It's a Beautiful Day To Quit Your Job....

Well, it's official! Last Friday I gave my notice at work, and as of May 1st, I will "officially" be a stay-at-home Mom! YAY! I will probably be doing a bit of web design on the side, but my primary goals will be to spend time with Ardyn, keep my house in order, get the laundry done, and keep up with the dishes! I also hope to get in more crafts and gardening, as well as some time outdoors for daily walks and some swimming too! I can not wait! I will miss my job but it was becoming too much to do everything and I just wasn't happy being away from Ardyn all day and not accomplishing anything. I know that moms everywhere work, but I have to say that it's impossible for me to work, take care of Ardyn to the standards that I expect from myself, and also accomplish anything for myself or my family. I can't wait. Let the countdown begin. To celebrate I got my first massage since back when I was pregnant, and probably the last one I will have until someone buys me a gift certificate (Mother's Day?) It was FABULOUS. A full hour long, and boy it's amazing how you can almost forget how refreshing you feel after a good massage. This time Tina used essential oils in my massage and it was just wonderful.So the weekend was great. Saturday the boys were burning the prairie and wildflower plots, and Ardyn and I went to meet some of Evan's family who were in town visiting. Then we went out to see the boys and visited at Grandma and Grandpas with more family. We had supper there and on the way home, Ardyn and I hit a skunk (eeww!) and Evan took my car up to wash it before we put it in the garage. It was pretty stinky. Sunday I washed two loads of diapers, and happily hung them out on the line. I have TONS of pictures on Flickr of pretty and colorful diapers drying in the sun. The sky was so blue with puffy white clouds. If the grass had been green and there were leaves on the trees, you wouldn't have even known that we just had a hellish winter that lasted forever. The diapers are just so fresh and clean when they come in from the line!I got some inspiration to make a clothespin bag, since mine is worn to hell, and I did the applique of a clothespin on the front, which still needs his "face" embroidered (see photos of the clothespin bag on flickr.) I will share photos of the finished product once I add one more snap to the center and embroider his face... It was super cute and slick... the Serger just makes sewing so much fun! I moved between the table to cut my fabric, the serger, and the sewing machine late last night, and finally FORCED myself to go to sleep about 1am. I actually woke Ardyn up and changed her diaper (we are fighting a bit of daycare diaper rash) and then nursed her and let her sleep next to me, because she sleeps longer and better there, and I wanted to get as much sleep as possible since I had been up late cleaning and sewing and had to work on Monday.I am feeling really good about how well I am staying on top of things. I spend pretty much every night after Ardyn goes to bed, picking up, doing laundry, and dishes. One night last week I did just do one load of laundry and wash just one sink of dishes, and then watch the two episodes of CSI Miami with Evan. It was nice to relax. I look forward to the time when I can spend more time relaxing and enjoying my family on weeknights and weekends, instead of trying to cram in all the "housework" into that time instead. I also look forward to writing more in Ardyn's baby book, and starting her scrapbook, which I am ashamed to say I haven't even begun yet.

