Simple Saturday

Jack, we did not do a whole lot today which was pretty fine with me. Ayden slept in until around 8ish this morning and 8 is definitely better than 6:30am so I am fine with that. Besides, when you get up any later than 8 it seems like your morning is already pretty much gone. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. It has started to become some what of a tradition at our house on the weekend mornings. One morning, usually Saturday, we will make cinnamon rolls. They are so yummy too! And of course we don't make them from scratch. I really wouldn't know where to start with making them by scratch. I'd have to look up some recipe of some sort and it probably wouldn't turn out.

I started another new book last night. It's called The Year of Fog. Thus far pretty good, about 50 or 60 pages into it and it is about 400 pages long. I read for a while last night, but got really tired and fell asleep before 10pm. That has happened in a long time. Jay stayed up pretty late playing his game. He said that he was 'helping' people with quests. Whatever that means, but I was so out that I didn't even hear him come to bed. I didn't really care though.

We have a new neighbor moving in upstairs. I'm thinking it might be a bad thing, but I'm hoping that it doesn't get too out of hand. I think I probably mentioned my dislike of the current neighbor up there and the fact that her roommate had to move out because of the noise. Well, now that another friend has moved in I am hoping that the loud noise/parties do not start up. Just by the tone of the people when they were moving stuff in I have a bad feeling. They were very loud and obnoxious. In any case, I guess that we will just have to wait and see. I can only hope that they have to work all the time in order to afford the rent and that includes the weekends too! I wonder how many complaints management has to get before they can evict someone? Or maybe I should already program the police into my phone so I can call at the drop of a hat when the music gets too loud and annoying. Okay, I guess I should just see how it goes first. The neighbors behind us have been very good I have to say. Of course there are times when I can still hear there music, but it's expected in pretty much all apartments and it's not overly loud and annoying so I can deal. And I know that if I went over there and asked them to turn it down they would because they are nice.

Jay rearranged his computer setup today. We were going to move the desk from our bedroom into the kitchen to see if that would work better, but it got in the way of the closet door opening in the kitchen and thus didn't work. So then we went to Walmart to see if they had any desks that were under $50 that would be better than the current set up, but the one that would have been really nice was $100 and well we didn't really need it so we didn't buy it. We ended up keeping the same desk that we had for his computer in the same spot, but he just moved things around a little bit and it does actually work better.

We also went to the 'big blue park' today, but didn't stay for a whole long. We played in the sand and ran around going down all the slides and then Ayden said that he was ready to come home. I didn't really want to because I didn't want to deal with the noise of our neighbor moving in, but they were not here when we got back. Actually on our way home Jay decided that he wanted some ice cream and so we stopped at Culvers and all got concrete mixers. There went our supper considering by this time it was already 4:30pm. Jay and I ate all of ours and Ayden ate about half of his. Currently Ayden is eating a sandwich and some Doritos for the rest of his supper. I am not hungry yet and probably will just have a sandwich myself a little later. I can't believe how fast today went, it seems like I just got up.

Ayden and I took nice naps this afternoon. I didn't really sleep, but rested for a while. I was reading and couldn't keep my eyes open any longer to concentrate so I shut them and listened to the TV. Ayden actually slept which was good.

Tomorrow I will probably do some laundry. Jay said he would like to make some potatoes on the grill again before the ones that we bought go bad and I always like grilling out. And the weather is supposed to be pretty nice and warm! CIAO! LOVE ME!

'I gotta puke!'

Jack... Yes, those were the words that Ayden uttered to me before he ran to the bathroom and threw up in the toliet. At least he made it to the potty. We were sitting down to eat lunch, him having chicken nuggets, apple sauce and chocolate milk, me having ramen. Too lazy to make anything else and Ayden loves chicken nuggets. He usually drinks his glass of milk before he starts to eat anything and I didn't think anything of it when he did that today, only that he had a pretty big cup full and downed the whole thing and then asked for more. I gave him half a cup more because I didn't want him to get TOO full on milk and not eat anything. He drank some of that and managed to eat two chicken nuggets and a little applesauce before he said he was full. I asked him if he could eat one more chicken nugget but he said he was too full. I didn't want to fight with him so I said it was okay for him to get up. He quickly runs to the bathroom saying he has to go potty and while in there he yells that his belly hurts. He gets gone going potty and I'm helping him button his pants back up. I then go to the kitchen to get a bowl for him to hold while he layed on the couch.

Okay, rewind a little. You see... every parent knows that children come leaking from every orface they have and it doesn't stop. Baby spit up, blow out diapers and endless runny noses. I dealt with the baby spit up and the blow out diapers and still we have runny noses, all fine with me. I knew that the day would come when I had to deal with real food throw up and hoped it wasn't for a while. I can't stand the smell of puke and usually end up gagging at it. But who doesn't? Well a few months ago Ayden was in his room watching a movie and started crying that his belly hurt. Naturally thinking, I told him that we should lay down for a while and see if that helps. I left the room only to hear him start crying a few minutes later. Go back in the room and see puke EVERYWHERE! Turns out I can handle it better than I thought and lots better than Jay. Ayden was more upset that he got it everywhere than he was that he actually threw up. I calmed him down and said that if he ever felt like that again that we should try and make it to the potty. I didn't really think it would sink in and didn't expect him to actually throw up in the potty if/when it happened again, but you never know. He's three... I just want the kid to feel good. Okay, so throw up number 1... made it through... good.

Back to this afternoon, I am in the kitchen getting the bowl and I hear him in the hallway say, 'I gotta puke!' and I quickly run after him and he makes it to the potty just in time and that is where it happened and thank goodness! Not that I wouldn't have been able to clean it up or anything, but it definitely saved me the time and effort of doing so. He basically just threw up the milk and chicken nuggets that he had for lunch. My best guess, he drank too much too fast. He was fine after that and continued to play as if nothing had happened and for that I was thankful.

Nap time was a wash out today as well. He rested for a little while, but didn't actually sleep. However, he has been in a pretty good mood this afternoon thus far. I biked us to the little park again and this time we stayed for a whole 20 minutes. I spent more time biking alltogether than we did actual playing. But if we keep this up I will have stellar legs in about a month. It definitely takes a lot of work and I had to bike against the wind today which was definitely not any fun.

Overall our day has been kind of blah. I have really been feeling like a goob. Munching too much and not feeling like doing a whole lot of anything lately. Feeling fat again... I went through a few days last week where I wasn't doing a whole lot of munching and was feeling pretty skinny and liked what I saw in the mirror, but after we had gone shopping our house was stocked again and well I have no will power to deny myself it. Especially the chocolate marshmellow ice cream. Lol. A nightly bowl definitely does the hips good and probably the butt too. Too bad none of that fat could end up in my boobs. They need the extra poundage. Need to get more motivated and such. The weather looks to be pretty nice this weekend so maybe we will spend a lot of it outdoors which would be good. Get my tan on, and this time remember the sunscreen. Don't want to get burned again!

The cotton trees are seeding out right now, at least I think that that is what it is called. Anyways, there must be a ton around Ayden's day care because for the last couple of days it has been like raining little cotton balls there. Cute, but also really annoying because they get in your nose, mouth, eyes, and all over your clothes. Hopefully they are done soon. Thankfully we really don't have any around our apartment. Finally the sun is shining today. Might just have to eat supper outside on the patio set. Well that is, need to come up with an idea for supper first. Was thinking spaghetti and meatballs, but I cooked last night and don't really want to tonight. Not after the stupid potatoes boiled over which lead me to have to clean the whole damn stove. Was not fun! But I guess that the stove kind of needed it anyways and the potatoes still turned out.

Maybe tomorrow we will go to the beach or walk around the lake again. Who knows? Enjoy the dinosaur video!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

I Remember...

