A normal, boring woman as usual……

Crafting and sewing, that is.  It is therapy to me, but lately, I have not picked up the sewing machine nor the jewelry pliers OR the scissors for cutting out squares for making quilts at all?  Could it be summer that is keeping me away from the “therapy sessions” or is it the fact my mind needs a break from crafting?  Or is it the fact that the house will always remain messy and have to clean up as usual that I will never have the time to sit down and do it?  Or is it the fact that DS is still the “handful” one that distracts me from doing so?

Yesterday, DS and I went to pick DH up from work and when DH came out with co-workers, they looked like they were in distress.  DH told me that his boss could not give him a raise because “it was not in the budget”.  On the other hand, a 22-year-old guy, recently a new father, was given a 2-dollar raise (3 dollars more than what DH made), which got the whole staff SHAKING their heads, why?  For starters, this 22-year-old guy was ALWAYS late for work (believe me, when I passed his house after dropping DH off at work, he was out of the house into his truck the TIME his shift STARTED), and always leaves whenever he pleases (which got the foreman mad!), and one day two weeks ago, he had to deliver an auger to a farm 25 miles from the city, and he got into an ACCIDENT which the RCMP found HIM at fault, as he was SPEEDING carelessly, and not only he lost control on the highway, the auger flipped and the car behind the truck and auger, ran into the ditch and flipped, too.  The driver of the car walked away with little or no injuries (thanks to the seltbelt!).  He was fined $225.  And the farmer who bought the auger was ANGRY that he had to pay extra to replace the auger he originally selected.  And he GOT a RAISE?  DH’s other co-worker is a father of two, same age as DH (32) and is a HARDWORKER. And he was denied a raise the whole three years he worked in.  He can’t figure out WHY.  So tomorrow (officially) is his last day, and is going to work at another rival dealership (which my dad normally gets his tractor parts from) starting this Monday.  When DH’s co-worker told his boss that he was leaving, he simply said,”nice working with you”.  Dh and his foreman are keeping themselves ZIPPED until they find something better.  I know DH worked hard to work in a company that he has exact qualifications for, but to be able to gain more experience that he liked, but for a pay 2 dollars more than a minimum wage?  We made sacrifices on this part.

I know from earlier posts that other moms convinced me to take up part time work, like selling Avon and MK, as well as Partylite and Discovery, but there are so many moms PROMOTING themselves in this city, how do I go about winning more customers from them?  Meanwhile, I will trying to keep going with crafts and hopefully sell them out.

I hope life gets better for all of us.

And that is where the “Frugal Living” board comes in on CPO.

Well, lately, it has been bothering me that DH was looking at homes for sale online and whined that he was sick and tired of renting, and announced it was time to own a REAL home.  My reaction?  DO I HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN?  I can remember the time when my bachelor-farmer uncle passed away from heart failure due to cancer and diabetes, he loved us 10 nephews and nieces that he left us the inheritances, just enough for me to put to a down payment towards the house.  But the bank was so unsure of our credit history and suggested we have a co-signor, which my Dad was the only person who agreed to doing it.  But when my dad was about to co-sign, he had to read the terms and conditions of CHMC, and he DECLINED.  Actually, I don’t blame him.  We have been warned before by our family members who battle CHMC and lost, forced to pay the money which should have been used towards renovations and repairs.  But my dad had a better way.  With my inheritance and his inheritance ( life insurance beneficiary money) from my uncle’s estate, we bought the house in FULL (through a private sale without the use of realtor) with DH as the non-owning spouse.  It was cheap, but it was better than as what dad said,”better to have it our own than to have some bank own something”.  We were planning alot of renovations and budgets (so far, we got the plumbing replaced, from copper to strong PVC piping that improved the clean water quality and made the flow of the water FASTER, as well, it was DARN CHEAP, nothing leaked at ALL, as well as painting the walls to the colors we love).  Well, suddenly, I was laid off from the cooking job and the wife of the boss did something to tick me off, so I was not called back to the job, which upsets me.  But my doctor told me that I need to take it easy since I was pregnant at that time, so I couldn’t work at all.  My DH worked with dad as a farm hand to make ends meet, and we did ok.  DH actively updated his resume to the mine every week, and it was a constant chore that after eight years of updating, he gave up.  The mine office administration would NOT look at the locals’ resumes at all, they were looking for resumes coming from OUT of PROVINCE.  After DS was born, we were experiencing problems with the whole town in GENERAL, from jobs to people.  And when one day the power was cut off for one day due to missed payment, my MIL angrily paid the power bill to get it back on.  It was to the point that night after the power came back on, I put DS to bed and DH and I sat down and talked about our future living here in town.  I said,”If no one are willing to hire us, then why are we still here in town?  We may as well leave!”  So it did not take long to make the painful decision to leave town for the city, with the house on the market PRIVATELY (the local realtors wanted too much money for  fees and closing costs, in which we will never anything in return).  My dad and MIL were angry at us for our decision to stick to, but my mom and FIL were very supportive as we have to do what right for us as a family.  So we went back to renting in the city, and it is a fourplex townhouse at a reasonable rent rate.  Four months after we moved to the city, the house was finally sold to a distant cousin of my DH, who decided to moved back to his hometown after living in Ontario for 35 years, and was recently widowed (his wife died and had to be travelled back here to be buried with her family members).  “W”, the cousin, asked us what was our plan for the house, so we told him about the renovation plans, and he pretty much did what we told him, replace the old carpet in the living for hardwood flooring, and installed new carpets in the two bedrooms.  I find that selling the house privately was much proved difficult because of potential buyers and their style and their likings.  But it is all over for now, and I am not sure if I miss the house or not, it is the hometown I don’t miss at all.  I wish I could swear and make offensive comments against the town, but it is all over.

