All but one

Merry Christmas! I know this may be a little late by the time you read it, but here, it's still Christmas. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and just in case I don't get a chance, I just want to wish you a very Happy New Year. I'm hoping the new year brings good things for you and your family.

Now the title of my post says, "All but one" - that's because my oldest daughter is in Chicago with her Aunty who lives there. She's been gone since about December 5th and I'm not sure when she's coming back. She is going to be flying stand by so we sort of just have to wait until there is an open flight. But she does have company as her young aunties (ages 8-13) are also up there with her. We all missed her today and I can't wait until she gets back. Of course, when she does get back she'll probably drive me crazy, but I'll still be glad to have her home with us. So today the family picture we took in front of the tree included all of us, but one.

Five Things You Didn't Know About Me

Accckkkk. I've been tagged again by Mila Sidman and this time I have to list 5 things about me that you didn't know.

1. I like chili without beans
2. My christmas tree this year is green (I mean the lights and decorations on it are green)
3. My oldest daughter has been away from home for almost 2 weeks and I don't have a clue what day she'll be back on or even if she'll be back in time for Christmas
4. My refridgerator is broken (good thing we have one in the garage too)
5. I have never played in the snow

Now I get to tag other people!

Sassay Mom
Angela Wills
Jaime Bourne

Almost done shopping

I actually have just a few more people on my Chrismas list: My mother and father in law, my husband, and I just need to buy the kids a few more things. That's it. For me, that's pretty good. I've even finished a bunch of wrapping, but I do need to go out and get more wrapping paper and more bows. I do have enough tape and "To and From" tags but am running short on those other essential gift wrapping needs.

Today, I'm off to the post office to mail a present. I'm on my way to Costco to pick up an enlargement I go printed for DH. I'll also try to find a frame for this picture and make this part of his gift. Then I guess I should also go an get those gift wrapping things I need. Hmmm....will I do any business stuff today. Maybe, maybe not - all I know is if I do, it won't be until later on today. Thankfully, there's nothing pressing to take care of . My new radio show is already up and e-mails have been very slow as it seems most other people are busy with the holidays too.

That's what I love about working from home. For the most part, you can pre-plan and make time for your personal life when necessary. So what are you up to today? This day that is EXACTLY one week from Christmas!

Couple Time Is Cool

Wow - I just had a surprising, but very nice weekend. I say surprising because we, unexpectedly, didn't have any kids with us this weekend. My oldest is still in PA so of course, she wasn't home.

Then Thursday my SIL came by and my girls wanted to go home with her to sleep over and to cruise with their cousins. Well, my SIL had to work the next day (Friday), but she told them she'd come by after work to pick them up so they could sleep over. She was planning to come back to our neighborhood on Saturday afternoon anyway to watch a Christmas parade. I figured she'd take the two girls, but that my son would stay home since he's kind of a mama's boy recently. When I came home from softball practice on Friday I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he went with his sisters. We expected to get the kids back after the parade on Saturday, but they didn't come back. They didn't even call! Turns out they were having lots of fun at Aunty's house and ended up coming back home Sunday evening.

DH and I, though we love our kids, took FULL advantage of the time alone and went out to dinner on Friday night. DH came home early from work on Saturday and we went to lunch. On Sunday we got to go to a Christmas brunch with some of our high school classmates. So we squeezed in a "date" each day and just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company all weekend. It was so, so nice. I used to be one of those moms that always worried too much when the kids were away. But this time it was easy not to worry because they were the ones that wanted to go and we know my SIL will take good care of them. Plus she knows how to get ahold of us "just in case." So I gave myself the green light to just enjoy the opportunity to have some couple time with my husband. I don't remember the last time we had a night out without the kids, and who knows when it will happen again, so it certainly wasn't an opportunity to waste.

I hope your weekend was great too!

Late to the Party

Carrie and Mila both invited me to the "Come as you are" Blog Party. The idea is that when you get invited, you take a picture of yourself "as you are" and post it to your blog. Then you invite 4 other people you'd like to see. Seeing that I was late, I almost didn't go. BUT when I saw that Carrie was late too, I decided what the heck?

I had good reasons for being late. I was at two other parties - LOL. My son's 2nd birthday was this past weekend as well as my 30th.

So this is me today - in front of my computer, sunglasses on my head, trail mix on my desk, trying to take a picture of myself.

The only bad thing about being late to the party is that I don't think there's anyone left to invite. But I'll send out an invitation to:

The Petite Mommy and Treece

I am a MOM

My oldest daughter is quite independant. She's only 10, but when she wants something, she'll find a way to make the plans. So earlier this year, she talked about going to PA this December to see snow. I knew it might happen and was actually excited that she may be able to go. I even really wanted her to go because I knew she had her heart set on it, but now that she's there, I'm thinking about her all the time. What is she doing? Is she freezing her butt off? Is she being good? I don't worry about her much when she's here. I see her every day, I know she's alright. I didn't think I'd worry so much when she was gone. I knew she could handle being away and wanted to go. But I guess this is just part of being a MOM - Moms worry, Moms obsess. I was so glad when I got the call at 5:00 this morning that she got there okay.

Now I have to take care of her puppy while she's gone ;P. As happy as I am that she got to go, I can't wait for her to get back and she hasn't even been gone 24 hours! *sigh*

Getting back to business

There was a woman who asked about working at home on a message board. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do at home to earn money. One response sort of brought me back to the "real world." The poster basically told her that there are things she can do, but Work-at-home means WORK at home. You still have to do work in order to earn the money. It doesn't magically come to you.

I've been feeling a bit unmotivated in the past month. My income reflects that too. I don't like that. So, in the spirit of the New Year that's approaching, I'm going to make it a point to get back on track. Even if it's just for an hour a day - I will dedicate some time each week to business and only business. I know there is so much I can do, but I need to stop trying to think about it in the midst of everything else that's going on. I need to sit down and actually work on it instead of just jot down ideas here and there and never think them or follow them through.

Our dog had puppies

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Things have been absolutely hectic. Last week we ran a 4-day softball tournament. We were at the field from morning until night. It was crazy, but worth it.

Then this week we've been watching our female dog quite closely because we knew she'd be having her puppies soon. They started coming yesterday. Our female, named Angel, is such a good mommy dog. She is so gentle and careful when she walks around the pups. She really needs very little help delivering all her pups. Not only is she able to walk around just fine after delivery, but she even took a break after about 5 or 6 pups. She got up, walked out of the dog house, got a drink of water in the patio, walked around the yard for a bit, used the bathroom, and then returned to the dog house to tend to the pups that were already born, and wait for the rest of her labor and delivery to come.

Here's a picture of her after the first pup was born:


Here she is with more of them - she wasn't done yet at this point


This awesome mama began delivering at about 12:00 pm and her last pup was born at about 8:30 pm. She had 13 babies all together! She's eaten and had some chicken broth since then, so she's doing well, has and appetite, and seems physically quite strong. I feel drained for her. LOL