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How is My Day 4 Going, You Ask?

Published March 15, 2017 by Angela

I am currently sitting at home, waiting for a plumber to show up and fix my flooded basement. Trying to keep it positive, but I had every intention of running some errands this afternoon, getting to church to help with the youth group, and going to the Lenten service.

It appears that none of this is going to happen……I have a sneaking suspicion of what it is going to cost to fix this mess; knowing what the issue is. At this point, I honestly do not care. I am tired of running into my basement every time someone turns on a faucet. I threw out so many books, pictures, clothes, and shoes that I cannot afford to do that one more time.

So for getting out of work early? Yay! The reason why? Boo.

Here is to tomorrow; but I will make the best of today, and unpack and clean as many things as I can!

When You Aren’t Ready for Christmas…

Published December 15, 2016 by Angela

…how can there seriously be 10 days left before Christmas, and I do not even care?

Like I seriously Do. Not. Care.

Tree? Nope.

Gifts bought? Nope.

Caring about these problems? Nope.

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I think I have found my breaking point, and it is trying to buy a house.

I am so crazy busy at work, end of year stuff and packing up my desk to move to a different department…… trying to make sure goals are met for both old and new departments….

Buying a house that is ready to move in; unless if you ask FHA. Did they NOT learn anything from the last fiasco they caused? That last fiasco they caused has had me in this apartment for 8 years.

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My girls want to move. My naughty cats want to move. And I want to move. But good grief; how can you ask me to take out the washer sink in the basement so I can not do laundry? And not give me an alternative?

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I have 2 of my 4 girls still at home. One is homeschooling 10th grade (which is gonna kill both of us), and a 7th grader who I fight with every day to get up and go to school. And I am trying to do everything I can by both of them so we can all be happy.

So can we please just skip Christmas this year?

 

Staying Ahead of the Game!

Published January 17, 2015 by Angela

I have big plans this weekend of getting Erin ahead on her homeschooling assessments. Her school requires that she completes Educational and Technology assignments, which goes over using your computer, good study habits, being safe on the internet, and the like. This is one of two classes that actually has both semester’s worth of assignments available.

I know the feeling!

I know the feeling!

Her grades ending this semester are mediocre at best, and I am trying to develop a schedule that she will stick to and follow in order to get the grades that she is capable of achieving.

I can honestly say I get discouraged, more often than not, when working with her on her assignments. I am sure it is the mindset she has versus mine. I have gotten 2 college degrees online, and am about half-way through my Master’s degree, also online. For her entire life she has watched me spend hours on the computer doing homework, reading textbooks, and complaining about the difficulty of going to school online. I was hoping some of that would have rubbed off on her, but as of yet, it has not.

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If she can finish this school year on a strong, positive note, I may not be so strongly against her doing another year of homeschooling.

What do you do when your homeschooler can’t find the motivation they need to stay on task?

Silence is Golden…

Published December 27, 2014 by Angela

…and I am still enjoying it. Waking up in the morning, drinking coffee in bed, reading books, and watching mindless Netflix. Napping in the afternoon, not having to cook food, take someone somewhere, go anywhere unless if I choose to, and making being lazy an art form.

I am missing my girls, and truly hoping, and praying several times a day, that they are enjoying themselves, and are okay. I am not going to pretend it is easy having them away for so long, but I am making sure I use up every moment to do the little things I do not ordinarily get to enjoy. Meaning, doing a whole bunch of nothing.

I have to do the Scripture readings at my church’s early service tomorrow, I have a dinner date with my boyfriend and oldest daughter tomorrow or Monday, and a visit to a friend’s house on Monday afternoon. Other than that, I have absolutely nothing I have to do, and no where I need to be, before I return to work on Monday, January 5th.

I am most definitely going to use this time to get myself in a great place feeling rested, relaxed, and recharged. I hope you are able to get some type of personal break as well, and get recharged and ready for the new year. I have BIG things planned for myself and my girls for 2015, and I cannot wait to share that with all of you!

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As Thanksgiving Nears…

Published November 23, 2014 by Angela

…I could not even begin to list all of the things in my life that I am thankful for!

Yes; I complain about my girls on here. All the time. Hence the name, Parenthood and Other Horror Stories 🙂

But, no matter how much they push me to my limits, I would not trade one second of it. Each of my girls has brought me joy beyond compare in their own individual ways. I have been blessed being able to watch them as they grow into responsible, smart, beautiful young women and girls.

I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to provide for my girls and keep a nice home with food and all the comforts that can be so easy to take advantage of when it is just there for you every day. I may complain some days about having to go to work, but I can also guarantee you, that with a full 7 days off yet for Thanksgiving, I will be more than ready to go back to work the beginning of December!

I am grateful that even though I have chronic health conditions that can never be cured, they can be managed and I can live a normal life in spite of them. So many times I want to complain about the Doctor visits, and the cost of insurance, but without it, things would be so much worse. Being able to take my daughter to the emergency room for an asthma attack without giving it a second thought it not something that everyone is able to do. So many do not have healthcare of any sort, and each visit has to be planned and saved for ahead of time.

(No, I am not making this a political post about the state of our Country, our healthcare system, welfare, etc. So please do not do so either.)

I am thankful for my faith, that has gotten me through things I could never have dealt with on my own. Knowing that no matter what else happens in my life, I will always have my faith to rely on, and get me through the tough times, gives me the strength I need to try new things, and push myself into situations I may not be 100% comfortable with. No matter what I may say or do, there will always be One who loves me in spite of all of it.

I hope you have many, many things to be thankful for as well, as we begin the week coming up to Thanksgiving!

