Busy Weekend Ahead

Whew - this weekend is going to be a busy one and we're already preparing for it.

Tomorrow starts of with a softball game for my two youngest daughters in the morning. At noon time, my oldest daughter has her game. After that, we have enough time to go home and take care of the dogs. Then we'll pack everything up, including the dogs, for the pitbull bash on Sunday.

On Saturday night, we have a meeting at my Mother-in-Law's house with a family member who also happens to be a genealogist. So we'll get to learn a bit more about DH's family history and tree which is a special treat for us.

We'll probably spend the night at MIL's house and head to the pitbull bash the next morning from there. We are taking 2-3 dogs, 2 poster boards with pictures of our dogs, brochures, business cards, and shirts with us. It should be a lot of fun. I just hope we don't forget anything. We'll probably leave the house by 7am that morning and the event doesn't end until 5pm.

That's our weekend. Looking forward to it, but I know it'll be busy without much time at all for rest. Wish me luck!

I Have Homework

So a woman from the Estate Planning company we set up our Living Trust with came by the other night to let us know about a change in laws that affects our trust. While she was here, she looked through our Trust and saw a number of things that need updating or completing. So, I have homework. I need to double check with the lawyer to see if my son was added. My husband and I need to finish our choices for Advance Health Care Directive, we need to change our property from the townhouse we had, to the house we currently own, we need to add in our timeshares, and we need to get our bank accounts switched over to our trust rather than to us as individuals.

Sooooo, I have a bunch of things to work on and really need to get on it!

Hectic but Good

Things have been quite hectic here. Between business, and coaching softball, and being a mom, and growing a baby - things get crazy and I'm tired!

Anyway - in my last post I talked about how I was excited about business and so far, things are going well with that new affiliate program I am a part of. Then today, I saw an e-mail from someone who listened in to my Fastpitch Talk Radio show. He thought it was intriguing and was interested in sponsorship opportunities!!!

Then this morning I was invited to join another affiliate program which is for a great product and offers me recurring income!!!! That's something that's been lacking in the affiliate products that fit my market. Recurring income is not very common. However, I now have 3 different affiliate programs which I am very comfortable recommending and all 3 have potential recurring affiliate income.

Now I just need to put my mind to it and develop my promotional strategy for each one and make the most of my chance to get some recurring commissions in all three.

Maybe I really can reach my income goal one day...

Happy Easter

We got to color eggs last night and do an Easter Egg hunt today. The kids had fun and so did the adults. The adults had fun hiding the eggs and watching the kids look for them. We had 8 kids hunting for eggs in my MIL's back yard. I even got it on home video, so we'll have to watch it later.

I hope you had a nice Easter too. Tomorrow, it's back to the "real world." My husband has been off of work the last week due to a loss in the family, but tomorrow he goes back. It's been nice having him home.

Tomorrow also starts the beginning of a new week! I really need to get back to business. Everything that was going on with the family has kind of taken all my efforts and energies for the past few weeks. It's also been a good break though. I have a new appreciation for everything I have and for my family.

Long week - getting a cold

This last week has been quite busy. My SIL had some complications with her pregnancy and lost her baby at 23 1/2 weeks. My husband and I flew to the mainland to be with her and just got back last night. I think I'm coming down with a cold, so I'm very tired right now. The burial for the baby will be this weekend. My SIL and her husband fly in tomorrow with baby and will be here for a bit for the burial and just to relax and be with family for a while.

It's a tough thing to go through and a tough thing to watch someone go through, but my SIL is very strong. I'm also glad that we were able to get in touch with a photographer from Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. He came by and took a bunch of pictures for them and actually delivered the CD with the files/images the very next day.

Anyway, I'm going to catch up on some housework and, hopefully, get some rest.

Going to the beach tomorrow

Tomorrow I have a day at the beach planned with my kids and my mom! Should be fun. The kids have been asking to go for a while and since my mom has the day off, she's coming along! Can't wait to go and relax in the shade at the beach. Hopefully I remember to take my camera so that I can share pictures later. :)

Hope you have a great week!