Until now,……

DH is waiting for the inheritance to come through from his mom’s estate, but I doubt it will be much, as when MIL found out she had cancer two years ago, she was on a lifetime of going on a spending spree, from buying a huge camper to brag to her camping neighbours, to buying a handycam that we can never afford, as well have the house renovated (my FIL didn’t want to, as he hated change) to buying things that we can never afford.  Dh believed that FIL can help with the co-signing now that she is not here anymore, and I still have doubts, STILL.  I would love to go to work to bring more money home, but I have to pay for childcare and all that.  But I still have nagging doubts to wait LONGER than usual, but still put away more money as usual.

Ugh, I don’t want to ever think of going through the process of buying a house again ever, even with the non-stop rising prices of homes.

And I am craving for FREEZIES!  Sounds crazy, but it is a warm day and I am queasy LOL.

Today, my neighbours (a young couple) are moving out of the fourplex to move in to a house just a 5 minutes’ drive from here.  They are happy but SCARED at the same time as they noticed that they will be making payments in monthly at 900 dollars, 400 dollars more than what they pay for rent.  I asked if the house is well maintained and fixed up, ready to move in and they said no, because they are going to the bank for renovation loan to replace old drywall and floorings before placing their new appliances in.  I wished them luck (no, I did not ask about the water heater and furnace because that would freak them out! LOL)

My DH was thinking yesterday that since he is there at his job for three months, never have been late, always did the tasks like his boss ordered him to do (didn’t bother him at all, gotta keep himself busy), learned new things that he could do it easily from his two seasoned co-workers, worked a bunch of Saturday mornings as scheduled, that he was going to ask his boss for a RAISE today.  I have to wish him luck, too.  If not, he is planning on applying at the canola-crushing plant because it is better money and benefits.  So I will see what happens for sure.

Ok, I am wondering, is the morning sickness not as bad on second and third pregnancies as the first one?  When I was on my first pregnancy, I was so sick, and had edema as well as high blood pressure for the whole time.  But with the third pregnancy, I am queasy for an hour but I will be fine for the next three hours and then get queasy and dizzy for and hours and then I will be fine for the rest of the day.  And I never get queasy overnight like I used to.  Somebody share your experience with me! LOL

For now, I should take DS out for a walk to get some fresh air.

My family doctor told me I am pregnant!  But I haven’t announced it to everyone just yet, but we chose to leave it later during the time. DH already knew and is very excited, and I told my cousin “D” that I am, and she was very excited, too (she has two grown kids of her own), but when I told my Mom, she looked nervous, but I told her not to tell the rest of the family as DH and I will do it later.  She was ok with it, but I can tell she is a bit worried about me and everything, from how well the pregnancy goes, to how we will manage raising the family financially and emotionally.  For now, DH, DS and I will cherish every moment of my second pregnancy (and LAST!) as usual.  Does this means I hafta give up coffee and Coca-cola for the next nine months or LONGER (depending on how far the baby will depend on breastmilk)?

Oh, bathroom break!

Ah,..there, I feel better now.  I wonder if going up and down the stairs for bathroom breaks will help me stay in shape during pregnancy?

And the ‘ol grouchy cat is not looking forward to the fact that DH has to remember to clean the litter box every weekend, since she knows he forgets and I normally did when I was not pregnant LOL.  Sorry, cat, but you hiss and snarl at him about the litter, not me LOL.

Well, I should go do dishes and then get the place cleaned up so that way I can finish up the rag quilt.

I just have to wait around and take care of myself until I see my hometown family doctor.  And I hope I don’t go through the same ordeal like I did last October.  I have posted about my retained miscarriage in the Pregnancy loss (somewhere if I can find it!) but I am hoping for the best since DH and I just want another and LAST one so the family is complete. So I will keep my fingers crossed for the best.

