Life Unscripted

It is that part of the week again when I share about things that happen in a typical day around here.  This week, I will share about the events of Monday October 13, 2014. 

I got home from work at about 1:00am, had trouble getting to sleep, and my daughter thrashed around all night long in my bed because she had fallen earlier in the afternoon and we wonder if she has broken her hand.  It looks swollen even in the dark.  I lay in bed, and pray over her arm, believing the I should do nothing without praying about it first.  I am unsure where to take her for treatment if she needs it in the morning, should I taker her to the pediatrician, will they just refer us to the E.R anyway for exrays, or should we do an urgent care facility because they can xray there can't they? That would just be the cost of a doctor's visit copay and would include the xray.  I ask the Lord to heal it, and should he choose not to, I ask that he would show me where to go for treatment.

Once all the kids are on the bus and out of the house, and it's just me and my little one, it looks like the swelling is gone.  I am praising God, and she is saying it doesn't hurt.  My husband and I discuss whether or not we should have it checked out just to be sure, then my daughter does something in her movements that indicates she is hurting, and she eventually reveals she doesn't want us to know it hurts because she doesn't want to have it looked at.  The change in events lands us here...

with this being the end result.  CareSpot has splinted her wrist for protection and correction until we can see an orthopedic doctor because it looks like my daughter has broken something in her wrist.

There were some struggles in the office, she didn't want to do the xrays, or let the doctor look at her arm it was tough. (i am not sure why she is so scared of the doctor now, i know she has had a few illnesses where one turned into a hospital stay, and she has ended up in the E.R. a few times, but i can't identify a specific incident that may have brought on this fear.)  She wants a princess dress, and it is not in the budget, and her birthday is just in a couple weeks, so we compromise and take a quick trip to the dollar tree and buy three pieces of dress up style items.

Care Spot gives us information for following up with an Orthopedic doctor to determine how to best treat my daughter's wrist.  I get home realizing there is not much time left for me to get ready before I have to pick up my son from the bus stop.  I had planned soup in the crock pot, but there is not alot of time left before I have to leave again for work.  I throw in two lamb chops that were in the freezer, some seasonings, and all the bagged veggies scraps from the freezer, and put the crock pot on high in hopes that dinner will still be done by the time everyone gets home to eat it. 

I get a call to set up my daughter's orthopedic specialist, and it takes 15 minutes to get her registered.  We will have to wait 10 days for her appointment.  It's going to be fun keeping a three year old from getting her arm wet.  My husband realizes I have not had much sleep and in a telephone conversation says he feels I should take the day off and stay home with our daughter with everything that has happened.  He doesn't want me falling asleep on my drive home later on Monday night.

I take the day off, and my husband and I begin to evaluate if now is the right time for me to be working, he is feeling like now is just a time that my family needs me, espeically with all the people in the house, there is chaos, and he tells me how much he enjoys me being home when he has had a tough day. My babysitter's mom (grandma Joan ) is also struggling in her cancer fight, and not doing very well.  While I know that Aunti L (my best friend and babysitter) would do anything for me, we consider also that maybe she could use the time she spends babysitting my kids, to be with her mom.  There is alot to think about.

The soup does end up cooking and getting done in time for dinner.  I dice up the lamb chops and put them back in the soup, we serve it with some rolls we had in the freezer, and it ends up filling all 11 bellies in the house.  I am not good at cooking for large bunches.

Monday night we end the day watching some tv together, the whole house has a discussion on how the 7 kids in the house, can help with dishes or at least wash the ones they use.  The two smallest girls may need some supervision or help.  There is constant disagreeing on housework, and bed times, and keeping the lights off.  

That was our Monday....how was yours?

Life Unscripted

It's that day of the week again....to share parts of my unscripted life with you.  I will be sharing about this past Wednesday 10/08/2014.  I didn't plan to share about another Wednesday, that is just the way it happened.

It's Wednesday morning, my son has popped in to tell me it is 7:30 for some reason this week, my alarm is not working.  I have checked and rechecked it....don't know what the problem is, but thankfully we have not missed school at all this week.  I drove him to the bus stop, come back home to start cleaning up my room, because my nephews wife and I did quite a bit of work on the rest of the house yesterday, I now want my personal space to look just as nice.

I realize that I have not gotten a recent electric bill when as I am cleaning I pick up the old one.  I call the electric company to find out how much the new bill is and why I have not received it.  To my shocking surprise the bill is a whopping $360.00.  I have no idea why. I have never had an electric bill that high before.  It is only for one month.  We have some adjustments to make.  I am already going to be tight with having to pay the old landlord, it is also our anniversary this weekend and my husband's birthday.  I temporarily think about cancelling any plans we have but know he won't go for it.