What a Weekend - Need a Nap

Whew! What a busy, but fun weekend! Saturday morning started out with the girls softball games. That had us busy from 7:45 in the morning until about 2:00 in the afternoon. After that we got home, fed the dogs, took a shower, and relaxed for a bit. Then it was off to MIL's house because SIL and her husband flew in from Chicago to have dinner with DH and I for our Anniversary. So we hung out there for a bit, then headed into town for dinner at about 5:15. Dinner was fabulous! We were glad to be celebrating with my in-laws and saw a beautiful sunset during dinner as well.

The next morning we woke up early again and went to a dog pulling competition...with all the kids and 2 dogs to boot. The dog pull was cool and we stayed there until about 3:00 in the afternoon. After that, it was back to the house, feed the dogs, shower and relax for a bit after being in the sun all day, and THEN, we went to the carnival. We bought wristbands for the kids (unlimited rides) and that was the last day we could go, so at 5:30 we headed back out to the carnival. By 9:00pm, DH and I were ready to go home. We were exhausted. Our youngest two kids were also very tired, so we all headed home, but the older two hung out at the carnival for a few more hours with DH's family who was also there.

It was a fun weekend, but boy do I need a nap today!

It's Monday and I'm Feeling Lazy

Well, it's the start of the new week. The kids are on break and I'm feeling quite lazy. I did do some work over the weekend which I don't normally do, so I don't feel so bad about not doing a lot today. Besides, I really don't like doing a lot with the kids home. I'll probably do most of my work in the evening when DH is home too.

Things are going well with business although I really think I could step it up if I really wanted to. I think I'll be on track with that in a few weeks. Right now there's just quite a bit going on in life in general and I don't want to add stress by making work a big deal.

So, I'm still working, but it's not a major, high stress thing right now. :)

Pregnancy Hormones, Don't Mess with Me

Okay, this is my 6th pregnancy and I don't think I've ever been so moody and grumpy! I'm not complaining, I just have to watch my temper which I don't normally have. My fuse seems quite short recently and I'm hoping it's just pregnancy hormones that will level out soon so this "phase" (I hope it's a phase) can end. Poor DH, I went off on him like I never have in all our almost 11 years of marriage over something that wasn't even that big a deal. Like I said...I really hope this is a phase. All things considered, I think he handled it well and didn't add to the fire like he could have. So thankfully, it all blew over rather quickly and I ended up getting a very nice massage from DH later that night. :)

Feeling Zen This Week

Last week was unbelievable hectic. Each day was a very busy day and I felt like I was juggling a hundred things! Every day I felt on the verge of dropping a ball somewhere. Well, the week ended and things went okay overall. No balls dropped. Thankfully this week is very different. I don't have so much going on and I feel much more "on top of things" in all areas of my life. I'm feeling much more relaxed and less stressed. Yesterday, the thought struck me and I was feeling quite zen. I was at peace, things were going well, and many loose ends were tied up and taken care of. I love this feeling.

Of course, my kids go "off track" on Friday (their first day off), so I'm sure that's throw a little bit of a wrench into my relaxed routine. But, to be honest, I'm looking forward to the kids going on break. I already got a few books for my oldest daughter to read. My second daughter WILL be studying addition and subtraction flash cards. My youngest will be read to and will practice her writing. My son will get to color. And we'll ALL make at least one trip to the beach. The kids really want to go and DH isn't much of a beach person. So I want to take the kids and make a day of it when they're on break.

I Hate When I Do That

Tonight I got on the computer just to check on a few things, not to stay on for long. So my son came up to me telling me that he wanted to go to sleep. He asked me to go lie down with him. Since I wasn't really all that busy on the computer and just wanted to finish up a few things, I told him, "Just a minute. I'll be right there."

Well, usually if he's fussy, he'll sit there and nag and I'll, of course, have to give up what I'm doing to tend to him, but tonight, he just went and waited. When I got off the computer, I realized how quiet it was. I looked over to my son's bed and there he was, sleeping. He sweetly and patiently went to lay down and fell asleep waiting for me. Oh, I wish I could take that back. I wish I got off the computer and just went with him. I hate it that he fell asleep waiting for me and as far as he knows, I never came like I said I would. :(

That's why I'm on the computer right now, as he sleeps, so that I can get a bunch of work out of the way and can spend more time with him tomorrow during the day. I don't think I'll do any work at all tomorrow, just cruise with my son.