Ardyn is moving into Size Medium Diapers now, and so I am about halfway through selling the smalls in lots. If they were diapers that I bought used, or that aren't my very favorites, I am selling them, because I don't know how well the elastic will hold up in storage, especially if the person before me used a harsh detergent or dried them in the drier. My favorite pocket diapers, and Especially the Thirsties AIO Pockets, I will keep for the next baby. But the rest I will get rid of and purchase more of what I really like. Today I sent her with Medium Thirsties AIO Pockets to daycare, and if I sell the 9 Drybees and 6 Snap-ez pockets that she is growing out of, I will then buy 6 more Thirsties AIO Pockets in Medium for daycare and convenience sakes this summer and fall. We are using lots of wool over prefolds and fitteds while at home, but I like to have Thirsties on hand to wear under clothes because they are so trim and comfy.
I have slid into my mom wardrobe. I have my two pair of khaki pants, and a pair of white pants that become capris, and three pair of shorts, and two pair of knit capris, and a pair of black gauchos. Pair those with any of my Nine v-neck shirts in a rainbow of colors, and you will see how easy it is to be me. LOL. I have discovered that the Unshrinkable T-Shirt by LLBean is freaking awesome, not only because it doesn't shrink, but because it has this water-repellent thing on it. When I get milk or water or anything on me, I can pretty much brush it off and I don't get stained. Last week I opened a container of sweet potatoes only to have them splash all over my shirt that I JUST put on, and they came right off without even really "touching" the fabric. It was awesome how repellent they are. I will definitely recommend them to other moms! I can't wait till I don't have to work, because then I can also slip into my rainbow of flip flops and sandals. Until then I am pretty much sticking to tennis shoes and slip on shoes, or my black rocket dogs.
Ardyn wore an outfit (That Aunt Liz bought her!) with Capri pants and her sandals to daycare today, she was so excited about it! It was like she couldn't get over the fact that even though she had her shoes on, she could SEE her TOES! She was thrilled. She was being a real ham this morning. She has kinda started to have the "stranger" fear. She knows who I am and wants to be with me. She is sometimes crying when I leave the room, and when we visit relatives and they hold her, she is starting to cry and crane her head around and reach for me. I can see the panic look on her face and I try to reassure her that they are safe and that I am not going anywhere. I think my mom and Evan's parents are the only people she hasn't been afraid of. Perhaps Evan's brother and my sister. She cried at Grandpa Dave at Easter, I think he scared her when she first saw him, and then she warmed right up and played with him all day.... but she was scared of Evan's uncle Dennis at first, and also of Grandma Mona and Grandpa Bob Sr. We just need to spend more time with everyone so that she is more comfortable with them.

Swimming lessons start this week. I can't remember if I already blogged about buying a new swimsuit? I don't think I did. Well, I debated for a long time. I have several suits. Two tankins. One missing the bottom and one missing the top? And the two suits that I wore before I got pregnant, are nowhere to be found (Another reason to stay home.... so I can clean out my closet and get a hold on all these different sizes of clothes!) and now that I have lost 46 pounds, and gone up a cup size from nursing, I decided it's okay to buy a new suit. Especially when I will need to nurse at the pool all summer. I heave heard lots of people say "just pull your suit down" and I want to say "yeah, that's discreet. Just pull down your suit." Obviously none of these people have hauled around a DD cup full of milk. Or nursed the evil genius who loves to "pop off and smile" at people. And honestly, it isn't ME I am worried about. It's other people. They tend to get all itchy and squirmy around boobs. Nursing boobs that is. I should clarify. Because flashing Mardi Gras boobs and classic art boobs and porno boobs and playboy boobs and topless dancer boobs show up and it's all "Whoo-Hoo! Random Shot of Boobs!" But I guess when the boobs are for nursing, it's all about scary. This world is pretty fucked up, isn't it!? So for everyone else's sake, I dropped $70 on a new two piece halter tankini, double layered for nursing, with a matching swim skirt. It's the most expensive swimsuit I have ever bought, considering that I bought my maternity suit on eBay (used) and every other suit pretty much came from Wal-Mart, with the exception of one that my mom bought my from JCPenney before I left home about 10 years ago. I bought it in Basic black, so that it stays in style, stays slimming, and can be worn hopefully through several years and through nursing several children. I did it all for you. Your welcome. The suit arrived from Motherwear today and I haven't had a chance to try it on yet, but I will. And I also got a second travel wet bag (identical to the one I use for dirty diapers but in a different pattern) so that we can put our wet suits and such in it for swim lessons, and for summer at the pool. It will also be nice to just have another wet bag in general, so that if there is one in the wash we have a spare.

