Busy Monday, May 19

Today's 'To-Do' List

• Write this Blog 
•  Make Menu
• Lunch with Peter
• Groceries
• Re-mix and separate laundry soap into gallons
• Work in garden
• Reserve Camping spot
• Pick-up Kat early to work on report

Menu

• Hormel Beef Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli w/cheese
• Hamburger Helper
• Lasagna
• ?
• Camping food
• Camping food
• Camping food

This Week's 'To-Do' List

• Gym on Tuesday and Thursday after work with my friend. (Days may change)
• Tuesday/Thursday Swim Lessons for girls
• Help Katherine finalize project
• Wednesday Morning drive Katherine's project to school
• Friday get out of work early (will need to work extra hours during the week) to go to Katherine's 'Wax Museum' where she is doing her project. - Or see if Peter will take the day off. 
• Wed-Fri find time to get down to the school before book fair closes with Katherine. 
• Organize all camping stuff
• Leave for camping trip Friday

Last Week

So last Friday was the Extension Service 100 yr Celebration.

After getting a hold of the humane society and finding out how large of an application it was for Brielle to volunteer there I reasoned with myself that it just was not going to happen because of the information required and that they would need to process the application. I think we will try again this Fall.

With Friday's activities at the Extension Service I went ahead and called the school to make Brielle a car rider instead of a bus rider and I left out of work and went and picked her up and then took her down to the Extension Service even though I never got a call back about her volunteering I figured it would be better to just go down there and find out if she could instead of assuming that she couldn't. Thankfully she was able to volunteer and get that last hour and a half of volunteer time worked in.

So while Brielle was dropped off to volunteer I went and got Katherine and then called her friend's mom and got the okay to go pick up Katherine's friend and I took them both down to the celebration.

I was there long enough to get some burgers and baked potatoes they were serving along with the kiddos getting some so that was a nice dinner plus I didn't have to cook and it was free so no complaints here.

Shortly after eating Peter showed up and got some food and then it was time for me to grab Brielle and get her on her way back home while Peter stayed with Katherine and her friend so they could play on the bounce house, shoot bb guns, have their face painted and when I had left Katherine was dancing to the music.

I got Brielle home and we got her ready for her 8th Grade Spring Dance. Thankfully this year she just wanted her hair done very simply so we were able to get her all ready to go and then off to the dance.

By time I got home from dropping off Brielle, Peter and the other girls were home and there was much giggling and video games.

All in all it was a very crazy time but it all worked out thankfully.

Honors Society & Volunteering

You may or may not remember the other year when Brielle (my oldest) got into National Junior Beta Club (Beta Club). It is an Honor Society where there is a focus on not only grades but also community involvement. Beta Club also hosts competitions which Brielle had the honor of making it into the top percent for the spelling bee we were very proud of her.

Not only did Beta Club require the student to go to the monthly meetings and keep a high grade point average but they also require 10 hours of volunteer work every 9 weeks.

This year things changed a little as the teachers that were the supports for Beta Club left the school it meant things were changing. This year the students were in National Junior Honor Society. This didn't change much else other than no longer having competitions.

10 hours every 9 weeks doesn't sound like a lot but when you've got a forgetful teenager that think there is all the time in the world and two parents that work on top of trying to take care of other children then suddenly things get a bit harder.

This 9 weeks has been exceptionally hard as Brielle kept saying there weren't volunteer opportunities posted and then later said she missed all of the opportunities. I have been on full scramble trying to finding opportunities for her.

So last week I got Brielle signed up at the YMCA to volunteer which was very hard believe it or not because they wanted references and though Brielle has volunteered before I didn't have any reference information. It too some convincing and I volunteered with her though I didn't fill out the forms for myself but that made the people at the YMCA more comfortable.
Last Friday she volunteered 3.5 hours and then that next day we started our day before 5am to get her down to volunteering by 5:30 where she put in 5 hours of time.

8.5 hours down and then just needed to find another 1.5 hours. Though a little easier said than done.

What people may or may not know about me is I have severe anxiety problems so when faced with new people, places and situations I'm put on high alert stress. Many of these I've learned loop holes so I could continue to function in society but others I have not. that is why you don't hear about me trying to get her set up at the homeless shelter or soup kitchen because I hadn't been backed s far into the corner that I had to address that stress yet.... but back to topic.

So I filled out the volunteer information for the pubic library weeks ago but they won't contact us back about letting her volunteer. The hospital won't take volunteers until the summer for people under 18, also.
Where did this leave me? Well with volunteering with the Extension Service which I will retouch and volunteering with the Humane Society.

I thought the Humane Society would be a great chance and I still think it would be for the future but not this month. The application is not only long, requiring references but also requiring medical forms from the doctors office which I can understand why but it makes it very frustrating.