Jack... As I was laying in bed last night long after Jay fell asleep and not being able to sleep myself I started reminiscing about things that have happened in the past and I thought that I might write/type some on them on here... So...

...I remeber living at my Dad's old house and sitting outside for hours on the rocker just reading (there's that reading thing again) or writing or just watching cars go by. It was my favorite part of the house. I also remember sitting on my carpet rectangle in my room writing letters to my best friend Victoria and putting my pajamas over the heater in the hallway, the only heater/vent upstairs, so they would get nice and toasty warm before I put them on.

...I remember walking the long way to high school just to hook up with Vic and walk with her. We always had tons of fun walking together whether in sun, rain, or snow.

...I remember sneaking a guy in and out of my Dad's new house and the memories that his basement holds for me. I always feared he knew what I was doing, but he never said anything to me about whether he knew or not. Even to this day, probably a good thing.

...I remember the Oshkosh wrestling tournament before Jay and I started dating and he played with my phone. Was I smitten or what? And I remember watching him get a concussion that same weekend and freaking out that he was hurt. I pretty much did that anytime anything happened to him, worst one was when he got hurt during a football game and didn't get up for a couple of minutes. Way to freak me out like that! Not to mention his mom as well, Ayden's never playing contact sports. Lol... okay maybe.

...I remember bringing Ayden home from the hospital and sitting in the backseat with him and worrying everytime I thought he wasn't taking another breath. Of course he was fine. I also know that I was scared beyond expression at thinking that I have to care for this little guy. But everything went fine and a week later it was like life hadn't ever exsisted without him.

...I remember sleeping at our apartment in Point for the first time thinking wow, we really are moving away from our families. I wondered how we would make it and now three years later I'm proud to say that I know we can make it on our own. I also remember the endless packing and unpacking and driving back and forth from Point with loaded vehicles and a sleeping kid in the back.

...I remember Ayden's first day of daycare and not wanting to leave him, but not crying about it either.

...I remember the day Ayden took his first steps (well that I saw because his daycare had told me that he was taking a few there) and I got it on tape! He just sort of took off and I couldn't believe it. My little baby was not such a baby anymore.

...I remember the trip to Punta Cana and not wanting to leave! I also remember seeing all the couples on the beach and wishing that I had someone to walk with. The week went so fast... the drinks, okay so the punch, was delicious, and the swimming every morning after breakfast was too much fun! I have resolved to go back someday. I unfortunately lost my pictures from the trip and thus can only see everything in my head, but it is as clear as the day that we went.

...I remember flying alone to Vermont and hoping that I had gotten on the right flight. I remember being nervous to meet my penpals face to face for the first time, but after we met it was great. I also remember flying home and having to wait at the airport for a layover and freezing because it was so damn cold in there!

Okay, enough memories for now. I could go on and on and on and on, but I won't. CIAO for now... LOVE ME!

Down Day

Jack...Tough loving paid off. Ayden woke up around 6:30am, not too bad for going to bed at 6pm and Jay turned on some cartoons for him and I continued to sleep until 7:15 or tried to when my alarm decided it was a good time to go off. Or more namely so, the time that I had set it to go off. From 6:30 to 7:15 Jay and I cuddled in bed. It was nice because it doesn't happen very often. Especially during the week. But do you think that that guy could lay still for like just 5 minutes... nope... he was constantly moving. It was starting to drive me nuts! But it was still nice. And he even came to bed at a decent time last night. Although before he came to bed, I was in the bedroom reading and he kept coming in to bug me and acting all giddy like. If I didn't know better I would have said he was drunk or high, but really he was just being crazy. Lol... it was funny though.

My back is really hurting today. I must have slept on it wrong or something. Maybe I lifted Ayden wrong yesterday or lifted something else wrong. Who knows, but I hope that it feels better soon because it is kind of annoying. At least my sunburn has stopped hurting. Always a plus when that happens. And because it wasn't too bad I don't think that I am going to peel either. Another yeah!

Jay may not have to work late today if the weather takes a turn for the worse and rains like it is supposed to. That would be a good thing, but then he would most definitely have to work late tomorrow unless it is bad weather again then as well. We finally decided that we are not going home. Took us long enough, huh? Jay said that it wasn't really worth it and I partially agree. Not for the price of gas so we are staying in Point. Fine with me. I really didn't care either way.

Work has been kind of slow this past week. Last week my boss was gone for two of the four days that I work which left me with little to do after I got done with what she needed me to and this week I only had to work three days because of Memorial Day and she was gone today as well. I need to talk to her about starting that one project she had talked about because that should keep me busy for a while. But she has just been so busy that I hate to interupt what she is doing in order for her to explain to me what needs to be done. I'm too nice like that though. Hopefully it will pick up next week.

I had kind of a depressing afternoon. I got the mail and all bills... do they ever stop coming? And so I started freaking out about our current financial situation and it was really starting to get to me until I got on our bank online and actually calculated what we currently had. I know, check the check book... but I'm pretty bad at keeping up in keeping it balanced. Naughty me. In any case, after checking everything I became a little less stressed, however Jay and I decided that we are going to forgo the YMCA membership for the summer, even if we could get it for $20/month. It's not worth the extra money right now or the extra worry. We will get through the summer and maybe in the fall. Ayden and I can swim at the beach for free, even if it isn't pool water. I sort of have this thing about river/lake water. Icky to me. Wrote out some bills tonight and figured out which ones that could wait until next week. Feeling better about everything... that's good, right?

Ayden took a great nap this afternoon and so did I. Was pretty nice and when he got up he was so excited to be able to tell Jay when he got home. He kept saying that Daddy was going to be so proud of him for taking such a good nap. We didn't do a whole lot this afternoon. Looked like it was going to rain the whole time so we just stayed inside watching tv. Funny how the weather can have such an effect on your mood. Jay said he was feeling kind of lazy today at work took. He worked late, but not as late as yesterday and might not even have to go in tomorrow if it raining out like the weather people say so. But are they ever right?

Ayden is taking a bath right now. He really needed one, what with playing in the sand all day at daycare. He had gobs and gobs of sand in his shoes today. The most that he has had all week. And of course we had to wash his feet in the sink when we got inside.

Tonight is going to be a good reading night. Almost done with my book, again! Did I mention that I like to read. It's sort of an obsession right now. Borderline obsessive compulsive about it maybe. What do you think? It's turning out pretty good, needed a good love story after the boringness of the last book. Easy summer read that doesn't challenge the brain. Like I really need any brain challenges at the moment.

Okay I am going to go because I am just babbling on about anything and nothing at the same time. Gotta love me... CIAO! LOVE ME!

Tough Lovin'

Oh goodness Jack... I can't believe that I forgot to put a title on that last post. What is wrong with me? Lol! In a relatively good mood today despite Ayden being a handful when he woke up. Back to his normal I don't want to go to 'day daycare' and wanting to stay in bed at home all day long. He stayed up a little later than usual last night so I could see where he might be a little tired. Just took a little coaxing and he was up and ready for the day. Fine after he got his glass full of chocolate milk. We didn't get to eat breakfast together though because he got going too late and he said that he didn't want to. Fine with me I guess because the chairs were still be used by the fort that we had set up last night. Didn't really get around to taking to down last night and knew that if I did Ayden would have had a fit this morning.

The weather is looking better for this weekend which is good, but of course we are still undecided for the whole camping thing. Jay didn't get home until almost 7:30pm last night which kind of sucked and then he sat down on his computer right away. That kind of sucked because there went any quality time that we got to spend. Wait, I take that back, first he put the drain-o in the sink because it was running slow, then I made him put some dishes away and then he tried to get the printer to work for me and then he went on his computer. Well after he scarfed down some food. What a boyfriend, huh? And then he stayed up until 2am! Okay, so he says he fell asleep on the couch, which could be true, but in any case, was still kind of disappointed.