I have four more things on my list that I need to get purchased before I cease to have any income. The first is six more Thirsties Diapers. The second is 13 Snap In Bamboo Inserts for the Motherease One Size Diapers that we already have. The Third is another Convertible Car Seat to use in Evan's vehicle. The Fourth is a set of Crib Rail Teethers to put on the crib in Ardyn's room. I would also be thrilled if I could get myself a new pair of New Balance Tennis Shoes, since I bought mine back when I got pregnant, and have been wearing them for over a year now. I would LOVE a new pair but this is not a necessity so much as a wish. And I would also love some new mascara as mine is getting crunchy... and some foundation as I am almost out of the Bare Minerals. I ran out of the color I wear a while ago, but had two containers of a color that didn't work, but I mixed it with some warmth to make it get me by, and now that is almost gone.

I will be switching to Wal-Mart purchased shampoo and conditioner instead of Biolage, and also dyeing my own hair now, to save money. That's cool with me. I will miss my complicated highlights that get me so many compliments, but not as much as I would miss my daughter if I had to work to support my beauty regime.

Oh and Comcast. Saturday morning when I got out of the shower my cable had been "Disconnected for non-payment" because I refuse to pay them for service I am not GETTING and because I have tried to explain to them a bazillion times that I am not paying and that they need to credit my account. So I called Comcast and within 10 minutes had $90 credited to my account for the months of February and March's internet service. And my cable and internet (or what there IS of internet service) reinstated while still on the phone with them. This morning Judy form Corporate called to check in, which was very nice and probably the best customer service I have gotten from Comcast so far. Everything I have heard, both from Technicians and from Customers and through the grapevine, indicates that they should have a handle on the "bigger issue" in our area in 1-2 weeks. Judy told me if it isn't fixed in two weeks to call her back and a supervisor would be sent to my area. I am pleased with the credits to my account. It's about time!

Well, I have exhausted my brainpower for now. Have a great day!

Update on Problems with Comcast, and other things this week.

Made it through another week! The countdown to May 1st Continues. Today I had the pleasure of trying to pay more bills than I have money for, thanks to the past two paychecks of mine being even SHORTER due to Ardyn being sick and us being out a total of 5 whole days and 2 half days from daycare/work, which can take a big chunk out of your income! It wouldn't be a big deal, but I am still trying to pay off the hospital bill, and the $400 a month power bill is still going strong, although I think that was probably our last month. Plus my husband thinks that it's better to pay $10 per garbage can (the penalty for putting out an extra can without a trash sticker) instead of dragging his butt to Casey's to buy $5 of stickers. Ugh. Add in the cost of daycare, a cell phone bill, and a cable bill where we are paying for service that we don't even HAVE.... and it makes for a cranky checkbook.

This week we have had two morning visits from Comcast technicians, both of them resulting in the exact same response, which consists of "There is nothing wrong with your equiptment or the lines to your home" and "The problem is purely Comcast's and they need to take responsibility for it." Then I get to hear about how the repair guys spend all day going to people's houses in this area, when they can do nothing to fix the problem, because the problem is really due to the re-routing of Cable lines so that we are at the end of the chain and all experiencing packet loss. After starting to investigate the problems, I have also learned that an accounting firm in the Peru area has hired lawyers and filed a lawsuit against Comcast for the problems with their internet service, which occurred unexpectedly and without warning, right in the middle of tax season. They are holding Comcast responsible for any and all filing difficulties they have had for their customers.

I have been in contact with Comcast Corporate. I understand that the problems are being worked on, but Comcast has still refused to take responsibility for the issues, and refund or credit customers for service that they are not receiving. My policy has been to refuse to pay my bill until I get a resolution. Their policy has so far been to deny or put off the issue, and to tell me that even though I have been missing service since the beginning of February at $44.95 a month, and now the cable has been glitching for two weeks, they can credit me for $15. Um. No. So I am about at the end of my rope with their inexcusable decision to charge people money that they don't deserve to be paid. I guess if I don't get any satisfaction from Comcast corporate, there is always the better business bureau. If I don't hear back from Corporate with a resolution and a credit on my account, that will be my next step. I have begun to gather names of others in my area who are also having this issue. Basically it is an extreme "packet loss" that gives you connectivity problems abounding.

