Taser Certification for Hubby

Being shot with a taser is NOT my idea of a good time! Hubby has been a police officer for nearly 8 years and swore he would never be certified to carry a taser gun. In order to carry a taser, an officer must first be shot with a taser. (Thankfully, this rule doesn't apply to their duty guns!) Well, recently Hubby has been working with law enforcement on a bigger scale than the city police department that signs his pay checks. I think this fact finally pushed him to go get his taser. I figured that every other officer that carries one has been thru it fine so Hubby would be shot (tased) in the back, be sore for a little while and go on about life! Yeah...not so much...

Hubby had his training on Thursday. While the other men going thru training stood there, ready, TASED!! My Hubby got asked numerous times if he was ready...was he SURE he was ready...was he REALLY ready... until he lost it!! He got angry and told them to just do it already. As the last word left his mouth, 5 seconds of taser hit him in the back and down he went. Let's consider this for a moment. What happens to your body, to your MUSCLES when you get irritated, upset or angry?? Think about the tensed up muscles and the slight turn of his body as he comments to the man standing behind him with a taser. This was not a surprised hit in a relaxed back as it was meant to be. I believe this was a big part of his training going bad.

Since his training, Hubby has been in serious back pain. Some points in the day are better than others. He puts up a good front at work. At home, he can barely get out of bed in the morning and is constantly wanting me to rub his back or try to adjust it for him. I really only expected this to last a day or two and then his muscles would go back to normal. It's now Weds and I just made him an appointment with the chiropractor. I really hope that they can help him. It really sucks that after years of chasing bad guys (and girls), a training class takes the man down. :(

Oh! And you should see the little holes it left it his back! They look better now but they were all bloody and irritaed right after. One hit him in the upper/mid back and the other hit his lower back. Sounds like a grand time, doesn't it?? My office job isn't so bad after all...

Working Mommy Woes

I named my blog to reflect that I work, but I really haven't blogged much about it. I'm really not that happy with what I do. I didn't care much for it before I had Little S. and now that she's here, I completely resent coming to work most of the time. I have tried to convince myself that I am working so I can take care of her. I have health insurance. I need my income to pay bills. Even though I live in an office in the basement, I do see my coworkers when I want to. It's some adult socializing even if it's minimal. As a family, we need my job right now. My brain knows this....my heart isn't buying it. More than anything, I just want to be home with my baby girl! I feel horribly guilty each day when I drop her off at the day care. I know she has fun there...I know she's safe there. While I'm there with her, she's laughing and clapping and minutes after I leave, she's a happy girl. It's those minutes while I'm trying to leave that wrenches at my heart strings. As soon as she sees that I'm about to leave, she throws herself forward screaming and crying big allegator tears! :( It's all I can do to leave her that way. If I just stand outside the door for a bit, I can hear that she's fine. The guilt is still there regardless...

As you can tell from my blog, it's important to me to be close to my baby. Breastfeeding is important and, thankfully, we're still at it at nearly 11 months! It's been much harder to continue this while working and pumping, but I'm proud of myself for staying with it! I have really enjoyed babywearing with Little S. She's getting a bit big for it these days, but there was a time when I would strap her on as soon as I got home so we could have some close mommy/baby time. I could tell she missed me and wanted to be close. I'd wear her while going for walks and going shopping too. I wish that I had been able to wear her more.

Cloth diapering has also become important to me. It's also more of a challenge while working full time but, as with breastfeeding, we are overcoming obstacles to make it work! Thankfully, out daycare is willing to use them as well so we don't have to worry about disposables at all! :)

My point, everything that is important to me to do for my baby is so much harder while working full time. Even though I'm following thru with these things, I still don't feel that I can give her (or my job or my husband) all the attention I want or need too. I'm always falling shorter than I find acceptable somewhere.

To brighten my day, and maybe yours too, here's my Little S. showing that big cheeser smile that I love so much!

Going Greener - Mama Cloth

My first impression of mama cloth - "NO WAY!!!" Now, I am slowly building my stash. :)

I have been cloth diapering Little S. for months now and love cloth diapering! A fluffy bum is so cute!! While checking out sites on cloth diapers, I first learned about mama cloth. (For those who may not of heard of this before, it's pads for that time of the month.) I was sure that there was absolutly no way I could ever use mama cloth! I thought they would be super icky to clean and who wants to wash stinky blood anyway! Well, the more I read, the more I learned. These women say that, after using mama cloth for a while, their periods become shorter, they have less cramps and that cloth is way more comfortable! As far as being stinky, I guess disposable pads stink so bad because of blood reacting with all the chemicals in them....which means that cloth pads aren't really so stinky after all!

Then, what about stains? I HATE stains and work on keeping Little S.'s diapers as stain free as possible. Surely, it isn't possible to not have blood stain. ~sigh~ Guess what?? I was wrong here too!!! Minky fabric doesn't stain!! WOOT! Have you felt minky fabric? It's wonderful!