Proud Mama of a Homerun Hitter

Just had to stop by to say that I was so excited this weekend when my daughter hit her first ever home run. It didn't really go too far in the air, but it was hit well enough to keep rolling past the outfielder and gave her time to come all the way home. I was just happy that she got to experience that. It was pretty cool. :)

Learn with your Shower Curtain

I just had to share something I just came across online. I have never seen it before, but it's the Top 100 SAT Vocabulary Shower Curtain .

Basically, it's supposed to help your child by exposing them to the Top 100 SAT Vocabulary words every day when they take their shower.

I wonder how effective it actually is. It doesn't look like there are any definitions. So is it any good to "know" the word, but not know what it means or how it's used?

Would you buy this shower curtain for your child?

Something New Going On

I don't know if I'm ready to share this, but last time I didn't share and didn't really like the way that worked out. You know what they say, "Sharing is Caring." So...I do have an announcement which, for me, is very exciting, but scary at the same time. What is this "something new?" Click Here to find out.

Our New Family Exercise Routine

So this week was the first of our family's new exercise routine. We are all doing Coach K's Uphill Fitness Training. Right now our plan is to go work out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after DH gets home from work at about 6:00. So far, DH and I are liking this program. You work up a sweat. Your legs and arms feel like they did something. It's not as boring as running laps or riding an exercise bike for 20-30 minutes. You don't need exercise equipment. Plus it doesn't take very long. We did our first session on Monday and our 2nd yesterday. We timed yesterday's session and it was 15 minutes from start to end. We have yet to see just how effective it is. Supposedly it's good, so we'll give it a good month and see where we're at after that. Our oldest daughter (10) and our 2nd daughter (7) both did the workout with us. They had fun. Our oldest daughter is actually more "advanced" than us. She can do more that DH and I without "feeling it" as much. I think this will also help her softball performance too.

I'll keep you updated with any progress or news from our new family workout. That challenge will be to keep it up once my daughters softball season starts, but since her practices are Tues and Thurs, there's really no excuse.

It's a new month

Can you believe it? The first month of the year has already come and gone. Last week was a very busy week with our softball state tournament pretty much taking up all of my time. On top of that I am currently caring for my nephew while his parents get their custody arrangement settled. So I have my son, 2 years old, and my nephew who is 16 months old. Right now, I'm limiting my time on the computer because I don't want to take my eyes off my nephew for too long. He doesn't quite know what the rules of the house are (what he can and cannot touch) and his is constantly looking for things to put in his mouth. The other night, one minute he's sitting by DH and I watching tv, the next he's throwing DH's cell phone in the toilet!

So anyway - been kinda busy, but should only have to watch him for a few more days. After that, I can get back on the ball with blogging and business!

My Son & His "Laptop"

I thought this was so cute! I saw this for the first time a few days ago and got to take a picture of it today. My son often sees me or my husband sit in the living area with our laptop in our laps.

Well, here's my son with his "laptop." It's actually a broken portable DVD player, but it's sure fits the look huh? He even has the "typing" going on.

Handling Two Boys Under 2

Well, I'm getting the chance to find out what it's like to have two boys under the age of 3. For the past few days and probably for the next week or so, DH and I have our nephew in our care. He is 16 months old and my son made 2 last month. So, it's a challenge having two boys age 2 and under in the house, especially since our nephew is still at the stage of putting everything in his mouth. We haven't had to worry about that for a while, but we're much more aware of little things/toys being left on the floor now that he's here. Our nephew is really not a hard baby to care for though, so that makes things easier. So far, I'm not stressing, but tomorrow DH goes to work and won't be here all day to help out, so we'll have to see how I do.

Needless to say, I think I'll go easy on work for a bit this week and make sure the boys are okay. I'm sure the two of them could manage to get into a LOT of trouble in just 5 minutes, so until my nephew gets used to the rules around here (like what he can and cannot touch), I'll need to be keeping a close eye on them. Work will have to wait until I have some help with them OR until they BOTH take a nap. We'll see if that happens...

<<<--- Crossing fingers. Wish me luck!

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!