I will be working in the next couple of months on some new presentations for the Computer User Group. I will be doing (FINALLY!) My Life Doc Presentation, showing the Life Doc Binders and what they can do for you. I will hopefully be also doing a presentation on the Wii, where we will put the Wii games up on the wall with the proxima and show how it works and how great it is to use. This was Dorene's fabulous Idea.

So what else has happened this week? I got all of Ardyn's 6-12 month clothes out and washed, and packed away some 3-6 month clothes that were too small. Ardyn has eaten lots of fun things like Apple slices, Zucchini slices, bananas, and sweet potato puffs. She is doing great with her "chewing" and learning to keep pieces of food to the front of her mouth while she chews. One bottom tooth is barely poking through and the other is right behind it... and I can tell that we will be moving to the Stage 2 foods soon. We probably could be already, but she does still have a few packs of stage 1 left that we would like to get through first. She also has suddenly started eating peas without complaining, and had a whole pack last night followed by an entire pack of bananas. She's a good eater.

We got an interlocking foam puzzle mat that we love. I put part of it in the living room so she can sit up on the hardwood floor without falling over and bumping her head. I plan on putting the other half in the basement sewing room so that I can sew during the day while she plays... and maybe eventually start working on the dollhouse! The best part of the foam mat is that it isn't one of those ABC mats, so the foam tiles are solid, which eliminates the choking hazard that the small pieces in the other mats have. It's so soft and cushy, she loves it.

Yesterday Ardyn turned SEVEN MONTHS OLD! Whoo! Amazing. We took pictures, and I started a new photo album on Flickr as I do each month. I can't believe how big she is! Man. She got a new pair of wool longies in the mail yesterday, to match her Cloth Diaper T-shirt in black- so she wore that last night and it looks awesome. When she wears black she is just so stinking cute. Evan always comments on how she looks like her mom in black because I love to wear black.

I am sad today because Ava has been sick and spent the night in the ER, and has been throwing up since yesterday morning and dehydrated. I hope she feels better soon. Anya said she was throwing up even when just given a tablespoon of water. Ugh. And a friend online whose son is Ardyn's age had to take him to the hospital because she found a lump, and then he stopped eating or drinking for 6 hours and they discovered that he need surgery for what (as of now) they believe is a hernia. That makes me so sad, and it makes me want to take Ardyn to our house and board her up inside, although I know that's just crazy talk. It's a horrible feeling to have a sick child and not be able to "fix everything" as a mom.

Well, this weekend is going to be BEAUTIFUL outside and I am hoping that I can get Evan to hang Ardyn's new swing so we can be outdoors a bit in the fresh air. We have no plans and I can't wait for that. I hope it can stay that way. The sun has surfaced and I am so happy! This should be a fabulous spring and summer!

More Problems with Comcast

Ahhh.... I've missed you all. I have been a busy bee! Ardyn decided that she wanted to do some more teething, and we have a sharp little bottom tooth pressing against her gums and just waiting to break through. Her fevers continue with teething, and we missed out on work/daycare this past Monday due to extreme irritability and a 101.9 temperature.

The weekend was nice, I did some serious dyeing. I got five colors done, which leaves me just green, yellow, and red diapers to dye. Here are the pictures we took while dyeing- Ardyn was my lovely assistant. Inspecting the final product, adjusting the washing machine to the precise settings necessary. We had fun.

Easter was good, we went to my parents and had a late lunch, and opened easter baskets and gifts. We took over 200 pictures of Ardyn, and there are some really cute ones, but I haven't gotten them uploaded yet, so stay tuned for those. I also got the house pretty clean, and that was a plus.

This week has been pretty fabulous. I reorganized the Changing Table and the dresser drawers in Ardyn's room and re-arranged a bit for easier access to things while at the changing table. I found some baskets that fit PERFECTLY into the drawers of the changing table and cause massive orgasmic organization of diapers and pajamas. It's a wonderful life.