I Was Probably Happy Much Too Soon…

Published November 20, 2014 by Angela

…about having one more day of work, and then 9 days off. Because as I sit here, I have 3 girls bickering over the most ridiculous BS possible. Cassidy wants to sit on the love seat, but Erin doesn’t want her sitting by her. So Erin asked Kendall to sit on the end of the couch where she is laying down, and she said No.

“Kendall, why can’t she sit at the end of the couch where there is room?”

“I wasn’t listening to her.”

“So you just answered No, when you have no idea what she asked?”

“Yep.”

So now I am thinking maybe having extended days at home is not going to be a good thing. Luckily Kendall and Cassidy have 2 1/2 days of school next week, ending Wednesday afternoon. That gives me a couple days of quiet to get ahead on my reading and house organizing. At least until they get home from school.

I will be the first to admit, I could never, and would never, be able to stay at home full-time with my children. So if you are anti-Moms-working-you-need-to-stay-home-and-take-care-of-the-kids-you-had, save your breath. Just because I had them, does not mean it is the best interest of any of us to have too much together time 🙂 Me going to work for 9 hours and coming home gives me something to look forward to; dinner with my girls, and getting caught up on how everyone’s day was. I tried to be the working mom with the stay-at-home husband/dad; it wasn’t my fault he was an epic failure at that! It is honestly easier to do everything on my own, then to ever have to deal with him on a daily basis 🙂

When You Are Just Too Tired To Care…

Published October 9, 2014 by Angela

…the big things of yesterday seem like minor things today. I thought I was doing fairly well getting acclimated back to 1st shift working / night time sleeping, but I was especially tired today.

I think the fact that I have errands to run, homework to do, and homeschooling work to assist with, I feel even more tired than I really am. The extra caffeine did not help either; it seems to have added to my overall feeling of tired-exhausted-sleepy-crabby-is-it-bedtime-yet attitude.

Dinner is cooked, and I am trying to not be frustrated by the fact that the last time I made potatoes, the girls complained because I did not make enough. So I made the same potatoes x 2, only to have one of them say “Oh, I did not like them that well.”

Not caring. Too tired to care. After I run my errands, I am hoping a great big bowl of ice cream will help me to care about the fact that I have a very important assignment due by midnight for one of my MBA classes.

Ice cream fixes everything, right?

It’s almost Friday, and that makes me smile 🙂

Questioning Life Changes, Does it Never End?

Published September 21, 2014 by Angela

I always seem to have a difficult time making very important decisions; never being able to stop asking myself, “but what if I did …”. The past year has been full of life changes for me. All for the positive, but never without stress and worry. I will be the first to admit that I overthink everything. Every single thing. At 42 years old, with a great career, family life, and good health, I still stress over making decisions.

Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again, when someone else would make the decisions for me. Then I wouldn’t be the one responsible when it didn’t work out. I have made some bad decisions; some real whoppers! But I do always own up to them, hopefully apologizing when necessary, and definitely learning from my bad choices.

I watch my girls go through the very same thing. Struggling to make decisions. I can see the look on their face when they are hoping I can and will give them the answer. But I can’t. There are some decisions that they have to make for themselves, to learn and grow from. Even when I know that there will be crying later. Broken hearts. Anger. I have to let them own that. They have to take that road that they choose and decide for themselves if they made the right decision.

My outlook as of late has been to take a positive from a negative, and focus on that. Now if I could just teach that to my girls 🙂

Hoping For A Change!

Published June 2, 2014 by Angela

Knowing that I absolutely love my job, and absolutely love my children, anyone who knows me knows that I could not be a stay-at-home Mom. Yes, some may think “Well, you never should of had kids then!”, but I was more than willing to support a stay-at-home husband and father to my kids. He was incapable of even doing that…
So, I have a new hope that a rumor I heard is true, and I will be having a change in my life sometime soon! I have something else to add to my daily list of prayers. I have had this hope before, but also know with absolute certainty that there is a reason things did not go the way I had hoped and wanted. Maybe it was because this time is going to be my moment!
So here’s to focusing on my family, my job, my church, and being happy. Because even though I tend to get blue now and again, things are really pretty great 🙂

6 Month Check-Up

Published May 31, 2014 by Angela

I figured it was time to check back in with my 2014 to-do list, and see where I am at. My original list can be seen here: https://parenthoodandotherhorrorstories.com/2014/01/02/my-2014-to-do-list/

1) Go to church a lot more – I am pretty successful with this one. I don’t miss too often, because I can really tell when I do; my attitude pretty much tanks.

2) Tithe a lot more- Success

3) Stop swearing – doing pretty well. I still swear, but nowhere near as much as I did. I wonder if it counts if I am still thinking the words, and just not saying them?

4) Stop yelling – Better, but I still have my moments

5) Make and take some “me” time – This made me want to cry when I read this. Literally, I felt the tears behind my eyes. This has not happened, and with my kids going non-stop, and me working and going to college, it feels like it is not going to happen anytime soon. I get a 6-week break from college at the end of June, and the girls will be out of school so hopefully I can make this happen!

6) Patience – yeah. Next…

7) Exercise – LOL. Still. Next…

8) Read the Bible – I am up to 1 Samuel. I have gotten through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.

9) Improve my photography skills – I have not had the camera out very much, at all. I am trying to focus on taking it with me when I go somewhere so I have it handy all the time.

10) Allow myself to be happy – I have been feeling kind of crummy for the last couple of months. As the weather gets nicer, my mood gets more crummy. I think it is just all of the running I have been doing, along with school work. I have been Blessed with so much, and have been focusing on Thanking God for that on a daily basis 🙂