So we are back to the Extension Service which is hosting it's 100 year Celebration today. I would have gotten her signed up to volunteer earlier for this but I thought we would have had a shorter application time with the Humane Society. I am currently waiting for a phone call to find out if she can volunteer there this afternoon though we will have to leave no later than 5:30 so we can get home and get her dressed for her 8th Grade Spring Dance tonight starting at 7.

Given the need of volunteer time and all the activities going on Peter is skipping his normal night out to play cards to instead take care of Katherine down at the celebration at least until I have Brielle dropped off at her dance.

In other months the volunteering wasn't so hard especially right before Thanksgiving with the food drives and right around Christmas with so many charities needing help with paperwork, sorting, etc. Right now is just that sweet spot for missing things and really if I was a more aggressive person I probably wouldn't have these sorts of problems but no matter what it does eat into time.

Honor Societies are a wonderful thing and can give kids a leg up when they are looking at going off too college but just be prepared as a parent to be signing up to volunteer your time too. Always thank your volunteers also because they are giving up their time and effort to help make great things happen.

It really is surprising how hard though it can be to get started in volunteering and how much like applying for a job it is. Just the application process and always checking back in on it. It might be a good learning experience for kids to learn the frustrations they will probably face as adults. I do wish it wasn't this much of a headache though because even I would be more open to volunteering more. In a way all this red tape kind of hurts these non-profit organizations. But that's just my opinion.

Busy Monday, May 12

Today's 'To-Do' List

• Write this Blog 
• Hospital for Monthly Shot
•  Make Menu
• Lunch with Peter
• Groceries
• Take books to Library
• Go by Y Supervisor to have Brielle's Volunteer sheet filled out
• Call around to find 2 hours of volunteer time for Brielle

• Laundry
• Dishes
• Make Laundry Soap
• Wash bedding
• Buy tots for organizing
• Mow the lawns

Menu

• ?
• ?
• Spaghetti & ?
• ?
• Pizza
• ?
• ?

This Week's 'To-Do' List

• Gym on Tuesday and Thursday after work with my friend. (Days may change)
• Tuesday Swim Lessons for Kat
• Tuesday Brielle stays after school for Orchestra
• Thursday Swim lessons for both girls.  
• Friday 100 yr Extension Center Celebration I'm taking Katherine too
• Friday is Brielle's Spring Dance at school
• Peter has his Friday Night Magic game 
• Saturday Birthday Party for one of the kids' friends. 

Last Week

Life went crazy last week! Completely and totally crazy! So while down at the Y last Tuesday I realized... hey why don't I see if Brielle can volunteer down here! So I fill out the forms, talk to the guy and he made it sound like she could come in Wednesday to Volunteer so I get out of work and drive down to the school and wait for school to let out and while I'm there I get a phone call that Brielle won't be Volunteering until Friday. So Brielle and I go out and do a few things and go about our business for the rest of the day. 

I started off Thursday having to drive Brielle into school for an Honor's Club meeting before I headed off to work.

Thursday I knew was going to be messed up but it got even more so when Pete sounded like he insisted I go pick up Katherine to get her ready for her fancy dinner with the Champions club. So after work I went down to the school and waited until they released the kids and then got Katherine, got her home and had about 40 min to get her hair all done and get her dressed in her new outfit and then wait for Pete to get home so Kat could load up with him so I could get Brielle loaded up to go to McDonalds for dinner and then off to project club.

Brielle had a good time at Project club and because it was only her and one other kid there this time she was able to complete her sewing project while there which is a first for her. She was very proud and happy that she was able to do that.







So here is how Friday went down. I went and sat in the car line for about an hour and a half because I had to make sure I got Brielle fast so I wanted to be one of the first ones there. I got Brielle and by 3:30 I had her in the Y (I get the feeling there were a few speed limits I neglected to notice) and from 3:30 to 7pm I was there with Brielle and we volunteered down at the Y getting packets out for the 5k Run/Walk at the BBQ Fest Saturday. After that we went down and Picked up Katherine from Peter's Magic game and then ran by a pizza place to grab a quick pizza and go home for a late dinner.

Saturday, Brielle set her alarm for 4:30am though of course she refused to get out of bed until 10 after 5 and I was up at 4:45. By 5:30 we had to be down at the BBQ Fest for Brielle to volunteer which meant I was volunteering too. We did that until 10am. It was a long! Busy morning!
After we helped with the clean up Peter and Katherine came down to the Festival and we tried samples and then got some mutton sandwiches and then Peter took Katherine to Pokemon and Brielle and I went home. I went to bed! I passed out for about 2 hours and then Peter got home and we loaded back up and went to a friends house to try and help them with drywall though by time we got there we weren't needed but there just wasn't anyway I was going to be able to go from the festival to drywalling straight I was so tired and hot and it was so muggy.