Our additional guests have moved in and we are still adjusting.  I know he wants to take our tiny get away.  My nephew did not get up until 10:30 so the budget meeting we were supposed to have to help him figure out how to "stop the bleeding" in his finances did not happen.  We tried several times to get him up to no avail.

By 12:02 I am eating frozen pizza and my little girl is in the shower now that she is done eating.  I have told everyone that we must work together to conserve power.  No lights during the day (use the natural light) and so on.  If there is a tv on when I get home in the evenings I will ensure that it is shut off.  We talk about getting a timer for the hot water heater to see if that would help. I make a mental note to do some more energy saving research.  Dinner is in the oven baking because I don't know if my nephew's wife will be here to cook dinner, she is considering going to the ER because her leg is swollen and painful.  I threw some chicken legs in the oven smothered them with garlic, thyme, and cumin and let them bake.  I have also thrown together a pot of mashed potatoes.  If the 11 of them needs something else, I hope they can work it out and fix it for themselves.

I make one jug of gatorade, realize I have not fed the six hungry dogs that are roaming our property right now, (3 are mine and 3 are my nephews)  If he isn't going to be more responsible then they may have to make other arrangements.  You can't sleep till 10:30am and have to be to work at 1:00pm and still get everything done, and just ignore the really important things that you don't get done like feeding your pets. (end rant)

I did say we are all still adjusting to each other.  I too was once just living life and letting it happen without purpose or direction.  I need to be patient while I wait for my nephew to get focused. I hope that will be soon.

 I have a load of my own personal laundry finally in the washer (it seems to always be in use by the other family now) and I am relieved when I smell the towels that were in the washer, they don't still smell like the back up that happened in the guest bathroom yesterday when the toilet clogged.  A little bleach in the water did the trick.  We began a two wipe, flush rule to hopefully avoid future problems with the toilet. 

At 2 I will hit the shower, get ready for work, pick up my son, and we will head to my best friend the babysitter's house.  I will start work promptly this afternoon at 4:30pm provided the car gets me where I need to go.   I should get home by 9:30 pm.  My room will not be totally cleaned today, there is just too much in there for me to get in order in one day, now that I have caught my daughter's cold, after previously spending five days in bed with what may have been the flu.  (all I know is it was bad)  I have to admit though,  I would rather have the cold/sinus issues then whatever I had for the few days before.  I also think of two women in my life that I love right now struggling with symptoms that are much worse, as they each fight a different type of cancer. This immediately stops my pity party thoughts, and I take a moment to thank God for those women, and still continue to ask what I can do to be a blessing to these women.  I don't know what the answer is to that yet.

This could count as a little throw back thursday picture I guess....it is Easter of 2013. Mom Mom Bella (my step mom, kids call her mom mom) was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just before Christmas 2012. Here she was feeling well enough to go to church with us.  She has never gone into remission, she is still fighting, and some days are better then others.  She always tells everyone I am her daughter, and she loves my kids as her own grand-kids when she doesn't have to......She sure is something special. 

I don't have a picture of Aunti L's mom who we now call grandma Joan.  I thought I had one from a recent breakfast date, but it is MIA.  I hope each of you are having a great week.  Feel free to share your weeks events if you would like.......

Life Unscripted.......

I thought on Thursdays I would start sharing a day in the life of me, because well, i thought it might be fun.  Some days are hum drum, other days, unexpected events happen and I feel like who needs to watch reality tv, when it feels like there is plenty of drama naturally occurring here in my every day life, unscripted.


The day I am writing about will be the events of Wednesday 10/01/2014.  I got up at 7:08 am when the alarm on my phone went off, and thought, oh crap, I have to get up, and get in the shower, my son has to get ready for school, and I have to be at the State's Attorney's office at 9:00 am (and i have no clue where that is.)

Up and at em, I am now, having gotten my shower, picking out dressy clothes, for my appearance with the State's Attorney, and it will be what I wear to work when I go in at 4:30.  Dogs, are out, I am dressed, my son is ready, I throw a dress on the princess, and try to convince her to wear shoes.  She puts on her hello kitty rain boots with a sparkly dress, and I decide who am I to argue with your fashion statement....so out the door we go.  I take my son to the bus stop, and the princess and I head to my best friends house, because she will keep my daughter while I go to my hearing.

Once at my best friend's she asks me if I need money to pay the State's Attorney....I said isn't it backwards that the babysitter is offering me money to pay my fee when i already owe her money....She gives me $41.00 and I stop to Winn Dixie to purchase a Money Order for the State's Attorney.

