heymae

Moving on Up!

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22
Jun 2009

So, after Zane’s last Hotshots class the coach came over to me and said he wanted to talk about Zane in the class. Now, I was a little worried since I had just been getting on to Zane about paying better attention and being a good listener. The other kids in his class have a really hard time holding still and sitting and waiting for their turn, and I was starting to see Zane pick up some of that bad behavior. So, of course, I thought he was about to get in trouble!

The coach goes on to tell me that he has noticed Zane having a hard time listening lately. (At this point I give Zane one of my signature MOM looks..you know the one…) The coach goes on to tell me that the reason he thinks Zane is having a hard time listening is because he is too advanced for this class. He thinks Zane has already mastered all the skills he has given him to learn, and likes Zane’s attitude and work ethic. He would like to extend Zane an offer to join the Competitive Boys Gymnastics Team. I was shocked!! The Team comes with a lot more of a time commitment. He now has two hour practices twice a week, and their competitive season is January – March. He will compete all around this area, and even in San Francisco!! Zane of course thinks he is Hot Stuff!!

I must say, I am really proud of him! He works really hard trying to learn any new skill his coach gives him, and he has been working out trying to build strength and flexibility! I think this is a really great thing for him, he is learning that with a lot of hard work and practice you can become really good at something! I am so excited for his first competition! I am sure I will be absolutely glowing with pride when I watch him compete! Today is his first practice, and I am so nervous for him! I know he is going to be one of the youngest kids there! I will try and sneak some pictures to post later!

Posted in The Kitchen Sink

Money Saving Tip Monday- Swagbucks!

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22
Jun 2009

Swagbucks is a company I have been using for a while! It is pretty simple, you sign up, use their search bar whenever you need to search for something online, and they randomly give you points called Swagbucks that you can then exchange for prizes! I like it because its easy, there is no commitment on my part, and nothing to lose! I have been using it for a couple months and have earned a few Amazon Gift Cards that way!

Just click on the banner above to get started! Disclaimer-I do get points for referrals, but so can you! Refer your friends and you can earn points off of their searches as well! Another great way to earn points is to add Swagbucks to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, occasionally they post codes that you can enter to earn points immediately! Once you have enough points, you can redeem them for prizes! I always get $5 amazon gift cards for 45 Swagbucks!

Posted in The Kitchen Sink

Patience.

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13
Jun 2009

I am learning patience. There are things I want to do NOW, but I know we will be better off if we wait. I really want to do Foster Care. I am so eager to sign up now, begin the process, but Ian is right. We should get ourselves a little more secure, wait until the baby is born. I just feel like there are so many children out there who just need someone to be on their side. To give them a home and a hug and someone to listen and be there until there parents can be. I feel like I have so much love to give. So instead I read and re-read the information packet the foster agency sent me, and I look for more information online. Atleast when the time is here I will feel prepared. 

Posted in The Kitchen Sink

Book Review: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

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13
Jun 2009

This book was interesting. I started out really liking it, then decided I was no longer happy with the direction it was going, then changed my mind again and decided it was simply enjoyable. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I started the book, I wanted something simple, chick lit, a nice feel good story that would be an easy read and would leave me feeling satisfied and girly at the end. Good in Bed was almost exactly on mark. The story started with Cannie discovering her boyfriend of 3 years (they had just broken up) had gotten a column in a popular magazine. His first column was entitled “Loving a Larger Woman”. I will let you guess who the article was about! There was a point where I felt the story line was going to take a too serious turn that was not in line with my previous expectations, but than it straightened paths quite nicely and the whole story came together rather pleasantly. It still had its serious moments, and a nice underlying theme of the relationships we make along lifes journey that make up our family, even when members of our biological family may fail us. The ending love interest actually surprised me in how unlikely it seemed at the beginning but then nicely it worked in the end. Overall, Good in Bed was a Good Read, perfect for a lazy day and a nice mix of humorous chick lit and a feel good story of overcoming lifes shortcomings and creating our own happiness. I give it 4 stars!

Posted in The Kitchen Sink

Happy.