I am trying to plan a get together with my friends from school. I really want to go to Six Flags this year. Jay and I missed our yearly going last year because we didn't have the money and the summer just went so dang fast. We had gone the previous two or three years before hand. I'm thinking it was only two because before then I think I was pregnant and of course couldn't go then. In any case, we had wanted to make it a yearly thing. Originally I had thought that maybe we could go and I could ask two of my friends and their boyfriends to come along, but I decided that instead to just ask my friends. I think Jay might be mildly disappointed, but he will get over it. And if not, I'll just pull the whole look at all the times you went golfing with JT last year and what not. But I don't think I will have a hard time getting it past him. He will just be upset that he doesn't get to come, but oh well. Thus far, two of four friends have said they would like to go. I'm pretty sure one of the other two will say yes as well, but not so sure on the fourth one. I hope so though because it would definitely be a blast! Venting time, no kids, no boys, and lots of fun on the rides! Hopefully it pans out!

Awesome news just got... one of the ladies from work has a husband who flies airplanes. Well she just offered a free ride to me from her husband. Okay, you're thinking... that would be wierd, don't even know the guy. Well not true, he's been in to work before, met him, and he is super nice. It would be awesome to go up for a plane ride, especially in a small plane. I love those and I haven't been on a plane since we went to Punta Cana. She took my number and said she would keep it on hand. Totally cool! Also, the Stevens Point airport is having an air show this weekend and we live relatively close to the airport. You're probably thinking, well that would suck with planes and everything, but it's not THAT close and there are not too many planes, and an even smaller number of bigger planes. In any case, we will probably be able to see the airshow from our apartment. Well that is if we decide to stay home. I think Ayden would enjoy that.

Have you ever tried to grow flowers from seeds?! Well we have been trying for almost the past two months and we've had to replant them at least three times now. We have some sun flowers and poppies up right now that are doing pretty good, but as Jay was bringing in our big planter last night he sent it unstably on the side table in the living room and it tipped right over. We had some growing in there, but they weren't too big yet. What happends? We get a huge pile of dirt on our nice white living room carpet. What does Ashley do? Just starts laughing. Jay was very upset... but I thought it was too funny. I'm sure if it would have happened to me I would have been mad too, but I wasn't. Sometimes you just have to laugh. We got it all picked up and luckily it didn't leave any dark messy marks on our carpet, only now we have to replant the flowers that were in there. Have fun with that Jay... that's his domain. I'm about ready to give up and just buy some already grown flowers to plant in there. I have no green thumb and no want to acquire one.

I finished my book last night. Yeah... now on to another one. Keeping the reading alive! Okay, night time now and I managed to get almost 100 pages into my new book. YEAH! And thus far it is pretty good, as expected... written by Nicholas Sparks. In any case, was able to get that far in because my little mister Ayden was sent to bed at 6pm tonight. And no, I'm not a mean mom... just handing out a dose of tough lovin.

Here's the thing... we got home from daycare today and being the cool mom that I am, I told Ayden that he could take a nap on the floor under his tent. He was pretty excited about that. I turned some music on and he layed down under the tent for his nap. Well... didn't lead to a nap. I let him lay under there playing for a little while and then proceeded to move him to his bedroom. Still no nap, but I figured an hour and a half of 'quiet' time was enough and told Ayden he could come out and play if he was good. We played for a while and then I decided to get my bike out, hook up the bike trailer we have for Ayden and bike to the nearest park. All good, however I was more tired than I thought I would be by the time we got there. Just goes to show how much harder it is to bike with an extra 50 lbs behind you. But we made it only to play for about 20 minutes. Then Ayden decided it was time to bike home. Back at home we did a few worksheets and Ayden watched a little bit of cartoons. I've been trying to keep the cartoon watching down lately, first because he doesn't need the TV to fill his time and secondly with the TV off we are saving electicity.

Okay, then I start making supper. We were going to have salsbury steaks and pilsbury flaky buns (yum)! Mind you, Jay was still at work and finally got home around 7:15pm tonight. Getting things going in the kitchen and walk over to the living room to see Ayden holding the cat up by his neck. He literally had his two hands wrapped around Diesel's neck. I didn't know how long he had had the cat this way, but immediately yelled at him to drop the cat. Luckily Diesel ran off seemingly unfazed, thank goodness and launched into speech about why we cannot hold the cat that way. Thinking Ayden didn't really get anything out of it and I know that I kind of over reacted at the situation.

Then when supper was ready and Ayden saw what we were having he launched into a whining/ crying fit about how he wanted mac n cheese and not meat. I told him that this is what we were having and that was that. Turned the cartoons off (we do not watch cartoons while eating or Ayden will just sit and watch them and not eat) and Ayden got even more mad because he wanted to finish watching his movie. He knows better, but I think today was an off day. He finally stopped whining and sat down to eat. He ate his watermelon and picked at his bun and decided that he was done. I proceeded to tell him that he had to eat three pieces of the salsbury steak before he got up (three years old equals three pieces) and he refused. Then told him that if he was done he had to wash his hands and it was bed time. Obviously that didn't go so well, but he climbed into bed and 10 minutes later when I checked on him he was already sleeping. What a rough afternoon... poor kid. Lol... I just hope that he doesn't get up before 6am tomorrow morning. Would be just my luck, huh? I hope tomorrow afternoon goes better.

And so, at least I got a few hours to myself tonight to relax and read. CIAO! LOVE ME!

Ayden woke up this morning with a smile on his face! I actually had to wake him up, but he was happy none the less. When I turned his light off last night and told him that he had to go to day daycare (as he calls it) in the morning he was very excited to see his friends again. I was prepared for a crabby child this morning as is usually the case when he is told we have to go. However, I was pleasantly surprised when he hopped out of bed right away, went to the bathroom, and picked out his clothes... all with a smile on his face! It made the start of my day all that much better. We sat down and had our bowls of cereal together, something I would like to continue, as Ayden doesn't usually eat breakfast, but it's nice to do it with him. Then for the rest of the about 20 minutes we had to spare, I like getting up with enough time to move slowly and not be rushed, he couldn't stop asking if it was time to go yet. What's with all the enthusiasm kid, you really that sick of your dear old mom?! I doubt it, how could he be? Lol, but I know that he missed his friends and enjoys playing with other kids.

It's rather chilly outside today. They say it's suppose to warm up again though and then rain for the weekend. That kind of bites because we might be going camping. Still haven't made up our minds and probably won't until the very last minute. I don't really want to go camping if the weather is going to be crappy the whole weekend. Since Jay's parents are only going to the county park it's not as if we couldn't sleep at their house, but then what is really the point of going home, besides to use gas? We haven't been home since the weekend before finals, so really only it will only have been three weeks since we've come home this weekend. We've last longer and will be going home in like three weeks anyways for a cousin's wedding reception. I just don't know. But we could go to my dad's house because Ayden hasn't seen Alexis since Easter and they always have so much fun together and with the weather being nice they can go outside again!

Work went good today. Lots of stuff to keep me busy and moving along. The time actually went pretty fast. The only sucky part is that where I part is only 2 hour parking (at least it's not metered) so I have to go and move my car every two hours. Oh well, I will survive, but today the parking was already two blocks back from the building where I work and usually I can get right up front on the first block. More exercise, that's the way I see it.

Speaking of exercise, I so have not be putting to use my elliptical machine. I keep saying that I will and I know that I should espeically for what we payed for it, although not as high as it could have been, but I'm a slacker. I just wish that I had someone to do with it. And Jay is no help either. He laughs at the word exercise, even though he knows he could stand to do some as well. The thing that bugs me is that he gets on my case about not using the machine, but he doesn't even look at the weight he's gained in the last couple of years. I know, that was kind of mean. I'm just saying, he's definitely not the 'cut' wrestler that I fell for. But of course it wasn't just his body that I was attracted to. But it was nice! Oh those good ole high school days, now almost long in the past. Lol, and I haven't even been out for five years yet. That's okay, I don't want the time to go too fast because that means Ayden is going to keep getting older and older!