Sooooo...I took the plunge! I first bought a set of 6 pantyliners. All minky topped with a fleece backing. The fleece serves as a waterproof barrier to protect your clothes as well as keep the pad from shifting. Oh Oh OH!! and fleece BREATHS too!! BONUS!! After receiving the pantyliners, I ordered a couple light/regular flow pads as well (minky with fleece again). I plan on continuing to add to my stash until I feel I have enough. "Aunt Flo" has not returned for me yet so I'll continue to prepare and I highly doubt that I'll turn back to regular disposable pads unless it's an emergency.

I have purchased my mama cloth from Tree Hugger on Hyena Cart. There are many ladies out there making mama cloth that you can search for both on Hyena Cart as well as other websites. You can even make your own if you're feeling ambitious!! Even though they may first seem like a yucky idea - they are really worth a try!!

On a side note - if you're more of a tampon kinda girl, you can always look into the Diva Cup as a more natural and environmentally friendly option!

Picture from http://hyenacart.com/TreeHugger/index.php?c=0&p=48139

Making a Father's Day Card

After must irritation about Father's Day cards (see last post), I decided to make one with Little S. I thought it'd be extra special that way! I got fingerpaint and let her pick out what color she wanted to use. I also let her pick out what crayons to use for the lettering. :) She had so much fun with the painting! I also let her put some heart stickers on the card. Some made it and she tried to eat a few too. LOL I wrote a poem for the inside and I think we did a good job! We had fun and Hubby loved it!

That was pretty much the only good thing about Father's Day at my house yesterday. ~sigh~ I won't go into all that though. To much drama!!

What's in a card

I know that some people buy cards for every occasion. I am NOT one of these people. I feel no reason to go pay $4.99 for a St Patrick's Day card that will probably never be opened by the receiver. To me, this is a waste of money. When the day truly deserves a card, I do put a lot into choosing the right one. This month is hubby's first real Father's Day. To me, this is a big deal! (Even if he didn't make a big deal over my first real Mother's Day...he's a man and that's an excuse.) I plan on taking our baby out and reading cards with her to find the perfect card to give her daddy. I will have her scribble her little baby mark on the inside and make a big deal giving it to hubby on his day. I feel that this process is special.

That being said, yesterday my mother in law presented me with a Father's Day card she bought for Little S to give to hubby. She told me I should have Little S scribble in it and that can be her gift for her daddy. I was completely offended! Not only was she trying to take away my planned outing with my daughter to find the perfect card, but the gesture also inferred that I wasn't capable of purchasing a good card on my own. I told her that I was capable of purchasing my own cards to which she responded by telling me that she bought my Mother's Day card from Little S too. :( I kinda figured she did as hubby works constantly and, let's face it, he's a man. He doesn't always think of these things. I just tried not to think about it at the time. I thought it was rude that she would tell me that now. I took the card but made it known that I wasn't really happy about her overstepping her bounds. She stayed at my house the rest of the evening and I really didn't talk to her anymore.

The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. I think I'm going to give the card back to her and tell her to try to get her money back before Father's Day. She is the type to buy card for EVERYTHING so, I'd hope she would understand my need to make it special. I hate that something so simple and good meaning is bothering me so much.

To Our Pets!

The last year has been a rather rough one as far as pets go. While I was pregnant for Little S, our outside cat, Simba (not pictured), was attacked by the neighbors dogs. He was old and they killed him. It all happened while I was at work and hubby was at home. He cleaned everything up before I came home, thankfully, for I was quite distraught. Simba had came with the property when we bought our house about 6 years ago. He was a good old cat but we weren't as attached to him as our inside pets. I felt horribly guilty about that after he was gone...

Then, we had Critter. We got Critter about a week after we got married. She was a tiny kitten that we found under hubby's grandma's porch. From that point on, she was a spoiled inside kitty cat. She was our first "baby" and made us feel like a family instead of a couple from the start of our marriage. A couple months ago, Critter started acting strange and refusing to eat. I took her to the vet and had X-rays done. Her chest was completely filled with fluid and one kidney was about 4 times the size of the other one. She was diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis. I brought her home to say goodbye. A couple days later we had to put her down. She was a good cat and we do miss her!

Critter Cat

This brings me to our Abby! We brought Abby home right after we bought our house. We were actually looking for a Golden Retriever type dog that we were going to name Ruger. :) Somehow, we ended up at the local humane society. There had just been a litter of 14 puppies brought in by a police officer. They had been abandoned along the side of the road with no mommy. These puppies were SOOO tiny! Most were black and brown...all but one! While gawking at the pile of puppies, a little white one with a black ear managed to climb up and over the puppy pile to see us. Hubby immediatly grabbed her up. She was so tiny that he didn't even have to unlatch the gate, she fit thru the crack! He firmly and excitedly said, "We're taking this one home!" I was completely against the idea. We had just barely moved into our house and didn't have anything for a dog...but who can resist a little bundle of puppy? :) We thought she might be a Jack Russell Terrier and brought her home. We guessed her to be about 4 weeks old. We gave her puppy milk for a little while and babied her terribly! Each month, she doubled in size and we quickly found out that she was NOT a Jack Russell!! LOL

Our Abby is now a long, lean grown up dog that weighs in over 60 lbs. She is SUPER spoiled and is still adjusting to having Little S in the house taking her attention. Overall, she's doing well with the transition though. She lives inside with us and often sleeps on the foot of our bed. Now, she is our only pet. If I have my way, she will be our only pet for a long time. She is a wonderful hound and a loving, fulfilling part of our family.