Last night we had a delicious supper courtesy of my husband who grilled burgers outside, and Ardyn had a mini-banana and a piece of cantaloupe before she moved onto her regular sweet potatoes. She thought it was awesome to slime and grab onto food, but they got pretty slippery pretty fast, and she was unable to hold onto the pieces much more.

I have an "eBay box" that I keep at home where I throw in stuff that I want to sell, and last night I took some pictures of stuff and put them online and added them to my FSOT (For sale or trade) listing at Diaperswappers, which means that I may be able to swap things that I have for things that someone else has and I want.... pretty cool. I have some pretty good stuff to get rid of...

We also took Ardyn to see the Easter bunny last week, and I have photos of her with the bunny in her easter dress, but I need to scan them in so I can post also.

I haven't been online at home much because Comcast STILL SUCKS and we have very intermittent and sometimes non-existent internet connectivity. Out VOIP Service won't even work- the phone cuts out for 2 minutes at a time throughout your entire phone call, sometimes as soon as the other party answers, and sometimes the calls don't reach us because we have no connectivity. We are also starting to see glitches in our cable TV as well, and I spent another irate Hour on the phone with them last night. I was telling them that I wanted a credit on my account for the TWO MONTHS of internet service that we haven't had working and they told me that they would credit me $15- when the internet costs $44.95 a month. I ended up finally getting transferred to someone who told me that Comcast corporate won't allow them to credit anyone more than $15.... and that they don't give their employees access to contact corporate. They also told me that I "didn't call to complain enough in the month of March so they can only credit me for the month of February" and that even then, corporate would probably not approve the credit so I may never see it on my bill. I have to tell you that I pretty much flipped my lid at that guy. I explained that customer service is not about the customer calling and harassing you until you fix something, and that with a full time job and a 6 month old who is teething, I don't have an hour a night to spend on the phone with them "through the month of March" so that they know I STILL have a problem. I told them that they have a ticket open for me and that as their customer, it is THEIR responsibility to assure that I have service and to fix the issue once I have reported it. I am so frustrated with them right now that I can't even see straight. I am to the point or wanting to get some big petition started by everyone in the area who has had problems. I want a lawyer for the little people. I want to march out front of Comcast's corporate office. What's a consumer to do?

Let's see, what else is new? Well, you know how some people say, during their workday, "is it 5pm yet?" Well, from this point forward, you will find me saying "Is it May 1st yet?" Nuff said. Read into it what you will. Stay tuned.

This weekend should be fun. Saturday night we have Ava's 2nd Birthday party, and afterwards Evan is playing with the band so I may go listen to them play. Besides that it should be an around home kinda weekend. I hope. Quiet and productive. Maybe I can even get the red green and yellow diapers dyed. I also plan on doing some tie-dyeing.... so we will see what I can come up with there. Can't think of anything else exciting to say for the moment. So thanks for visiting. More later.

I can't keep my pants on....

Yes. I am a dirty tramp. No no. Just kidding. I am too skinny. Well, maybe not skinny. But my pants are all way to big. Now they are about two sizes too big. I am getting so sick and tired of yanking my pants up all day long. Especially when trying to carry all the baby gear, I don't have enough arms to hold everything and keep my pants up. I imagine that I will just be walking along and suddenly my pants will be around my ankles. And my shirts are too big. I look like I had bariatric surgery. You know how those people look when they lose a bunch of weight and then their clothes don't fit right anymore? That's how I feel. My mom said "You have no butt. Where is your butt?" This is, of course, a good thing. When sick, I lost another 10 pounds, making that a total of 46 pounds lost since Ardyn popped out. Isn't breastfeeding grand!?