I got sunburned yesterday and it hurts today! I know, my fault for not putting on any sunscreen like a good person, but I really didn't think I would get burnt, yeah like I could escape it some how, but I really wasn't outside all that long or for extended periods. I suppose I had to be though in order to get burnt. I enjoyed reading in the sun while Ayden was napping. Just trying to get through my book now because it really isn't that good. I have a Nicholos Sparks one, The Rescue, that I want to read next. His books are usually really good. In any case, I loved The Notebook and The Wedding. So this one is bound to be good, right? I guess we will see. One good thing about getting burnt, also found out that my mom did the same exact thing and got burnt too. We are too much alike, enjoying our books in the sun thinking we will not get sunburnt. Lol!

So, my friend Niki called this morning about her adventure with her boyfriend last night. I convinced her to drive up by him for like 12 hours to spend with him and I didn't really convince her because I wanted her to see him, more for the fact that I wanted her to spend money on gas. Not very nice, I know, but it worked. She just gets on my case sometimes when she complains about her money situation. It's like, don't tell me how poor you are when I know you have a reserve sitting aside that you could use if the situation called for. Where as, Jay and I have only a set amount and when that runs out, that's it! We are broke! We are living two totally different lives so I guess it's unfair to compare things, but seriously... in any case, it was interesting to hear what she had to say this morning. Her and her boyfriend got into their first big fight, first fight since they started dating I think. But everything got worked out and I'm happy that she has finally found someone so great for her! I really hope they do end up getting married someday in the future.

Afternoonish now... Ayden had a good day at 'day daycare' according to his teacher. They got a bunch of new sand for their sandbox outside and of course Ayden's shoes were full of it when he got home. There was a little note from the director for the parents. Apparently some parents had been complaining that their children were coming home dirty and they did not like that. Well the director just explained that they had got new wood chips which were dusty and kids were digging in them and everything. Well I think that if the kids are playing outside for a good portion of the day and they do not come home at least a little dirty something must be up. I like picking Ayden up and him having sand in his shoes (as long as we remember to take our shoes off outside before we get into the house) and grass stains on his knees. It means he was active and had fun. I don't care.

After I picked him up we dropped off a box at the post office. I am returning two of the dresses that I ordered and then I stopped at the YMCA to ask about memberships and getting assistance with one. I got an application to fill out and will probably do that sometime this week. Would be nice to start going there during the week to swim, especially if we didn't have to pay full price. If that's the case then we will have to forgo it. Too expensive.

I also did some laundry today and set up Ayden's fort again. He was upset that we took it down last night, but it was constructed of the quilt Jay and I use to sleep with and well we kind of needed that. Today I used a different blanket so it could stay up if need be. Ayden really likes it and was excited when Jay made it for him yesterday.

Jay will probably be working late all this week. The weather looks like it will be good so no days off due to rain. Good and bad... he just had a three and a half day weekend so I'm sure he was happy to go back to work. He played his game a lot this past weekend, but I think sometimes he gets bored with it. Yeah, then maybe he will stop playing with it. He hasn't told me about any calls to or from Sam in probably a week and I am inclined to believe him. I have to admit, that I did look through his phone this morning, but I just scanned a few of the first numbers in the call log and not the whole list. No Sam. Was happy about that. Things are going pretty good between us... YEAH!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

Sunshine... warmth... fun at the PARK!

Here are some pictures from this past weekend...

Ayden and Dad walking back from the beach. Ayden got lucky and Dad decided to give him a ride. Wish I was that lucky... to be a kid... oh the joys!

Ayden playing his preschool game on Dad's computer. He really knew what he was doing!

Jacky Jack Jack! The weather outside is gorgeous today, as it should be after the massive storms we had come through last night. We were in our first tornado watch of the summer and I thought that since we moved to Point we were out of the strong weather area (back in Chilton they always seem to get tornado warnings and what nots in the summer) but here we had some strong storms last night. I didn't even know that we were supposed to get any until it just started to down pour. There was like no notice and then the rain starts. Of course then it gets darker and starts to thunder and lightening. I decided to turn on the local channels to see what we were in for. Jay's friend, JT, said that over in Minnesota by them they had a few tornados. We were lucky here and just got a TON of rain (which from what I've heard, we needed) and some boomers and lightening. Nothing too bad. Ayden didn't even get scared either.

So, yeah... the weather is marvelous today and we headed off to the park around 10am this morning. Jay even decided to come and had tons of fun there. We were there for about an hour and a half and the first hour was spent in the sandbox. Well Jay and Ayden spent it there. I sat next to it watching them. They built a huge sand castle, well kind of huge.

Stupid sand in the eyes! And that is why Mom said to keep your sunglasses on!

Finished product! Look at that marvelous sand castle, complete with surrounding walls. Now only if they could have added a moat. Jay says wait until we go to the beach again...

It was a fun time! Currently Ayden is taking a nap, or supposed to be taking on. I haven't checked in on him in about a half hour. As long as he is 'resting' it's okay. Jay promised that he would get to watch the dinosaur movie if he took a good nap. Yeah, like that kid really needs to watch that again. I think we might go outside and do some bike riding. That sounds like more fun! And the more fresh air the better, right? Not like I have anything else planned anyways. Okay, so I just heard talking coming from Ayden's room which means he is not sleeping. Mom thinks that is okay.

I really need to cut my finger nails. I used to like them nice and long before I became a mom, but after Ayden was born, for functionality reasons, mostly because Ayden liked to suck on them and/or I didn't want my long nails scratching him, I have kept them short and thus I have grown to like them that way. They really aren't even that long right now, but they are kind of annoying me. I just haven't had the ambition to cut them. Sort of like not having the ambition to do anything with my hair for the last three days. It is finally long enough again where I can put it all up in a pony tail or claw clip without most of it falling down. I still have to clip a few of the side strands back, but it still is nice not to have to blow dry it and add all the styling products. But that only takes about 10 minutes the way it is anyways so if you can't tell, I really was lacking ambition. I'm a mom, I'm allowed to do that. Lol!

Jay has been talking more and more about wanting a dog. Obviously because we are living in an apartment we cannot get one, but I told him when we find our house in however many years, we will get one for him and one for me. Two dogs you gasp! Yes... you see, Jay wants a chocolate lab and I want a pug dog. Jay turns his nose up at that because he thinks they are ugly and useless (I think they are cute and adorable) and he really wants the lab for a hunting dog. I don't particularily care for labs, but I'm sure we can compromise.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

Moving?!

Jack...What would you say if I told you that we were moving? Would you freak out and be like, WHY? Well, didn't mean to get your hopes up, but we aren't. I found a nice looking duplex on the internet last night that was cheaper than where we are living now, a little smaller, but one more bedroom. Looked pretty decent from the picture online, so today Jay and I went on a little drive to the place to see how it looked in person, at least on the outside. The place was over in Plover, not too far from where we are now, but further from campus and this part of town. Unfortunately it did not look as appealing in person as the picture did and that halted our efforts in finding a new place. At least for now. We won't be moving unless we can find a duplex, maybe four plex, that is better than where we are now and cheaper. Not keeping my hopes up, but maybe there is someplace out there. I would really like the place to be in Stevens Point as well and not super far from campus. That was our little adventure for the day. We did some grocery shopping afterwards too and came up with a list of meal ideas for the next couple of days. For lunch Jay grilled out some hamburgers and pototes which were super good and tonight we are having homemade pizza and Jay is taking care of that too and said he would clean the kitchen tonight and give Ayden a haircut (which by the way is just buzzing his current hair off). Personally, I would like Ayden to keep the hair that he has and let it grow out a little more, but he insists that he wants it just like dads.