I have to see the State's attorney because my previous landlord is suing me for a month of unpaid rent.  I did not pay that rent because I used the money to put towards a deposit on our new home, after the previous landlord refused to make proper repairs to her home. (there was black mold growing, continuing water damage, and my son has asthma.)  Since I did not follow the proper channels to withhold my rent, there are consequences, and I now have to pay my old landlord $660 plus the 40.00 that will go the the State's attorney.  I have one month to pay the money or an arrest warrant will be issued in my name.....and my only recourse with the former Landlord is a civil suit.  ( I make a mental note to obtain a free legal consultation)  I am a stress eater, and I am depressed over what has happened inside my little meeting but relieved that I have a month to come up with the funds, and I will pay them to the State's Attorney directly to avoid me getting in trouble and running into the old landlord and say maybe punching her in the face or something.)  She outright told the state's attorney she doesn't care about the condition of the place, she wants her money...but there is nothing he can do, I have to pay it.

Getting back to being a stress eater, I stop and waste money at McDonald's on a steak bagel, and an iced coffee...telling myself I just need some time to myself.  (I have desperately got to change my method of thinking.)

By 12:00 pm I have picked up the princess, promised to pay my bestie all of the money I owe her for last weeks' babysitting and the State's Attorney fee tomorrow.  Tomorrow is pay day.  I am upset with myself for the lapse in budgeting within our home that has happened with moving, me working part time at night, and my brother in laws funeral and the expenses associated with traveling.  There is nothing I can do now, except move forward with better plans.

The princess is in the shower, I have decided to get rid of the shirt i wore this morning, I have spent half the day pulling it back down where it goes, so I have chosen a new shirt to wear to work, not caring at this point if my clothes will match tonight or not.  I am tired, I have prepared tonight's dinner because the hubby does not cook, and my babies gotta eat and so do I.  Let's face it, preparing a meal at home is cheaper then eating out.  Dog's have been fed, we have baby chickens, and I still have to clean out their little box, provide fresh water etc.  I walk by the sink seeing that apparently there has been a lapse in the household agreement of everyone washing their dishes as they use them, but I refuse to wash them today.  They will have to wait until Friday.  Yes Friday, because I have errands to run tomorrow before work.

At 2 I realize that the princess dumped what looks like 3/4 of a box of multigrain cheerios all over the couch...she says it did it by itself.  I ask her to try to put them back in the box, when i realize that attempt is futile, I decide to let Buttercup, our golden lab mix in the house to eat them.  What a time saver....lol....by three I will pick up my son from the bus stop and head back to my bestie, the babysitter's house.  Then I will head to work...stop at DD for a caramel iced coffe (best ever...doesn't hold a candle to McD's) to use up the last 3.00 on a gift card I have and feed my addiction.  At 4:30 I should be pleasantly seated at my work station ready to start helping customers.

How was your day.....? That being said...see you later alligator :)

Sharing the News.....

It is good to be back in blogger land.....I have been away too long because of life events, and to be honest blogging from my smart phone was not as easy for me as I had hoped.  We get terrible cell phone reception where we live now...so we caved and once again have internet at the house.  I realize there is alot to share with you guys, I have some pictures of the new place as well as some other things to share.

However today, I am not sharing any of that.  A little over a month ago I shared how my brother in law was murdered.  A little over a month later I am happy to share this.....(well as happy as you can be given the circumstances.....)


We did travel to say goodbye to my husband's brother.  It has been a difficult time, and I just want to say thank you to everyone for you kind words, thoughts, and prayers.  I am sorry that I did not respond to each of you individually as I wanted.

William A. Toomey
December 30,1968- August 20, 2014

We love you, and going on without someone you love is never, ever easy, although we put one foot in front of another....you will never be forgotten as long as each of us that loved you are alive.

Yes, please take all the time you need, if you find yourself grieving someone you loved today, it is ok to remember, love, and let go of a balloon or burn a candle in their honor.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great Sunday!

There will once again be silence

It is with a heavy hear that I share the news of the passing of my brother in law....William A Toomey in Delaware.

Life has been a whirlwind of changes for me lately, we moved, and I have not had internet access in our new location.  I was going to begin posting again with my new job I would have had access to post more.  Just as soon as I started my new job, three days in we received a phone call stating that my husband's brother was found murdered in the taxi cab that he drove for a living.  Also as soon as my new job started, it has ended, the company is unwilling to work with me so that I can be with my family during this time of loss.  Since I will miss some training they are forcing my resignation.

