So much to be thankful for!

The spirit of the season is really hitting hard and I'm trying my best to keep everything in perspective. Most of October I spent freaking out and not in a very good 'mental' place. I realized this after lunch with a friend. I spent most of the lunch complaining and freaked out. Although it's ok to have days like that, I was planning to cart around those feelings for as long as it took and I'm really not ok with being that person. If I stop for just a moment, there are so many things for me to be thankful for and I need to focus on that. I can continue to work on the issues stressing me out, but not let it control our lives.

I am immensely thankful for so much! I am not going to go into all of it, but if you are reading here (and especially if you made the move to this blog from my surrogacy blog) than you are probably pretty high on my list of things/people I am thankful for!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day today and will take the time to remember all that you too have to be thankful for!

A fascinating parenting article

I ran across this article on another blog and thought I'd share it with those of you who aren't on my Facebook (and why exactly haven't you added me yet as a Facebook friend?).
Definitely food for thought. I find myself constantly challenging parenting opinions (my own and others') and wondering if I'm headed in the right direction. Which things do you really stress with your kids and which things are unnecessary. Most of our choices we've made with our kids I am ok with and still believe in, however there are a few things that I definitely wish I'd/we'd done differently. I can only hope to share that knowledge with my own kids when they become parents and hope that they will appreciate the wisdom that the advice comes with.
Enjoy!

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting

Weekend Highlights

Logan had a spectacular basketball game on Friday. I'm so disappointed that I didn't bring the video camera. I would love to be able to replay his around the back dribble and left handed layup. They played the 1 seed as a 4 seed, were expected to lose and won! They play in the Championship game on Friday. This is a team that only won 1 game all season!

Saturday Ciera had her final tournament with her fall team, the Rocklin Hype. She got to pitch, play 1st base and hit. It was nice to see her finally get a chance to get on the field. She did very well and it was a great day. Logan had a flag football game as well. They did not do so well, but Logan caught 3 passes and had several flag pulls. Mostly it's just great to see him having fun and talking with the other boys.

Saturday night Ciera went to see a movie with her 'boyfriend'. She reconnected with a preschool friend by googling him and finding him on Facebook. Is it possible for 12 year olds to 'reconnect'? Anyhow, she learned a big lesson about how much easier it is to 'chat' with a stranger than talk in person while waiting for a movie to start. His parents were great about getting them together and keeping things appropriate. It was really neat for me to get to see him all grown up, 8 years later. And not surprisingly, Ciera was a few inches taller than him.

Sunday was the final day of the tournament. They won their first game (not what any of us expected) and lost the second. Then we hustled our booties out to a try-out for a spring team. Ciera had tried out for this team in the fall and was not picked up, since they already had 4 pitchers. Ciera was very much hoping to make this team, and they phoned tonight and offered her a spot. She probably won't pitch much, but she'll get some time and she'll get to play other defensive positions. This team is coached by an Olympic pitcher, so Ciera should be able to learn a ton! We are all quite excited about it.

With this being the last tournament, Ciera now has several months off before the next game. So, it was time to finally pierce her ears. We hustled to the mall after the try-out to get them done. She took the pain like a champ and is quite pleased with her new earrings.

At 10:30 as I'm desperately trying to get the kids into bed, they decide to play and giggle together. I love it when they play together, but they always do it at bedtime-which makes it SO hard for me to make them go to bed!

They are finally down and we've got a big day tomorrow.

I'm employed!!

As a state employee, Brian was required to take Furlough days about 8 or 9 months ago. He's up to 3 unpaid days off a month, but he's able to choose the day (the good part). Unfortunately, we've now eaten up all of our savings trying to 'get by' until the furloughs end (currently set to end summer of 2010). As a 1 income family in CA we've always had a tight budget. When we take a look, there are not a lot of areas that we can make cuts to make up that kind of a pay difference. So, it became time for me to find SOMETHING that would pay me rather than just volunteering.

Available jobs are also pretty hard to come by right now. I am not being super picky, applied darn near everywhere (except Ace hardware) and I finally received a call for an interview at Toys B They (not the actual name of course). I have been an employee for 1 week now and it's finally looking better.

It's not a dream job by any stretch of the imagination and it's only seasonal help, but it helps to fill the furlough void and I can work the hours around the kids' school schedules. I was unable to attend Ciera's softball games on Saturday, but made it for Logan's flag football. There will be some minor inconveniences, but it shouldn't be too bad. It will be crazy busy and it's super hot moving around cashiering, but it could be worse.

The first few days were really tough on my legs. I was so tired after a 4 or 5 hour shift, I actually slept 11 hours after my 3 shift, but by yesterday (1 week) I was doing ok.

I will continue to keep my eyes open and look for something a bit more enjoyable and profitable for after the holidays.