Ayden did a very good job at cleaning and helping around the house today. The main reason behind that was that Jay had informed Ayden that if he did this he would get a sticker tonight and that sticker would give him the 10 that he needed to get a prize. In fact, Ayden was able to get two prizes today because he got 10 stickers for some other category as well. You see, we have multiple things that Ayden can get stickers for. Simple reinforcement and it works. Categories include brushing his teeth everyday, cleaning up his toys every night before bed, eating good (which has been one of the best things we could have done because before this, Ayden was a very picky eater), making his bed (which doesn't happen a lot), putting his coat and shoes away, picking out his clothes and getting dressed, working on his letters, taking a good nap, listening to mom and dad, and helping around the house with extra things like laundry, sweeping, etc... If he gets 10 stickers in any category he gets a prize out of the prize bag. We have been doing this for a couple of months now, although not religiously EVERY night and it definitely has helped. Reinforcement versus punishment, although I'm not against time outs when they are necessary. And in the rare occasion when I've gone beyond my threshold he's even got a swift slap on the hand. Those are the ones that I regret afterwards, but he still loves me.

My favorite moments are when Ayden comes up to me for no reason at all and gives me a smooch or a squeeze (our terms for hugs and kisses) or tells me that he loves me. It puts an instant smile on my face! My little turkey! Life is good when Ayden is around.

One more day off tomorrow. Is kind of nice and then only three days of work. Jay's parents are going camping this upcoming weekend and have invited us along. I am not yet sure if I want to go. First off, camping isn't really my thing and secondly I don't like the amount of money we would spend on gas just driving there. I need to look at the other weekends that we are probably going home and weigh the options. Who knows, maybe I could con Jay into taking Ayden camping and I could go visit Lee?

YEAH RIGHT! Jay would definitely not go for that and really it's not like I want/need to see him that bad. Sometimes I wonder after all the things that he (Lee) has done to me how I could still talk to him, much less him be one of my dearest friends. He's hurt me in the ways that guys shouldn't be allowed to and lied to me more times than I can count, yet after all of that I would trust him with my life in a heartbeat. Maybe it's because I actually believe that he has changed and throughout it all we both have grown. We've shared our fair share of blaming each other, but in the end have gotten past our past. Or at least he has, I've tried. I still blame him for a few things, but have grown to learn that I can't hold it against him forever otherwise it will only hinder our friendship. We are at the point where we can tell each other anything and everything, whether we like it or not and get through it. I can totally say something that I know will piss him off and he will take it in stride. We've made a promise to each other that no matter what we will always tell each other the truth. I think that is what makes us such good friends. Although... even though as I type this I know I shouldn't be thinking it... but if he does get out in August, I think it will be much more difficult for us to be friends. All of the what ifs would start creaping back in... Okay, enough on that subject now. If I refuse to think about it or even the possibility of it things will be better.

Time to go help make some supper, or maybe not. Think I will let Jay take complete control of that for tonight. Soak it up while I can! CIAO! LOVE ME!

Easily Annoyed?!

Jack... am I really that easily annoyed, or are the fucking neighbors really playing their damn music that loud?! Honestly, I am getting sick and tired of this and it's been going on for more than an hour now. If I can hear it as good as I can here, how can they even stand listening to it in their apartment. I hope that we are not the only ones being annoyed by it as well, but who knows? In any case, I have the TV louder than I normally do and am trying my hardest to concentrate on the show that I am watching and trying to stay calm. Just need to stay calm. Deep breaths...

After Ayden's nap today, which by the way was not very long at all, we went outside and cleaned out my car. It hadn't been dusted or vacuumed in like forever, at least two or maybe almost three years. It wasn't too horribly bad, but it was definitely bad enough. Ayden helped a lot and was a very good boy. Well he had to be one because he wanted to go to the park when we were done. However, when we were done he changed his mind and decided that we were going to go to the beach. Jay decided not to come along which only moderately annoyed me this time. I just kind of blew it off.

So the beach was fun, except for the three kids there were there unsupervised. They all had to be within the ages of 4-7 and two of them had fishing poles with hooks on and no adults were watching them. I couldn't believe that their parents would let them go fishing without being at least near them. I was watching these kids fish as well and they were not be careful with the hooks. One of the kids was in the water and another one cast his line in right next to the kid. Any one of them could have easily gotten hooked. I kept Ayden away from them because I didn't want him to accidently get hooked when one of them cast. They left after a while and we had the beach to ourselves and then it was better because I didn't have to be so worried about Ayden.

Jay made supper tonight, just hamburger helper though so nothing all that great. And well I didn't even like the kind that he made all the much, but at least I didn't have to make it which was good. I don't know what we are going to eat for tomorrow or Monday's meals though. We don't have any food in the house. Okay, so I lie, we have food, but no junk food!

We got our power bill today and it was outrageously high! Seriously, do we really use that much power. Obviously, but still. I told Jay that I had an inclination of why it was so high and told him that I thought it was because he stayed on his computer all night long this past month for how many days and usually had the TV on at the same time. Well an extra six hours of the computer and TV being on for three out of four weeks will definitely increase our power usage. He wasn't too happy that I 'blamed' it on him, but really, that is probably what it is. Oh well, hopefully it goes down next month.

YEAH! The music stopped, but... well that last for a whole 4 seconds. Probably just moving to another song. Got my hopes up for nothing...

Ayden is currently running around in a t-shirt and his underwear (I swear that kid has an aversion to pants) pushing this noisy dump truck around. He has had this dump truck since before he turned one. It used to make actual noise and the bed would lift and dump, but now the noise has stopped and the bed doesn't even stay on the truck, but he still loves it. Funny how they manage to love the toys that are always the broken ones. As long as he is entertained though, right? I think tomorrow we might go for a walk around the lake again or go for a nice long bike ride and then he can take a nice long nap in the afternoon and so can Mommy. Lol...

I am going to go now and hope that I can keep my cool until my neighbors get sick of their loud music. Hopefully sometime before midnight, but even better if it were before 10pm. Wish me luck!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

Chillaxin Day...

Jack- yesterday and today were pretty much chillin out days which is fine by me. Yesterday we went to the library in the afternoon to get some new books for Ayden. I also got some books on tape for him to listen to and he seems to like them. And they even have computer games that you can check out. So we got a preschool one for him to play and he was playing it all by himself on the computer this morning. It was too cute to see him using the mouse and everything and getting the answers right. We also went to the beach yesterday. Of course the water is still freezing, but the weather was warm so Ayden played in the sand and of course went in a little bith with his feet. It was good to see that the water level had gone down quite a bit since the last time that we were there so I know that when it does warm up enough Ayden will still be able to walk across without it getting too high. After the beach we went to Arby's for supper. Believe it or not, but I had never been to Arby's before and it always looks SO good on the TV so we had to go. Ayden and I got the mini beef sandwiches and curly fries. They were so yummy! I want to go back again and again. At first Ayden didn't want to try the curly fries, but he reluctantly tried one and decided that he really liked them. And they were actually pretty good. Not spicy or anything and it wasn't super expensive either, but of course it cost enough.

After Arby's we went to Walmart to buy the National Treasure 2 movie. I just wanted to rent it, but because we watch the first one so much we decided to buy it because it was supposed to be pretty good and it was! I am glad that we bought it, and it was on sale so that was even better. It was longer than I thought it would, but well worth the money. We also got some more prizes for Ayden's price bucket and I found out that the V-Smile Pocket that I want to get him for his birthday is only $50 at Walmart which is great because it was $70 or $80 the last time I saw it at Target. So that is definitely what I am going to get him for his birthday and then I will tell others they can get him more games for it because they are like $20 a pop as well, if you can't find them onsale. In any case, it was a good quick shopping trip.