Sunday it was Mother's Day! I get a day off. All I asked for was a clean house. Peter did try he got the living room pretty clean other than my area which was completely fine. Though I had to help lift couches. Sadly that was the only room that got done and I noticed how much I need to shampoo my main couch so I need to fit that in some how.

In other daily events. Last week I pulled up 7 baby sages and transplanted them and they have done well so far.

Also, ... Tuesday? I painted this while idly helping Katherine with her big school project she decided to leave off until last minute so she was up very late Tuesday working on that and then as soon as we got up on Wednesday she had to do Math homework.
Why do kids do that to themselves? I kept trying to push her to do her work and she ho hummed it. By the end she was like, "Yes, mommy I understand why" for why I had tried to push her so hard before.

Busy Monday, May 5

Today's 'To-Do' List

• Write this Blog 
•  Make Menu
• Lunch with Peter
• Groceries
• Gym?
• Buy new swimming goggles for kids. 
• Buy storage container for winter clothes (I'm tired of having to deal with them being in the mess I need better organization!)

I'm feeling that the last several months I've been slacking and right now just kind of down in the dumps which is probably a combination of a bad nights rest, low vitamin B and general frustration over my weight as I've gained several lbs over the past week with no real good reason. It doesn't help life has been hectic so I'm behind on the house too. 

Here's my 'home to-do list' and I hope maybe if I see some things crossed off I'll feel a little better.

• Laundry
• Dishes
• Vacuum
• Wash bedding

Leaving the list kind of short like I said I'm very tired. I think all in all I might have gotten 5 hours of sleep last night. 

Menu

• ? - Still trying to decide on this one. The whole idea of food to me today has seemed very 'blah'. 
• Crockpot Chicken Tacos
• Grilled Hamburgers, baked potato, side salad
• Eat Out (After much debate with everything going on I'm thinking the drive through would cut down on a lot of stress)
• Pizza
• Hamburger Helper & Corn
• Balsamic Chicken and Pasta

This Week's 'To-Do' List

• Gym on Tuesday and Thursday after work with my friend. (Days may change)
• Tuesday Swim Lessons for the girls 
• That's right I signed the girls up for swim lessons again this month so normally it will be every Tuesday and Thursday they will be busy with that. 
• Project Club 4-H - Brielle only
• Katherine will need to be picked up Thursday from a club meeting at school 
• Peter has his Friday Night Magic game 
• Saturday Katherine plays at the Pokemon League 
• Make laundry soap

Last Week

Like I thought would happen extra things got thrown onto my plate last week. First off I went to the gym 3 last week instead of just my scheduled 2 days and then on a 4th day I worked out at home which made me run late to work eep.

I had coke sales pick up which come to find out they lost our order form! I need to see if the check was cashed today and if so I'm going to have to raise some hell because they didn't have our form or our cokes!!

(So far it hasn't been I double checked again. Still annoying though that I have to deal with this.)

Brielle had Honor's Society on Thursday so I had to drive her into school and then Friday she had her big orchestra competition so I had to drive her in early to school that day too. For her lunch for the concert she wanted sushi (or truthfully california rolls) so I got to try my hand at making that. 

I also had forgotten last Monday Katherine had  club activity after school so I went to pick her up and they were like, "Um she never showed up for After School." As soon as they said that I was like DUH! Boy how forgetful am I! 

Saturday we went out to Free Comic Day and then Katherine played in the pokemon league. We ended up going out for lunch because of how the times fell and I have to say I'm very disappointed with Buffalo Wild Wings. I thought it was just my phone so I came home and tried to do research and found out they personally don't post up their nutritional information and if you get 'special' items like exchanging a wrap for a wheat wrap there really isn't any information at all. I got very frustrated and I really thing, especially national chains, need to put up this information. It's pretty bad when McDonald's is that ahead of the game. 

Saturday and Sunday I worked on the yard. Always lots to do and I have a lot more to take care of but I made progress and it was no easy job. (evil crabgrass)

I got some plants in the ground and I'm hardening off some of the plants I had started inside.

I did a lot of mulching though I have more to do. 

There's always something to do isn't there? 

I also dug up several baby sages that my sage bush put out this year. I'm glad my old sage survived. My lavender survived by the skin of it's roots and only had one sad branch with green so I cut away the dead branches. 

Baby Sage

Peas

I think that about covers things though I am a bit scatter brained so I'm sure I missed something. :)

Have a good week folks! Hopefully soon I'll have some DIY projects going that I can update on.
I am trying a new combination for this Crockpot Chicken Tacos so if it turns out well then I'll get that recipe put up with my tweaks to the original recipe.