakfast with friends and Mr Jim put the sticker on Bug's back. It was too cute watching Bug try to get the sticker off.

What's goin' work, TEAMWORK!!!!!!

Thank goodness the weekend is here. Bug and I had a rough week. Between my stress over money issues and his emotion breakdown this week, it has been one rough week. I am hoping that with together time and focused attention, we have a better weekend and get a good start to next week- cause next week is another anniversary for Bug and I.


We had a first tonight- Bug's first Theater movie. I took him to see the new Disney movie- Up. we loved it. There was a scary part but But cuddled on my lap and all was good. This is before the movie- Bug is not too sure- he was excited about the small popcorn, soda and M&Ms that I bought for him. He also was not to found of the chairs and decided momma's lap was better. But, again, he loved the movie. We had some good laughs. We also some trailers for movies and there is at least one that we might take Pap and Mam to see.

Well, it took 2 weeks and lots of TEAMWORK- but Bug has a swing set. I will pull pictures from facebook of the D&D team (from weekend one). here is the single mom team. T has come over twice now to help out. Tonight we put up the swing beam and the swings.

And the kids loved it

too funny. Bug and Y both commented that the swings were Nene sized. I think that means that they could sit down on the swings without the mommas helping them or pushing them.

having a good time.

It is such a sense of relief to have this done. Bug is very excited about the swings - I really thought he wanted the slide more. So a huge thanks to D, D and T for helping out and working with me as TEAM to get this done, cause I could not have done it alone. You guys rock!!!!!!



You know I like to document work around the house- Wednesday, we had 12 more inches of insulation added - including over the garage.

This is what the attic looks like now

This is the hose that carries the insulation up into the attic (there is worker up there spreading it appropriately)









This is the truck in front of the garage- in the truck is a "hopper" that breaks up the insulation so it can be blown into the hose and pushed into the attic. Very noisy- but very clean.

We are heading out to the zoo tomorrow with friends. Of course, there will be pictures.

Love and hugs,

Deb

Some more thoughts on storm clouds

Just thinking out loud here - running it all through my head and laying it out where I can see it.

Buying a new car is not what I want to do- I really like my current car. There is nothing wrong with my car, it gets excellent gas mileage, it is in good condition, it really has held up. Yes, I had to put a new transmission in it- but apparently that is something that should have been covered in a class action suit- but the car is more than 10 years old, excluded me from the suit even though my mileage was well within the limit.

If I bought a new or used car- I would have a car payment and higher insurance- let's figure a total of $500.00 per month to cover both. That is $6000.00 per year not including the higher license cost and anything else that might be associate that I am forgetting.

Bug's daycare cost are currently more that the figure above, so realistically I can not afford a new/used car until Bug is in school full time- our budget cannot take the impact.

Our current car is 12 years old with less than 88,000 miles on it. It was previously owned by my parents. It has been in 1 accident. I have not had a car payment for 3 years now. If I could get another 2-3 years out of it and save the money that I am currently paying for Bug's daycare- then I could afford a new car in 2-3 years.


But my feeling of storm clouds gathering is not just based on the car situation- it is based on being a single mom (heck, for that matter being a parent in general) and seeing things looming in our future that might have a huge impact on our household. Things like:
1. A new roof for the house- ours is somewhere between 15-20 years old
2. I new AC/furnace- ours is almost 30 years old
3. Private school for Bug- because I will not put him in the local school for personal reasons
4. anything else that might come up

We live a comfortable life, I should be more disciplined about my budget - but I have been fairly nonchalant about our budget.

There were some changes today in my thoughts on this:
1. I don't need a new car- as much as unexpected expenses for our current car bug me, they really are nothing compared to a new car payment and higher insurance.
2. My roof got a clean bill of health today when the insulation was installed (pictures tomorrow). The installers are also roof installers and they said my roof was in great shape- and yes they were looking at in detail while installing some additional vents.
3. The company that services my AC/furnace has indicated that with regular maintenance my AC and furnace will be fine for many more years (my first house had a furnace over 50 years old that ran fine)

So I think my anxiety is just the fear of the unknown and the realization that I need to make some smaller changes to our budget- like actually put one together, so that we can have more a savings in case something comes up.
Small changes can lead to big savings- I know this. A little here, a little there and suddenly things are headed in a better direction.