Today Jay and I went through our filing cabinet and moved some stuff to our safe, finally! We've had the safe since Christmas and still didn't have anything important in it so I thought we might as well make some use of it. We also pitched out any old bills that we didn't need and organized it a little better and then Jay and Ayden had some fun shredding all the important things with numbers and everything else on it. Ayden had fun and Jay had even more reminding Ayden every five seconds about keeping his fingers away from the opening. It was cute to watch.

Lunch was early today and Ayden is currently in our bed watching Jurasic Park on our TV before he takes his nap. It is my hope that he actually falls asleep during the movie like he did last time, but you can never tell with that kid. He also was asked to pick up his room this morning because he got a bunch of toys out last night before he fell asleep and he complied, but not without some whining and fake crying. But he came through like a champ and actually surprised me. The floor was spotless when I went and checked it out. His reward for that was being able to paint and he painted a wonderful picture of a water park (or so he says that is what it is). He is so creative at times!

So I've been thinking about getting a membership to the YMCA lately. It is super expensive, I know, but Ayden's swimming lessons (once a week for six weeks) will cost us $52 and a one month membership for our family would be about $60 and we could do whenever we wanted for that month. I also checked the pool schedule and Ayden and I could so swimming after daycare three times during the week and the weekends. That would get us out more and get more use of our money. Jay could also go and use the facilities as well. I also read online that the YMCA doesn't want to turn anyone down because of their high prices and that you could possibly get financial help to afford a membership and I'm thinking that we might just qualify for something like that. I need to go and check it out, but even so, it would still be something to consider even if we had to pay the whole price. Even if it's only for a month.

I finally started a new book... Bridget Jone's Diary, but it's not the first one, I think it's the second one. Thus far it's pretty good, but I'm only like 40 pages into it. Slower reading than the last ones and it's taking a little more to get into it, but I think I will read the whole thing. I have four other ones lined up after this one that I want to read as well. Have to keep my brain stimulated somehow during the summer, right? Especially since my reading time gets cut supremely short during the school year.

The sun is shining beautifully again today, we are going to have to go outside this afternoon. Probably get the bikes out again.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

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From 3.33 to 3.39... UGH

Jack... all that hard work this past semester and my cummulative GPA only when up 0.06 points. Can you believe it?! I got all 'A's too! Kind of disappointing considering all that I did this past semester. It was a breeze compared to the fall semester, but that doesn't mean I didn't do my fair share of work either. I got the best grade in my clinical procedures class which was the most writing. I couldn't believe it. It used to be a writing emphasis course, but they changed that a few years back. It still should be one, but I didn't really care because I already had my other writing emphasis credits done with my online classes. That was nice to get out of the way right away. Everyone else has to take other ones. Speaking of that, Jay still needs to take six credits of writing emphasis I think. Sucks to be him because he really hates writing and well not to be mean, but he isn't very good at it either. Or maybe I am just over critical about it. Who knows? He can write, don't get me wrong, but not very eloquently and I guess that it doesn't have to be eloquent all the time.

Jay only has to work until 11am today. His job will not let him work overtime (they don't want to pay it) and he has worked late earlier this week and thus will reach his 40 hours this week by 11am. I know that he wouldn't mind working longer, he loves his job, but oh well. It is kind of nice because then we can maybe do some rummaging this afternoon. He also has Monday off, but will then have to work 4 10hour days next week. That is fine with me because I am getting used to him not coming home until 6pm or later.

I overhauled Ayden's room yesterday and it is now clean again. And everything is in it's respectable bin as well. It makes it so much easier to find things then. We also had a talk that when he is done playing with something that we should try and pick it up right away. Of course we've had this talk numerous times before, but it doesn't hurt to keep instilling the cleaning gene. Maybe he will take after his mom at some point. Lol. I also did the laundry yesterday and got that all done. I will probably do a load or two on Monday again just to keep up with it. It feels like less if I do a load or so every few days rather than 5 loads once a week. I am hoping that the laundry will go down this summer because the clothing size will get smaller and thus we will use less water.

I honestly hate renting! I wish that we owned our own house! I know that it really isn't feasible right now, but all the rules of renting really bite! There is this apartment across the street that is up for rent and I called to see what it would cost... $800 per month. It is more of a duplex and looked pretty nice from the outside, but I didn't think it would be that much. Needless to say it isn't even an option at this point. If we were to move again, it would HAVE to be better than the place we were in now and only be $600 at the max for rent because each year rent goes up and well we are pushing it with what we are paying now. And the manager guy here just bugs me. He goes through the dumpsters and pulls out things that people should have put into the recycleables. Okay, so I know it is good to recycle, but that means opening other peoples trash and going through it. First, that should be illegal, secondly it's gross, and thirdly I feel like its an invasion of privacy. I never take our trash out when he is outside working because he will stop and stare at you. It's annoying! What can you do though? Deal I guess, because I love our place now.

Okay, I am going to go through the newspaper now and look for some rummage sales that might be worth going to... CIAO! LOVE ME

No More Bella and Edward

Jack- I finally finished the third book and now I'm kind of depressed. Sometimes I wish that Jay were more like Edward. Okay, so not a vampire, but he was selflessly in love with Bella and wanted to give her the whole world. Now I know Jay loves me, but... well I guess that's why the book is fiction. Not everyone can be as perfect as the characters in books. I so just want to pick up the next one and continue on. It's worse knowing that it's continued because the third one didn't really end and I want to know the 'end'. But I usually don't like the way books end anyways so what am I complaining about. I have a whole stack of other books that I can pick up at any moment and start reading to keep me going through the summer, but I've had enough reading for a little while. And by little while, I'm sure that I will have another one started by tomorrow. Crazy Ashley, loves to read!

I had the weirdest dream last night about an old high school classmate of mine. It was so weird! I don't even know why he was in my dream because I haven't thought about him in years, but isn't it usually like that? In any case, at least it wasn't about my book.

So, about that phone call I received last night. I did not tell Jay that it was coming and it did, precisely on time. Lee and I talked for about 40 minutes and it was a good conversation. He really needs to pick up the phone more often. And when we got done talking Jay was of course not on his computer, as I suspected he wouldn't be. He claimed it was because no one was on his game, it was boring, and that he wanted to watch a certain tv show. Well maybe it was the truth, but I could tell that he was agitated that I was on the phone and who I was talking to. We didn't get into any arguement about it which was good to say the least. I guess we will just have to wait and see how much he goes on the computer this weekend and what time he comes to bed. His one gripe was that I knew Lee was calling ahead of time and didn't tell him. Well I told him that he doesn't tell me ahead of time when he is going to call Sam so why should I tell him?! That shut him up, but I could tell that he was still upset about it.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

Good start to the day!

Jack! Super good new this morning! Jay got a raise at work... only a dollar, but hey from what I hear a dollar is pretty nice and it will definitely help this summer! I was happy to hear that when he called me this morning. We got into a bit of a fight last night, but honestly I don't even know what it was about. I think he was mad that I kicked him in the head, but I kicked him for a reason, just can't remember that reason right now. Lol... go figure. In any case, it didn't last long and it was more of us just avoiding each other.

My good streak of no phone checking ended last night. I had to know for how long he talked to her and thus found out. Like I said, I was fine that they talked, but when I found out when they talked I was a little disappointed. You see, Jay called me around 3pm yesterday because he had a little free time at work, so he says, he was on his way to Walmart to get some seed for his boss. We talked for a few minutes, I was pretty much out of it because he woke me from a nap. Well we didn't talk for very long because he got to Walmart. A quick look at his phone reveals he called JT after me for a few minutes and then called Sam and proceeded to talk to her for about 25 minutes. And I thought he had to go because he needed to get whatever he had gotten there for. I was a little upset by that because couldn't he have talked to me for that long then?! I'm obsessed, I know, lol!

My afternoon went pretty well. Ayden decided that he didn't want to take a nap today so we will see how crabby he is later tonight. We had a little talk in his room before I said that he could come out that he would not be crabby and already we've had a few instances where I know that he could have used a nap. Oh well though, can't always have it my way, right? Should be though, I'm the mom. Lol.

