Hanging in there!

Yesterday was a busy, busy day! Looks like today will be the same. Only way to fix it is to "fix" it...lol.

It started out with the rental unit in San Diego. This last tenant, who has been in the process of moving out for the past week, was so filthy. This house has been in my family for four generations. It has been rented out on many occasions. My children and I lived in it for 17 years. The house has never had roaches!

The roaches were so bad in this house until they were crawling in the tenant's bed and in the refrigerator!...yes, alive in the refrigerator! Once she emptied her belongings from the house, it was then that I saw the true magnitude of the problem. Two weeks ago, upon assessing the house for the prep for a new tenant (yes, I evicted this tenant), every kitchen cabinet has massive amounts of roaches..each cabinet. I had my contractor put 12 foggers throughout the house. I took pictures just in case I should have to go to court.

My regular contractor is out of town until the 14th. So, I am using another contractor. The more he inspects the house, the more things he finds broken i.e. both toilet seat screws are missing, the garbage disposal is broken, someone kicked in the bedroom door leaving the door mildly cracked around the door knob, we won't talk about the backyard!

Well, I finally gave in to an exterminator. He said the foggers won't even touch the eggs and they won't kill the roaches unless they have direction contact with the poison.

If all goes well, this should all be over by 5pm tomorrow!

Playing Around

I am just tickled pink that my daughter showed me how to put an animated picture onto my blog page. As you all know, I do child care. I thought it would be kinda nifty to have my webpage link on my blog :). I was getting a little puzzled because I know how to put pics on there and I thought an animated one should be similar if not the same. I kept trying to figure it out.

As usual, you know how our kids can be when it come to computers...LOL! My daughter took a look at it and it was quite a simple step! I am so excited! I do realize the people on the blogs are typically not from our own cities, but it is fun just knowing it is on there :).

Prevention

Ok Ladies,

I'm sitting here feeling oncoming symptoms of pre-pms. It is really not a good thing when preventive measures, to avoid 'most' of the discomforts, are not working. What is a girl to do? It's like knowing why you feel the way you do, but being totally unable to do anything about it while, all the time, you are being effected by it....depressed, in pain, bloated, irritable, etc. All you can tell yourself is, "Oh, it's just that time of the month." Then spend the next 3 to 7 days dealing with it!....Ugh! All this while running a child care!

Those over-the-counter pills have never worked for me. Unfortunately, what does work is that of two heating pads, one on the front and one on my back, and laying down. After a day and a half of that, I'm usually good to go. Moltrin or Extra Strength Tylenol helps with the pain but not enough.

Okay, okay... I got that out and off my chest. Now it's time to go deal with it. I'm still in the "pre" stage....lol! I just had a huge cup of hot, lemon tea. Oh yeah, I'm fighting a cold too. Time to put everything in slow, minimum gear and take it one step at a time.

Gotta do this thing, ladies!

1. I enjoy counseling with people to help them see a different perspective.

2. I totally love my family even though they drive me crazy sometimes

3. I am disappointed in myself because I am afraid to start new projects for fear of not completing them

4. I really do enjoy crafts. I was very crafty in my earlier life i.e. drawing, crotcheting, gardening, etc.

5. Children are awesome little humans that need a lot of direction with tender love and care...and a smigdeon of discipline :)

6. Pets are awesome too because they are so loyal and can make us feel good

7. I want to thank KT for sending me my first blogger's award!

Here's my first time....

1. I look forward to Linda and Her Twaddle blog because of her light hearted honesty about the family and her world.

2. KT's Sassy Blog is filled with energy and exploration that should we should never let end in our lives.

3. I can really, really relate to Fat, Frumpy and Fifty. I go through many of the same phases in my life. Learning to embrace them.

4. I find A Working Mother's Chatter to be so calm and sweet as she adores being a mother to her toddler son with a new little one on the way.