I have come to the realization that I need to get some new clothes. Badly. I have them picked out. Eddie Bauer and LL Bean staples like colored v-neck shirts, khaki pants, and shorts and capris. My jean shorts from pre-pregnancy should all be 3 sizes too big this summer, and that just won't work. Next paycheck, I am ordering new clothes. And I need to clean out my closet. But I can't possibly order enough new clothes to replace everything I already wear, so I will have to be a little forgiving I believe, and keep several things.... too big or not. I have a tote of jeans and pants in the attic that I believe I need to bring down, because they should all start fitting me. Then I think that if I get pregnant again, I will be starting my pregnancy much smaller, so there's always the chance that my maternity clothes might even be too big. But I am sure to swell up enough to make that doable. :)

So, we have no internet at home. Insight sold all it's Illinois Customers to Comcast. And. Comcast. Apparently blows. As soon as the switch was made, we started to see problems with the internet and our VOIP. We bought new phones. Still problems. I bypassed the router and went directly through the cable modem. Still problems. There is a potential that it could be the cable modem, which we own because with Insight you purchase your own modem. Well, with Comcast they want to RENT you your modem, which costs an arm and a leg, and by the time you have rented it for a year, you could have bought your own, not to mention that after 5 years you could have bought five of them. So we don't know if we have a modem issue, because since we switched from Insight (unwillingly) they don't know how to troubleshoot the modem. And as of last week we have NO internet service, and they can't get a technician out until MARCH FOURTH. Yeah. I am not pleased. I called on Sunday and they told me I would hear back or have a technician out by Tuesday morning, and by Tuesday afternoon I called them and they couldn't figure out why no one had called me. March 4th is a long long long ways away when you have no internet or phone service. When I asked about getting a credit for the service we are not getting, they told me that I would have to ask for the credit after it is fixed. Yeah, because I have nothing better to do but call you over and over to get problems resolved. That's pure wonderful customer service. I called Comcast to try to get to a supervisor and their "high call volumes" meant that they wouldn't even connect you to a person. So I emailed them and expressed my displeasure. Not that it will get me anywhere. But come on. Two weeks? When Insight was called, even with "high call volumes" we got a technician within 24 hours, even on the weekend and in inclement weather. And I bet you money that if I called Comcast and wanted new service, they wouldn't tell me I had to wait two weeks. So how can you treat your customers like that?

Let's see. What else is new? Monday night was Grandpa Bob's birthday, so we all went over to Great Grandma's house for Spaghetti, which was awesome. We had a nice night and Ardyn was still going strong at 9pm. Yesterday we got our taxes done, and we get a fairly substantial refund, but all of it will go towards the hospital bill for Ardyn's birth, leaving me about $600 more to pay on the bill before it's completely gone. Of course we will get another $1500 this May for the tax "refund" break.... $1200 as a married couple and $300 for Ardyn. It's time to get a newer vehicle as mine nears the 200 thousand mile marker.... so probably a new van or a Durango. That's the plan.... although I would KILL for a vacation somewhere sunny.... A new vehicle is what we need.

Last night I watched the new episodes of John and Kate plus 8, which I Love. It was the one where they go to Utah on a ski trip and their 8 hour flight gets turned into a 12 hour flight when the runways in Salt lake City are closed due to snow, and they get send to Idaho and are stuck on the plane with all 8 kids. Poor Kate breaks down and I felt so bad for her that I wanted to cry too. I can't imagine what that was like! I wouldn't even be able to take MYSELF on a 8 hour flight, 4 hours is about when I get to my wits end myself, let alone with kids. NO way. That's hell. And then I saw their rental house in Park City Utah, and it made me laugh because we were actually IN Park City, and saw those houses, in August of 2006, when we went to Roy Utah to see Carrie. We flew into and out of Salt Lake City, and we went shopping in Park City at the outlet malls, and I bought some baby clothes at the Osh Kosh Outlet and new Shoes at the American Eagle Outlet. We strolled downtown in Park City and ate lunch and did some shopping. They had a Roots Park City store there, and I love Roots.... and I bought some flip flops and a hat there. So anyway, it's pretty hard to watch John and Kate pack up all those kids. SO much work. But I can understand her desire to take them places and allow them to experience. But holy cow. Stress.

So that's about all I know. Things might be kinda quiet from me until we get our internet fixed. Stay tuned....

P.S. Ardyn is now eating carrots, squash, and peas. Photos are on Flickr!