Still on the third book of the series, but more than half way through it now. It is getting really good and I hope to finish it either tonight or tomorrow sometime. But then what am I going to do until the fourth one comes out. Sit and be depressed.... just another thing to add to my waiting list like Prison Break. I still don't know when that is going to be back on. Probably not until like October or something. Stupid shows.

Don't really have much else to say except that the weather got warmer than it was supposed to today so after Ayden goes to bed tonight I will probably go sit outside and read for a while. Should be nice and relaxing.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

Almost Wednesday...

Kind of feeling down and out right now. Got my final grades in and they are good... A-'s... not super duper A's though. And then I found out that A-'s are only worth 3.67 points! Which means I cannot achieve my 4.0 status this semester! What is even worse, I calculated it out and I need to get a 4.0 in the fall semester and spring semester of next year to even graduate Magna Cum Laude. And with clinic I'm thinking that going to be utterly impossible. I so wanted to graduate Summa Cum Laude, which is 3.9 or higher, but stupid A-'s won't let me be able to. So, I'm going to strive for the Magna Cum Laude and work my butt off next year. I will most definitely get Cum Laude, but that will not be enough for me.

Back again, I kind of too a hiatus from writing this yesterday. Really didn't have it in me to continue. Okay, so when I started it I was at work and was not able to finish it and then the rest of my free time yesterday was spent reading. I've come to the conclusion about my grades that as long as I've tried my hardest I know that I will have done as well as I can and if that means not reaching Summa Cum Laude, I guess that is okay. In the past I really didn't try as hard as I could have with my classes, but this past year has really changed me. Meeting my friends and getting to know them and how much they all want to do good has really pushed me to want to do better myself and I have. It's been with their help and support that I made it through this past year. The year they call the 'hardest'. It was a good thing that we all became friends. And I know I've said all of this before. Just humor me.

So, I am almost done with New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series. I read every spare moment that I was not playing with Ayden, aka... his nap time and after he went to bed, and as he watched Land Before Time after his nap, I was engrossed in my book. I just started it yesterday (it is about 568 pages or so long, and I got to page 424 last night). Am I crazy or what? I am hoping to finish it during Ayden's nap today, but we will see.

We have to stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things for Jay after I get Ayden from daycare. Jay is going to try and make some egg salad. We will see how that turns out. If he wants it that bad I think that he should buy it from the store, but you never know with that guy. Speaking of him, I haven't checked his phone in almost 5 days now. Or maybe it's four, don't really know for sure, but in any case he's been coming to bed at a relatively decent time lately. Or maybe I think it's decent because I have been staying up in the living room reading until 11pm or so the past couple of nights. And his game playing hasn't been bothering me as much either, but once again, I think it is because I am so engrossed in my book. I don't know.

I've come to the conclusion that I need to work with Ayden more with his workbooks that we've gotten him. I have about three different ones stacked up in the closet that we haven't set eyes on since we bought. We really need to get them out and utilize them. Not that I think Ayden is dumb or anything, quite the contrary, that kid remembers things that even I don't. I think it's some secret kid ability that we all out grow as we get older. In any case, what better time to make use of them when I have no homework or other stuff calling my name. And they will only help him for preK in the fall. This morning he did not want to go to daycare, although he's beginning to say that a lot these days. But after he gets dressed and gets some liquid in him he is usually brighter and ready and raring to go. And by the time we get to daycare he can't get away from me fast enough to play with his friends.

My friend Kristi called me up on Sunday afternoon and we went to the big blue park with her and Lily. It was their first time being there and Lily and Ayden had so much fun. Ayden really has taken to Lily and was showing her around like a big brother, but sometimes he would get over excited and upset when Lily wasn't moving fast enough. I don't think he quite gets that she is so much smaller than him. We also ran into one of Ayden's friends from daycare. Actually, Ayden's 'girl friend'. Lol. Her name is Melina and those two had a lot of fun running around the park. Lina was all over Ayden and he was being the typical guy trying to ignore her, but after a while he opened up some more. She is really attached to him and wanted Ayden to give her a hug when we were leaving daycare yesterday afternoon. He of course looked at her like she had the plague. Too cute!

The weather is looking to be pretty fabulous this weekend which means hopefully we will be outside for most of it. Finally, some warm weather!

I got my clothes from Forever 21 yesterday and I was kind of disappointed. One of the dresses fit pretty good and I liked it and the coat that I got fit really good, LOVE IT! But the dress that I really wanted to fit good (for Justin's wedding) was a little loose in the bust area and because it is strapless that will be no good. If I ever get rich, and by that I mean win the lottery rich, then I'll buy my pair a self of bigger boobs. I'm not all for lots and lots of plastic surgery, but if I had the chance I would get lasec (sp?) for my eyes, something done with my honker of a nose, and bigger boobs. Jay tells me all the time that he loves me the way I am, but my eyes are getting worse (despite my saying they aren't that bad) I hate my huge nose, and I would love to just once have some cleavage without having to wear a super padded bra! Some people, like me, just aren't as blessed in that area. Lol.

Night time now, well technically the sun is still out and it's not quite 7pm, but late enough. We just got done eating supper, which by the way was just a pizza. Pretty good, despite that fact that it was only Jack's. Didn't really feel like making anything hard and Ayden and I had just made cookies this afternoon so that constituted my cooking for the day. We had fun, even though it was just add butter and an egg to the mixture, lol. Not so much for all natural cookies, ie: from scratch. And then afterwards we frosted them. That was the best part!

And I did finish my book! I have already started the third one as well and it's just as good. The last one kind of bit though because Edward wasn't in most of it and him and Bella are the best part. Oh to drift off to the world of Bella and Edward. Makes it seem like nothing else matters when I get sucked into a good book. These are by far going to stick on my top 10 list. One other book that has engrossed me as much as this was Lisey's Story by Stephen King. His descriptions are beyond anything and he just pulls you into the book. Maybe that is why he is such a great author and has sold so many top sellers. And normally I don't read his kind of stuff because it is too far out there, but I also loved Duma Key by him and Bag of Bones. Both also very good!

Okay, so I got a letter from Lee today saying that he is going to call tomorrow night. I'm really debating on whether or not I should inform Jay of this before it actually happens. I know that he would appreciate it, but I don't know if I want to start a fight. I also know that if I told him before the actual call he would want me to not talk at all or only talk for about 10 minutes and the thing is that I haven't talked to Lee on the phone in months and I really would like to talk for a while. That and his letter contained only one sentence, and that was that he was going to call. Also, Jay told me today that he talked to Sam... a step in the right direction, so it would only be fair for me to tell him about the impending call. However, I also don't want to worry him all day tomorrow by knowing that it was coming. Argh! I guess I need to give it some more thought.

Enough for now, back into fantasy world as Ayden plays 'Duck Hunting' on original Nintendo. Yes, quit gaping... we do have one and it still works and Ayden LOVES it! Ciao! LOVE ME... enjoy the pictures!

Ayden working on the letter 'B'! He was doing very good with actually writing it.
The whole bed and this is where he ends up!
Making those delicious cookies!
Ayden and Lina at the park!
Ayden in the cool swings!
Ayden and Lily about to go down the slide!
Ayden with the mohawk going on!

Twilight Series

Jack... Okay so I am completely and utterly addicted to the book Twilight already... so much so that I haven't been able to put it down today. I have about 160 pages left in the first book and I just went out and bought the next two this morning along with another one that sounded good. Probably shouldn't have spent the money on them (I took a look at our bank account status this morning and it's lacking a little more than I would like for the summer just beginning, however not enough for me to completely start freaking out yet... We just need to start watching where our money is going a little closer) In any case, I HAD to get the two sequels and will probably have them finished in less than two weeks. They are each over 400 pages, I think one is almost 600! Hopefully the weather is nice so I can sit outside during Ayden's naps and read.

