Counting his blessings

James was sitting at the breakfast table this morning and out of the blue he says:  "I'm having a really good day today. I have 3 bottle right here (two had water in them. One had sparkling juice. He decided yesterday that he wants to start collecting bottles "like Daddy".). I had 3 sausages. I get to go to Lowes and we're going to Farmers' Market. I'm really lucky!" It was so refreshing to see him, in the simplicity of his four years, counting his blessings. Now I just need to follow his example.

Because Sometimes...

I woke up this morning with the overwhelming urge to bake and I knew that if I didn't, I would be a very cranky lady by day's end :). So here's the final result:

Sometimes I feel like the crazy artist you see on tv. You know, the one who gets inspired and stays up for days on end and then goes crazy and gets committed to the nut house, where he is sedated and drools all day long. Yes, it's late and I'm tired. I think I'll stop rambling now before I embarrass myself any further.

I got a job!

I had an interview with Warehouse Demo Services this morning and I got a job! YAY!! It's a temp to hire position. They are hiring a lot of people for their grand opening August 14, 15 and 16 and then they will decide that weekend who they want to keep and who they want to let go. I'm actually excited about the opportunity, because it's really hard to sell myself on paper, but in person, I know I can do it. And I get to be a sample lady! Gabby is very jealous. She wanted to come to my interview this morning because she wants to be a sample lady too. She was not very happy when I told her she had to be 18 to work as a sample lady. She didn't think that was very fair :-). Jp asked if he and Gabby could come and help me set up the samples and then Daddy could come pick them up. I had to explain to him that kiddos can't come to work with me :(.

We discovered this morning that we failed to explain some things to Gabby. When we told her Mommy got a job, she got really upset. I thought she would be excited, since it's a sample lady position, but we finally realized that she equated any job with a full time + job, like Jason has. We had to explain to her that I wouldn't be working nearly as much as Daddy, but she's still not convinced (neither am I, but I don't tell her that. Change is not my cup of tea.)

Speaking of new things...

Jp got a typewriter last weekend :0). He'd been asking for one and we found one at the church rummage sale for $5! He was sooo happy. 

And since I posted a picture of James, I thought I'd throw one of Gabby in too, just for kicks.

New Beds!

We got a great deal on a new bed this weekend. Gabby had nearly outgrown hers, so we started looking on Craigslist and found a great deal on a Captain's bed. We gave Gabby Jp's twin bed, which, as you can see, she LOVES!

Jp got the new captains bed, which he also loves. It's REALLY high and he has to use a stool or the drawers to climb into the bed. It came with a really good mattress too.

During the assembling process, we decided that Gabby has a future as a Craftsman model.

A new park

We found a new park this evening. We drove around for 1/2 an hour looking for it, only to find out we were on the opposite end of town and that the park was a couple blocks from where we had started (duh!). The park, though, is fantastic!!! It has a water feature similar to Cypress St park, huge soccer field, a nice play structure, etc, and it's only about 5 miles from our house. We will definitely be going back. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so no pictures :(.

I went job hunting today. FRUSTRATING!!! Very few places are hiring and those that are seem to have a lot of applicants. I turned in 7 applications and checked a few other places that either were out of applications or weren't taking them. We'll see what happens.

I have to get the kids to bed, but I wanted to pop on and say a quick hello. More later!

GREAT NEWS!!!!

I just got off the phone with a woman from our church who is in charge of Bunco night on July 31st. She wants me to do the cake! I was excited until she told me to expect 50 or more people. YIKES!!! Now I'm REALLY excited! WOOHOO! Oh, and I get to make it a summertime themed cake and it's going to serve as part of the decor. Oh, and she's paying me for the ingredients. YAY! I'm excited! Can you tell?

A quick update

I thought I should jump in and let you all know that yes, we are still alive :-). We got back from Oregon safe and sound Saturday and have been recovering ever since, while trying not to melt. We've got quite the heat wave going right now. High around 112 yesterday. It's currently, at 3pm, 106, with a predicted high of 11o and a low of ... drumroll please...77 woppin' degrees. I am sooooo glad we have air-conditioning and I'm investing in a case of kleenex for the day we get our electric bill :-). In all seriousness, though, we are doing well. The heat here is much more "pleasant" than Oregon's heat because it's very, very dry, so you don't really feel like you're in a sauna all the time.

The kids and I have been staying busy. We have a new neighbor who has a 5 year old son that JP is dying to meet. I went over there last night to bring them a cake I had made for them (yes, I baked when on a 112 degree day, but I figured if I waited until it cooled down, they would never get their cake, and besides, and can only go so many days without decorating a cake and it didn't look like the heat was going to let up any time soon.) Anyway, I got to meet our neighbor Mary and her son Cain, but Jp was already getting ready for bed when they got home, so he wasn't able to meet them yet. They are gone during the day, so maybe this evening, I'll take Jp next door to meet him. Tomorrow, Bible study starts again (YAY!). We'll be doing a Beth Moore study. I've never done one before, but I hear they are really good, so I'm looking forward to that. I feel kind of guilty though because Bible Study and library story time are at the same time, so the kids have to miss story time for me to go to Bible Study :(. Right now, though, Thursday morning is the only time for women's Bible Study at our church. They kind of stop everything during the summer, which is frustrating, but oh, well. I'm looking forward to September, when there will be other times that I can go and the kids can go back to story time.

Jp's getting excited about preschool. His registration day is August 1st, although school doesn't start until the day after labor day. I'm excited for him. He's so ready to learn reading and writing and math, and I'm just not very skilled when it comes to teaching preschoolers. I have no doubt that he will be reading by the end of the year, and then a whole new world will be opened to him. I can't wait! I also have a feeling he will be doing a lot of reading to Gabby, since she LOVES books so much and he loves her so much :0).

Friday is swim day with Mom's Club again and I can hardly wait! This heat wave has made me want to throw our debt plan out the window and just buy a house now so we can have our own pool. I know. I know. Patience is a virtue that I am apparently lacking right now :-).

Tonight, I'm planning on heading out after dinner to go fill out applications at local grocery stores. Now that all of our visits and vacations are over (with the exception of Jenny coming next weekend, but that's only for one day), I'm hoping to get a job very soon. I talked to a clerk at Save Mart last night (our version of Albertsons) and she said it's a great store to work in and that they are always looking for someone, especially in the deli/bakery department. The cakes they put out are butt-ugly (imho), but if I could get a job in the bakery, it would teach me speed, which I lack. But even if I end up in a different department, the clerk made a point that I thought was very good. She said that even when the economy is down, people still have to buy groceries and a grocery store is a much more stable place to work in this economy then, say, a restaurant. So we'll see what happens with that.

Gotta run!