So here is to little changes that lead to bigger changes that lead to feeling more at peace.

I should point out that if I were married, I think that I would be saying these fears to my partner and we would have a plan together for what to do. but as single, my fears are mine alone. There is no one to talk them through with- so they circle around and around in my mind become bigger and bigger and I then I operate out of fear. And I make unwise choices. I need to make choices from wisdom, from peace, from strength. Bug needs the wiser choices and a momma who recognizes when she is operating from fear.

I know that I make mistakes and I am not perfect- that there will be times when I do operate from fear. I need to be able to step back and see the whole picture, to see the options open before me and recognize the pros and cons of each choice.

It is hard, very hard, but it will be OK. Knowing what is triggering my fear helps me work through the fear and see more clearly.

So that is all for today. Tomorrow- back to pictures of Bug and pictures of the installation of insulation.

Love to you,
Deb

Storm clouds on the horizon????

A post- not about Bug.

Do you ever feel like you know something is going to happen and that it will not be a good thing? I am feeling that.
My car would not start this morning. Not the best way to start the day, but it turned out alright- thanks to prayers. Turns out I needed a new battery. But, last year I put a new transmission in the car, today the service shop mentioned that there is something with the AC that will be VERY EXPENSIVE to fix. I am not ready to buy a new car- I don't want to buy a new care. And by new car- I mean a new car to me, not necessarily a brand spanking new car from the factory.

I would have to make too many changes to our budget- lots of things would go by the wayside to cover the cost of a car payment and higher insurance. Not what I want now. But I feel the choices being made around me, a car breaking down, the need to make sure that Bug and I can get from here to there. The storm clouds on the horizons are gathering.

I need to focus on what we need and what I am supposed to do- some prayers would be greatly appreciated. I need to go search out what I should be doing here.

Love to you,
Deb

Memorial Sunday

We had another good day. Sunday is usually our "prepare for the work week" but today we got to watch some Indy car racing and have lots of fun.

In reverse order- pictures from the "festival" at the mall. We had a little trouble with this festival as I expected that the festival would open at 12 noon, or at least by 1 pm. But apparently, the festival did nto start until 3 pm. So I thought we would miss it. As it got later in the day, the weather shaped up to be no rain,s o I made the decision to take Bug to the festival right after going to Grandpa Joe's. I am so glad we went- even thought it was hot and humid. Riding the AZUL teacup. We had a great time - laughing the entire time.

Getting ready to race down the huge slide. Bug was so excited with this ride, that he insisted that we ride 3 times.

We raced each time- I won the first race and Bug won the last 2 times. he loved this ride. he would have ridden it all night long.

The pink teacup. I was actually worried after I bought our ticker band. The first 3 rides we went to, Bug was too small to ride and I was worried that I had just bought tickets for rides that we would not use. But, we found the teacups (2 times), the slide (3 times), the carousel (sat on it but never rode it) and the Ferris wheel (1 time)- so we got our monies worth.

The Ferris wheel. I will admit, I was scared taking Bug on this- something about the last Ferris wheel ride I was on. But this was so much better and Bug loved every minute of it.

Waiting in line.

Bug really wanted to ride the firetruck dog. But suddenly before the ride started, he was crying. So I took him off it and he was fine after that.

We spent the early evening with grandpa Joe- which meant that Bug had to play outside. I was sick to my stomach from the heat in Grandpa Joe's - it was actually cooler outside at 86 degrees. By the time we left I was very worried about how I would do at the festival.

Super Nene!!!! His own name for himself today.

Such a climber

Tooling around the park in the old car

Off to the turtle races.

My turtle loving boy

Happy boy

Playing with Cyber

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a quiet day- some housework in the morning- resting in the afternoon and then some grilling with the family.

Love to you,

Deb