5. I admire Elvie Studio for all her creativity and enthusiasm for life

My Oldest Son

My son has finally realized the error of his ways...lol. He seems to be ready to straighten up and fly right now. However, there is a trail of errors to be corrected as well.

Almost a year ago, his dad and I agreed to send him to live with his dad. I have done the primary raising of the kids. Dad has a tendency to have very high expectations. However, what he is trying to implement is good but it would be better if dad would "teach" our son rather than bark at him.

My son once said, "Mom, I'm too old to be a kid and too young to be grown man. It's like I'm in the middle." I explained to him, "This is the time where you let your parents 'teach' you various elements of life as they occur." i.e. paying bills, car repairs, buy groceries, etc. Most of the time, I feel, young adults need to go through new experiences step by step with guidance from their parents. To just "tell" them what to do and expect them to do it, can be confusing and overwhelming.

At this point, I think this is my son's delima with his dad. So, what my son does is calls me and I give him directions on what his dad is telling him to do. Then I call dad and get more details. Eventually, it all works out. I usually end up getting everyone on the same page.

So, ladies, divorced or married, it seems our job is to make sense of confusion in the family. If you are divorced and have children, you are still connected to that mate through those children. It is very important to be able to communicate and interact at a minimum basis for the sake of the kids. I feel my ex and I have achieved this very well.

No offense to the husbands, but the wives tend to be the "brains" behind the family....lol!

Hello Blog World

Hello Blog World Friends,

I'm still hanging in there. Thank you for your responses and support. I've finally got the packet in for the modification. There are a few more things I need to get to them. They are small things that make a big difference.

I think I will be able to pay the mortgage this month. It just kills me not to pay any bill, let alone the mortgage! The bills are all up to date and current. I did manage to get my Chase Mastercard interest rate dropped from 19.99% to 6.0%. That was a major task, but it's done.

I've been getting calls for the daycare, but for some reason, the parents don't follow through with thier appointments. I have lowered my rates, but I can't afford to lower them anymore. I can only say that those were not the children for me for whatever reason. I must remain patient and hopeful.

Yes, I have been looking at other employment options. Not many available. What little is available would be at a much lower pay rate. When you consider travel costs, wardrobe, etc., a lower pay rate is not an option. I'm still looking at other employment possibilities.

My grandson is doing very well. He is trying to walk now, taking as many as 5 or 6 steps. He has gotten quite long and tall. His father has been more active in his life. Says he is trying to get himself together. Has a job and is renting a room with a roommate.

I have become so spoiled from the help I've been getting from my sons in taking care of my grandson. Since school has been out, they have been awesome in helping out around the house and helping with the baby. I paid my youngest son $25 week to look after the baby during day care hours. This has made a tremendous difference in my ability to focus and get things done. I'm even more rested at the end of the day. It has really woked out well.

Keep the prayers and the happy thoughts coming...:)

The Past Few Days

I haven't had much energy or time to blog lately. My brain is so full of trying to find ways to make my finances work. I don't want to continue complaining. Sometimes, I don't want to hear myself talk anymore...lol.

I did speak with a few people this week. One was the nutritionist for the day care. She said is it not uncommon for parents to not need childcare during the summer. Parents literally take their kids out of day care and use the older siblings to babysit. This way they save money. I haven't had any children taken out of the day care. I am just not receiving new ones. She said the economy is such that many providers are actually closing their day cares because of this. No kids, no money. She said, things usually pick up once school starts again. The kids go back to school around August 12th. I would think I should begin to get calls, at least, a week before school begins. We will see.

The other person I spoke with was in regards to modifying my mortgage. I did get all the paperwork done. He said I can put down half the money to get started, which I have. I was thinking of doing a Short Sale to give up the house, but he suggested I wait, at least, until the modification was complete.

I've been exhausted lately. I'm still trying to muddle through. I had late nighters last night and I will have them tonight as well. I plan to call the agent for the modification today. I want to schedule a time to meet and review the steps. I need to do this as soon as possible.