So anyways, I just had to write that I can't stop reading, even though I have stopped now to write this. Our day thus far has been rather uneventful. Jay has spent most of his day on his game... actually fine with me because I'm so involved with my book. But we've also taken breaks from those things to build once again with the lincoln logs with Ayden. I think this afternoon we might get out the geo tracks and build something with those. The last time we got those out (a few weeks ago) Ayden got pretty upset with how I was doing things and that was that, we put them away. I am more than willing to play with him, actually love to do it, but I will not tolerate it when he cannot share and demands his own way. He needs to know his boundaries. Last night we were kidding around and the kid bit me and he knew what he was doing because right before he did it I told him that we only pretend to bite and not even 30 seconds later he takes a chuck out of my arm. Okay, not literally, but he left a mark through the sweatshirt I was wearing. Needless to say he ended up in time out rather quickly. Love the kid to death, but he needs to know what is acceptable and what is not.

He ended up taking a nap on the futon today. He watched some cartoons after his lunch and I told him that if he stayed on the futon he could take his nap there. After the show as over I turned the TV off and he fell asleep. I was surprised, but at least he won't be crabby this afternoon. Him and I need to make a trip the the grocery store to get some cheese. We forgot some the last time we went and he says that we NEED to get some. Seeing the store isn't very far I guess I can expend the gas that it will take to get there and get some.

Good news! New baby in the family! And no, that doesn't mean Ayden is getting a new brother or sister. Jay's aunt, Mandy, finally had her baby. It's a little boy named Quinn Joesph McCarty and the pictures were adorable that she emailed! It just sucks that she lives in Iowa! We probably won't get to see the little guy in person until August at the family reunion, unless she comes up earlier for some reason, but with the price of gas I wouldn't blame her if she didn't. At least now we will know what she goes through not being able to see any of us. But it will be nice to have another baby in the family since Ayden was the youngest and he will soon be four. Now we need Sam to tell us she's pregnant or for Jen to have another one so Quinn will have someone to play with. I think Ayden lucked out on playmates. On Jay's mom's side there is Baden who is exactly two months older than Ayden, however I don't exactly know how they are related. I think Baden's mom is Jay's cousin or second cousin. In any case... they get along great. On my dad's side there is Alexis, of course, and for those of you who don't know, my half sister who is three weeks younger than Ayden, and then my couisn Mitchell, although we don't get to see him all that often. On Jay's dad's side there are too many little ones to name now. Right before Ayden there is Hunter I think and after him... well they don't seem to stop coming. And on my mom's side there is my cousin Amanda's eldest, Amelya. So all around he has someone to play with which is good. It just kind of bites living so far away that we don't get to see everyone more often.

And with the rising price of gas, I'm afraid to even see what the total of us going home will cost us. Already we have quite a few weekends booked for traveling and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe we shouldn't cancel some of those to make sure we can make it through the summer financially. I just don't know. I hate not going home like once every 6 weeks or so because even I miss seeing everyone and I know that they miss Ayden, well and of course me and Jay, but I think Ayden more so, lol. Who wouldn't miss that cutie?!

Now I need to organize our kitchen closet and do some more laundry, it's never ending around here. Ciao! LOVE ME

What happened to my clean apartment?!

Jack... I think I mentioned how I cleaned yesterday, well that clean house is not messy again. Pretty much what you get for having a three year old. I can't imagine having more than one. I guess it's not too messy, the kitchen is still clean and the dining room moderately so, but the living room has tractors and lincoln logs and trains everywhere. Oh well...

We had a pretty good day today. We decided not to go rummaging this morning which was fine with me. Instead we went to Alltel to get new phones. However, we didn't leave with new phones. I was pretty sure that we had to be within 90 days of our contract being over to get the deal on new phones, but Jay and I were not completely sure so we went in anyways to see what we could get. As it turned out, I was right and we can not get the new phones until the end of August, well that is if we want to get them super cheap. We could buy new phones whenever we wanted, but would have to pay full price of them and they are outrageous. I was fine with that and actually the dude that helped us, who buy the way was super great, actually got us a good deal on a texting package. Jay and I didn't have texting on our phones and had to pay for each one we sent and received and had thought about getting a small texting package added to our phones, like only 300 texts per month. Well, as it turns out there is a new plan out that will allow both Jay and I to have 1000 text each per month and it actually lowered our bill, well like only maybe 3 or 4 dollars, but in any case, I was super excited about that. Now I just can't wait to get the phone that has the keyboard so it is easier to text! End of the summer, I suppose I can wait.

Ayden was a super good boy at the Alltel store, mostly because he knew that if he behaved we would be going fishing afterwards. And by fishing I mean, he would cast his fishing pole with the plastic fish attached to the end, into the lake we walked around yesterday. That is precisely what we did too. We went back to Lake Joanis and Ayden got to 'fish' for awhile and we walked around the lake again. It was pretty nice and I think Jay even halfway enjoyed it. I even told him that I wanted it to become a nightly thing this summer, well that is if the mosquitoes don't get too bad. The last thing I want to worry about is getting eaten up on my walks. But we had a good time.

After that we came home and had lunch and Ayden and I took a nap. I think that naps may become a daily ritual for me this summer. Kind of nice really... as long as I can sleep at night. I went to the Nice as New store after my little nap. I have been looking for a specific book that I wanted to start reading, but I didn't really want to buy it new and the library already has a waiting list of like 4 people for the book. If I would have added my name to the list, I wouldn't have gotten the book until the end of the summer and when I decide I want something I usually have to get it. So, I decided that if I didn't find the book at Nice as New I would go buy it at Target. Well, not only did I find the book, but I found it in hardcover and I found two other books as well all for the price of $10 which was less than what I would have paid for the soft cover at Target. I was super happy. Maybe it would be nice if I told you what book I was looking for so badly. It is called Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Very sci fi ish or fantasy if you want to call it that, because it's about vampires, but I've heard so many good things about it that I felt intrigued to pick it up. Fantasy usually aren't my type of thing, but thus far... about 70 pages into it, it is pretty good. There are two other books out in the series already and a fourth one coming out in August, so if I really like them I might just have to preorder the new one. Who knows... I also went to the Nice and New store to look for the V-Smile Pocket gaming system that I want to get Ayden for his birthday. It is about $80 new and I really don't want to pay that much for it... hopefully I can find it at a rummage sale this summer somewhere or get it off e-bay for cheap. I can't believe that I'm saying that because before I wanted this, I wanted to buy him a $200 four-wheeler for this birthday, but with our current financial situaion not completely stable I need to watch what I spend. Oh, but I know that he would love one. He has out grown his old one that we got for like $60 for his second birthday.

I'm not so sure what we will be doing tomorrow. Probably just lounging around the house enjoying the weekend. Now that I don't have to worry about any school work it is actually kind of nice. I know that by like two weeks later I will be wishing I had something further to do.

I haven't gotten a letter from Lee in a while. Not really surprising because it's not as if we are on some sort of schedule for writing, but for like the past month or so we were writing like once a week. And he complains when I don't write back right away, lol. In any case, he better get his act into gear and write soon or I will be complaining to him. We always complain to each other how long it takes the other to write back.

Here are some pictures of the activities that we've done in the past couple of days...

This is from Mother's Day weekend... Ayden throwing sticks into the lake at Great Grandpa and Grandma Cook's house.
Lake Joanis... we walked all the way around! Only a mile though.
Ayden sitting on a rock by the lake.
Ayden golfing at our house on the crappy lawn from the plow trucks in the winter. Too bad it's only crappy right in front of our place.
My quick attempt at a family picture. Doesn't happen too often...

Time to start Ayden's bed time routine and then maybe gonna have some ice cream! Ciao! LOVE ME