Here's to the pets in our lives that make the family complete!

Abby

I admit my house needs help....

I believe all tables should have a dome top option... The coffee table, a potentially great flat surface for a center piece of some sort - but not in my house! The coffee table collects house hold junk that is important enough to have been used recently but not important enough to be put away immediately. At any given time there may be a glass or cup, some random papers from hubby's work, random hobby stuff that needs to go downstairs but hasn't made it yet. ~sigh~ The dinning room table is not much better. There lies stacks of mail, the laptop, some baby toys and puffs, candles, tissues, random hobby stuff.... and so goes pretty much every flat surface in the house. When examined closely, I find that very little to none of these items are put there by me or even belong to me. It is sad - so I believe the answer is just to have all flat surfaces be made in a dome so that nothing can remain on it! Everything would just roll right off! :)

Kindle Me....

The dictionary defines kindle - Light or set fire, Arouse or inspire, Be aroused, Become impassioned or excited....

After getting to know my new Kindle, I LOOOOOVE it! I wanted an e-reader...and that is just what it is! I know there is much talk about the Nook (Barnes and Noble) and the iPad. They have their touch screens and fanciness about them. You can do WAY more on the iPad then the Kindle - however, if you can play games and listen to MP3s and search the web, when are you going to read a book? I believe that each have there pros and cons and it really does make a difference depending on what you are looking for. Another notable point is the Kindle screen is not back lit....it doesn't bother your eyes like reading on a computer screen does. It's more "paper like."

I picked the Kindle for a number of reasons. 1) I wanted to read - I have a smartphone for many of those other fun options. 2) The Kindle has been around longer it's in it second version and is currently going thru a 2.5 upgrade. 3)Whispernet....free internet access that you can pickup anywhere AT&T service is available!! Not just 3G! This means ordering your books from your Kindle and they download instantly! Instant gratification sells!! 4) Text to speech is available of most texts. Publishers have the options of disabling this feature on their books though. 5) Thousands of free books available! 6) I use Swagbucks where I earn Amazon gift cards. I use these cards to fund books that I want that are not free - still nothing out of my pocket!!

**Pause for a Swagbucks plug! If you'd like to earn gift cards/prizes for using a search engine, sign up at http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/ktface17 ! I've earned $20 in Amazon gift cards in a month and a half for searching items I would have searched anyway! Just another way I "Kindle" me. :) **

So, is the Kindle worth the price? I think the price is high but if you want to splurge on something for yourself and you love to read, it's a great toy to have. I've been reading books I would have never purchased because they are free on the Kindle. It's small enough to fit into my purse so I carry it almost everywhere I go. Also, no one knows what you're reading!! It could be anything from the Bible to erotica and you're the only one that will know!

The Kindle holds about 1,500 books. Can you imagine how big that bookshelf would need to be? Do you have a library in your house? My personal bookshelf is overflowing...now I can keep all new books in a device that is as thin as a pencil. Pretty cool, huh? :)

Busy, baby, and car on fire!

...reasons why I haven't been blogging lately!

Although I got thru the worst part of being sick, the cough is still persistent a month and a half later. Little S had an ear infection - only the second one she's ever had - and that reminds me that I need to take her BACK to the pediatrician for a followup. ~sigh~ The hubby had "the germ" briefly as well...

Recently, the car we had bought for my mother in law caught fire in the parking lot of her apartment building. This means that my hubby then gave her one of our cars to use until WE could buy her something else. I didn't say anything even though it kinda rubs me the wrong way to be make a car payment on a car that isn't in my driveway. After all, the bus makes frequent stops at her building every day! Alas, we finally got the insurance money from the fire. A payout of $2,000 - I'm surprised the car was worth that actually. I told them that they had to stay at or below $2,000. I am trying to get us out of debt not make things worse! So last week, they went to look at a car without me. It was listed for $2800....grrrrrr....they offered $2500...grrrrrrrrr. THEN, I had to take the extra $500 out of MY savings to pay for the car! GRRRR!!! I just keep telling myself that at least I won't have to go pick her up and take her home every time she wants to come visit. It is a nice car ...I just want to keep my money!

What did come out of that mess was the realization that we can live with only one vehicle right now. Hubby has a car from work so that helps tremendously! We're now considering selling one of our cars to free up cash to further debt progress. We'll see how that goes...

This last weekend was wonderful! (On an up note!) Little S and I met my Mom for a girls day, hubby and I took Little S to Cabelas and Quaker Steak and Lube (yummy!) and then on Memorial Day we visited my family. It was overall a good weekend even if we are tired from it. :)

Wishes everyone out there a blessed day! Always lookin' for that silver lining even when growling at everything! :)