I am unable to post any links to local news for his home town...but if you want to know more you can google his name and location.  We will be traveling to Delaware to be with family for a while, and once normalcy is restored, I will share more.

Thank you for your understanding during this time.  Please pray for healing, comfort, and the Lord's guidance for us. 

eating from our pantry

So have you ever done a pantry challenge where you eat from only what you have at home already from your freezer or cupboard? We have been doing that since we got back from north Carolina. This is the first week i am feeling the pressure to be creative since we started. We spent our last seven dollars of grocery money on a loaf of bread and 4 dozen eggs.

We have tried some new recipes like ham fried rice, cinnamon roll muffins, and tonight i will attempt to make homemade alfredo sauce. I am out of milk and cheese but thanks to suggestions on the blissful and domestic blog as well as the prudent homemaker blog i have a stock of powdered milk to use for cooking.  My husband has even been decent about it all. He is taking peanut butter and syrup sandwiches to work and tea that we make at home.  He usually eats lunchmeat and cheese and drinks Pepsi.   We elected to challenge  ourselves to help us reach the rest of our summer goals. Our final preset goal is an upcoming trip back to Delaware for a family reunion and to visit some others.  We have modified the cost of the trip by choosing now to stay with family instead of camping on our own saving us 222.00. We will be eating with family or out during our travel. I will be taking snacks and a meal for the 14 hour car ride. We plan to leave this Friday.  We will be gone a little over a week and when we return it wll be time to move again.  Do you know anyone whi moves as much as we do without being military?

I am sorry for all mispellings and lack of pictures as I learn to blog from my smartphone instead of a desktop since we shut off the cable and internet last month.  So do you prepare your kitchen and have a stock of basic supplies? Do you like to cook....here is my little secret. ...i dont like to cook and i do not know why.....but i pray one day at a time and at the end of the day i give God thanks that another day of meals has been provided and survived.

Thank you for hanging in there

I just wanted to apologize for the unplanned silence on the blog lately, and to say thank you to those who sent messages checking in on me.

I am ok.  Life has been a whirlwind lately.  A couple of weeks ago I finally got a doctors appointment with a doctor here in Florida.  They did an EEG based on some symptoms I had been having and the test showed some abnormalities.  That led me to an immediate appointment that day with a cardiologist.  I went on my trip to Raleigh which was alot of fun and I shared pictures.  I completed the series of tests ordered by the cardiologist when I returned, and the good news is that my heart is functioning the way it should.  The bad news is that the right chambers are mildly enlarged.  So the goal is to make better lifestyle and eating choices and for me to do some more cardio to get this weight off so that maybe this will not progress anymore.  If weight loss does not help then I will eventually have to have some additonal testing.

My diabetes is out of control with my A1c at 7.3  so I definitely have got work to do. I am only still taking an oral medication for diabetes but I have gone from 1000 mg a day to 2000 mg a day.  I am praying about what works for me to get a handle on this.  I find that what works for the majority of others often does not work for me.

There are two other big changes coming.  I will begin working part time one month and one day from now.  I will work evenings for a local insurance company taking claims calls.  I applied for this job back 7 and a half months ago when we first moved to Florida.  They contacted me, I completed the interview process this time and got hired.  I am excited  and I took the job for two reasons.  One if my husband decides that he doesn't want to be with me, I don't want to have to scramble to provide for myself and our children.  The second reason is that we temporarily could use two incomes, our apartment flooded again, and we are done.  The landlord did not seem to care...she was like well you will just have to turn the main water valve on and off as needed.  That doesn't sit well with us....the leak is fixed again for now...but we have decided to cut our losses and we have found another home...with a bigger yard.  I will share pictures as we make progress.

I had doctors appointments, my trip to NC, needed new tires for the car, overspent on the fourth of July weekend, payed a new deposit  for a new place where the rent is more than what we currently pay, our son turned 9, and we have a planned trip to Delaware for a family reunion, leaving my savings account empty.  I feel accomplished but drained.  I am reminding myself that the little things I have kept up with doing actually do make a difference and are one of the reasons all of the above mentioned things have been taken care of.  Of course I hold also to Philippians 4 : 6  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

God more than provides the needs of my family.  He loves me despite my mistakes and shortcomings.  There is no greater gift that I could imagine.  My husband and I are doing ok.  I am finally starting to see some real caring about me coming from him again.  It's progress.  We ran into some old friends last week and he admitted his spiritual struggles and lack of desire for church.  We were invited to spend some time with them, and maybe that will be fruitful for my husband.  We shall see.

I don't have any great pictures to share today...maybe tomorrow :)  Love you all...thanks for staying with me.