Sinus Infection Headaches!

Good morning, Mr. Blog. It's been difficult for me to write consistently lately. Probably has something to do with my two wild children and my body's inability to stay well. This last week was just glorious. I've had a sinus infection. I forgot how nasty they are. I don't know how most people react to them, but I get migraines due to the snot blockage. Wonderful. I just took a little pill prescribed to me for pain after childbirth...I didn't use it then, but boy am I glad I have it now. I'm evil, but I've had a migraine for 2 days. Stop judging me.

Nils' parents were here this week. They slept at our house, but other than that we didn't see them a whole lot. We went to a movie with them yesterday morning and had lunch, and they were off. Still good to see them.

Addie is really trying to crawl. She gets up on all fours, then gets up on her toes with her bum in the air, but doesn't really know what to do after that. She's also been rolling around in her crib at night, so most of the time she's on her belly. It scares us. She's such a sweet baby. She's very cuddly and just has a sweet little personality.

Anders is doing very well. He talks non-stop. Sometimes when Nils is trying to talk to me, Anders will copy everything he says. It drives Nils crazy. I think it's kind of funny. I can't believe this little boy who walks, talks, jumps, plays with blocks, and looks at books was that little baby inside of me. I know it's cliche, but it really is crazy how fast they grow and develop and change. It's just amazing.

We've made a goal for the month of November: No eating out. We itemized our budget, and I think if we eliminate that one expense, we'll save a lot of money. We don't eat out that much anyway, but it's so darn expensive and adds up in no time. Sheesh. I think we'll be okay money wise. We just have to be a lot more conscious of what we spend. We can't afford extras, but I'm feeling hopeful because we do have enough to pay our bills and feed our children. That is a blessing. If anyone knows of anybody who wants a Honda Odyssey, let us know. Ours is for sale to anyone who'll buy it for $13,500. Hey, it's got a GPS, it's totally worth it!

Figuring it Out

So this week is the first of many that I went to the gym 6 days in a row. That's quite an accomplishment, and I'm feeling quite spiffy about it. I've been going during the day, which makes it much easier. I decided that Anders was just going to have to deal with going with me and being in the daycare. He struggled for a couple of days, but now he loves it and he doesn't want to leave when I'm done. Hooray! It's nice not going at night. I went to the gym at night for many moons. It sort of ruined my life.

On to a more depressing matter- we're BROKE. Something has to change. I think we're going to sell the van. To whom? I know not. We just can't afford it, and that's pretty much the only bill we have that's not absolutely necessary. We love the van, and we'll miss it, but we won't miss the payment. Also, we got our mortgage statement yesterday and it said our payment is going up in December. Joyous rapture. What the crap? Just got the mail, and our property tax bill was in there, so we owe $850.00 by November 30. Actually, that's not true. I just called the mortgage company and they said they're paying it. Phew. I guess that's why our payment is going up in December, but whatever. I think we need to refinance anyway. Okay, now I'm depressed. Bonsoir.

We're so loaded.

It's so great not to have to worry about money. We don't have to worry about how much things cost or if we'll be able to afford the items we want. We just know that we have no money and we can't. There's no worrying involved. Yesterday we went to a Corn Maze and Activity place called Hee Haws with our neighbors. It cost around $15 or so and we had a good time there for a few hours. We were all pretty hungry afterward so we went out to eat after. Our neighbors ordered first and then we did. I handed the girl my debit card to pay for it and it was declined. She ran it again and it declined again. I thought- OK, so we're broke. I'll have to break out the old credit card. I handed her that and it declined, too. So that was great. We had no money whatsoever so we cancelled our order and were just going to go home. Our neighbor was nice enough to let us borrow $20 for the meal and we will just pay him back tomorrow when I get paid. How sad is that, though. We're pathetic. I think we're going to have to sell our children. But we'll sell our minivan first. And then a couple of my kidneys. My mom has three, maybe I do, too. I only need one, right? I'm a bad budgeter and Katrina has to try to keep me in check. I'm spendy, you could say. There are always 82 items on my "I wanna buy that" list and Katrina doesn't have many expensive tastes. I do. I'm trying to work out a deal with a company down the street from where I work. I'll be doing their monthly e-mail promotions for $100-$150 a month, hopefully. That'll help a little. I'm also trying to sell some pens on eBay but that doesn't do too well. We'll see how it goes. This is our constant dilemma. We don't have enough money to last from one paycheck to the next. So I guess we're living from paycheck to almost paycheck. Or something. Anyway, we'll keep trying to be good and we always have enough to take care of the basics. Well, at least most of the time. I'll stop whining about our poverty for now.
Anders is doing good for the most part. He's very smart but he's very two as well.

OK- I just got back from church. We made it through one hour, not even until the end of sacrament. Anders was being so out of control that we couldn't keep him at church. Katrina played piano for the Primary Program during sacrament so we missed pretty much the whole thing due to our angelic two year old. I felt bad leaving church while Katrina was up on the stage but she called just now and I told her what happened. We're going to do some reading this week and see what we can do to get him to behave at least a little bit at church. It gets worse each week and we're not sure what to do. Addie was so good the whole time and when we came home she fell right asleep. Anders was better once we got home but it took him a little while. Hopefully we'll find some good info to help us help him so that we can be active at church. That would be nice. I felt bad for myself after getting him to bed so I heated up a hot pocket and blended up a Pina Colada, which I am about to enjoy. Seeya.

Laundry

Throughout my life I've added to my definition of my own personal hell. Thus far, it has included moving (as in moving from home to home) for eternity in the heat of Las Vegas in July. I think I'll go ahead and add to that: folding laundry. Forever. But here's the thing: I actually do that now, so is that part of my own little hell on earth right now? I appreciate clean clothes. The washing and drying don't bother me so much. It's the mountain of clothes that, once cleared, replenishes itself within minutes. I also hate dragging the hamper up and down the stairs. Having said all this, I am very thankful to have a washer and drying in my own home. We did laundry at parents' homes for 4 years. But holy crap, could I have all the clothes put away and have the hamper be empty for at least 4 seconds? Yeah, like that's going to happen.

This week is and has been pretty busy. Monday night I dropped the kids off at my mom's while Nils was at school so I could go to the gym. Last night Nils had a work party at a place called Boondocks. They have go-karts, a rock wall, mini-golf, arcade games, etc. It was fun. Tonight I have a Shade party, which I'm terrified no one will show up to, tomorrow night Nils is going to play video games with his friends, and Friday night we're actually going to go on a date. Oh my! Saturday I think we're going to the pumpkin patch with our neighbors. Are we popular or what?

I'm off...more laundry awaits me.

Redundance

Anders thinks that he can get what he wants by driving me crazy. He asks for something, I say no, and he continues to ask. Over and over and over. It's a little annoying. I don't give in, but he's started back talking me. I'll say, "I said no, Anders", and he'll say, "I say YES, MOMMAY!" Then he runs to his room and slams the door. He's not even 3 yet and he's storming off and slamming doors. It's been a rough week. Addie must be cutting some teeth or something. She's cranky pretty much all the time, and she's not sleeping well. She hasn't been taking good naps and she's waking up a lot in the night. Between the two of them, my nerves are shot. The little whipper-snappers.

I have Bunco tonight. I really need it.