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13
Jun 2009

Today is a really good day. Slept in, ate some chocolate chip pancakes and finished a book while Ian was painting Zane’s room. Zane has always had white walls, and he is now the proud owner of a rockin’ tourquise room. He is super excited, especially for his loft bed that I just got off of freecycle (to be painted a color still to be determined).

Today is one of those days that just feel so good. There is this simple calmness in my soul, that seems to be telling me that this is what I am going to look back on as one of the best times of my life. I have so much. I am in love with my life right now, and yet it is so simple. I have taken school off indefinitely, my primary job being the daycare and being the caretaker of our household (as well as incubating this little shrimp). I must say, I am not the type of person I would of imagined being a stay at home mom. My life has always been full of dreams and ambitions, there are things I want to accomplish, recognition I want to obtain. Lately, however, nothing seems more enjoyable to me than curling up on the couch with Ian and Zane in my clean and organized house and simple being. Being here and being present. It amazes me how really at the core of my being my wants are so simple. A husband that loves me indefinitely, children to spoil and love, a home that feels comfortable and lived in. Yes, there is still a desire for travel and success and accomplishments, but it all feels so secondary. Sure it would be great, but its not going to be the end of the world if I never go to Italy, never get a book published or am recognized for my outstanding achievements.  

Posted in The Kitchen Sink

The Class That Shall Not Be Named..

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11
Jun 2009

Zane loves Gymnastics! He has been doing it for a while now and it is totally his calling! He is really good at it! He is in the Beginning Boys class even though you technically are supposed to be 6 (he is still only 5) and he is by far the best kid in that class. I don’t say that as a bragging mother (okay a little bit..)he really is very focused on being really good.  Well, after class one day his teacher had Zane stay behind and called over the boys coach. She had Zane show off some of his smooth moves, including his amazing handstands. We once bet Zane he couldn’t stand on his head over a minute, he did it that day. The coaches talked for a couple minutes and then walked Zane over where they told Ian that there is a special class for Summer called Hotshots that they want to put him in. Apparently, this is a super big honor (and super secretive).

When I went to talk to the receptionist about the class, she acted like she had never heard of it. She kept looking at me suspiciously while I stumbled around trying to figure out if I had gotten the name wrong. Finally, I told her the day and time I thought the class was supposed to be, and only then did she open her book and write Zane’s name down. She looked at me mysteriously and said, “If you don’t know the day and time, your not supposed to be there..” 

I had no idea Zane’s Gymnastics was run by the Mob!*

*No offense to anyone in the Mob, friends with the Mob, or currently being harassed by the Mob.

Posted in The Kitchen Sink

Dead Wrong!

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11
Jun 2009

Well apparently I have no intuition when it comes to my own body! Zane got his wish and he is going to have a Little BROTHER!!! He is super stoked! There was a little shock adjustment period for Ian and I, but now we are ecstatic! I will gladly be the Queen over a household of boys! 

More Super Amazing News-We picked a name! With Zane we had his name the second we found out he was a boy. Having a name makes me feel like the baby is real and a part of our family already!

Drumroll Please…….

Rocky Machoian Graham!!!!!!  (okay his actual first name is going to be Rockwell, Ian insisted he have a serious first name in case he wants to be President or  a Serial Killer or something….)

We Cannot Wait to Meet Him!

Posted in The Kitchen Sink

Hmm…

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11
Jun 2009

Yesterday I cleaned my stove. JUST BECAUSE I WAS BORED. This is highly out of character for me. My daycare has really slowed down, I am down to 4 part time kids which pretty much equals 2 full time kids. Now that I am home all day I am really settling into a good routine. The only downside to this routine is its working too smoothly. My house is always clean, my errands are done, my to do list is pretty much non-existant. This leads to a lot of free time. I have a good bunch of kids right now that pretty much can play with each other without my immediate supervision, so that leaves me a lot of time. Time that can’t be spend doing really intensive things, I can’t be reading a book or watching TV, but I can clean the stove. It looks amazing. I had no idea it was black underneath all of those half cooked macaroni pieces….

Posted in The Kitchen Sink