I don’t want to tell alot of people I know, including my parents and FIL, just yet until later when I find out if it’s viable or not.  But even if I am pregnant, I still do not want to announce it AT ALL to people that have been very negative to us (SILs, my sister, and those who don’t like kids, and those who complain about the cost of raising kids:S)  So why my DH and I feel that way about not announcing to those people at all?  For starters, when I first found out I was pregnant with DS, instead of getting a congratulations from them, we were cut down for several ridiculous reasons:

-”Pregnant?  So, when are you getting rid of the cat? And when are you going to get rid of the fish?”(my sister)

-”Pregnant?  And my brother is going to be a father?  Yeah right, as if he is going to teach this kid to drink beer at a young age.” (SIL)

-”Pregnant?  Well, you better starting for someone else to care for your child, because it is HARD work, and you rather be working your career than to be a mom”.  (the other SIL)

-An ex-friend of DH looked at him and said”You knocked her up?  Oh great, that means I have to pay more taxes to put towards CTB cheques for you guys to go and spend on luxurious toys that are crappy and useless?”

-Another ex-friend of DH got mad at him for not being careful with birth control.  He told him that DH should be be doing more time with his buddies than to be with the baby and I.

-And lastly, people accused me of getting pregnant to catch up with other women with kids to “fit in the group”.  To me, I never liked these moms from the hometown, anyways, because their snobbish, nose-upper personalities are still the same.

Sounds pretty cruel?  Well, these comments are coming from a hometown that is pretty CLOSE-minded and open-discriminated to hurt other people verbally and emotionally.  But here in the city, people we talk to are respectful and open-minded to issues.  So glad to be away from the small town life for the better.

But, for now, the waiting for appointment continues,………………..

Well, we put on a multi-family yard sale despite the strong wind weather, and we managed to sell ALOT of items to reduce the clutter but, to me, not very much for lots of space, but that’s alright, because my BIL and his wife are putting on the garage sale shortly as they are planning to move to Winnipeg (so that is what their plan is,………) and they told us to bring the unsold items over to their house for the garage sale. So far, the high chair is sold as well as the exersaucer, lots of newborn clothes, lots of babies’ toys, and the stereo equipment that we couldn’t use due to space.  It helped with the reducing of clutter but still not quite.  It was sad to see most of the baby stuff go, but it was for the best to move forward and see that DS got a new outfit and a couple of new toys, using some of the proceeds from the yard sale.

Today, I had to get two bags of soil to fill pots ready for flowers, but realized I need to get ONE more bag because three other pots are still empty.  In two long planters, I planted salad greens and herbs.   In some clay pots, I planted the seeds of marigolds, zinnias and Stocks.  But I will find more variety of plants at the local greenhouse to add to the pots later on. 

Well, I counted my days on the calendar and realized I am six days late, no period.  Hm,…….. 

I’ll wait and see what happens.

Well, yesterday morning, DS crawled into our bed at 5:45 AM and slept with DH and I for a while.  Then by 7:30, DH told me to sleep in while he took DS to the kitchen for a little breaskfast.  So it was nice to sleep in for an extra hour.  After getting up and took a shower, I came out to find that DS fell asleep AGAIN in the couch after being grumpy with DH.  So DH made me a nice breakfast and did up the dishes.  How nice he did for me.  He even did one load of laundry.  How nice of that, too.  Until lunch time comes around,…….

He didn’t make lunch and supper at all, and it wasn’t about the fact that he had no clue how to make the meals.  It was the fact he was stressed out over the fact that because I have tried to save the last 100 dollars for this week’s groceries, but he ended up spending it on the tools needed for work and didn’t listen to me about getting a few groceries for this week.  Sure, we have enough meat, rice and potatoes, as well as oranges and PLENTY of diapers, but no vegetables for five days as well as how can I spend $3.25 on something I have to decide between eggs and 1 litre of milk?  So I ended up being creative with lunch and supper with whatever I can make the two guys full and satisfied.  And he didn’t do the supper dishes at all.  I even had to fold up the laundry he started.  Sigh, so much for Mother’s day.  Next year, I won’t bother with the fact that there is Mother’s day.  Call it just another day.  Sorry to say it, but I just can’t win and just can’t get my way at all.

Well, time for me to pull out the sewing machine and do some more sewing projects, if DS will let me LOL.  I hope Pocoyo keeps him occupied.

It is Friday, and the weather is cloudy and cold.  I want it to be nice and sunny, but I feel down without sun.  But I think I can mange getting the soil I had from last year to plant herbs so they will be ready for use year-round.  DH is worried if we have enough food to get us for a week before his next paycheck, but since I did some baking yesterday, which I made raisin scones (I love them!) and chocolate chip cookies (DH loves them!) and I am still looking for another recipe that is simple and cheap (I could do snickerdoodles, but DH thinks he is tired of them after a week) but I will keep looking.  I have bought two warehouse meat packs that were priced to reduce (pork steaks, in which I make the marinade from scratch to make kabobs) as well as mild italian sausages (my dad craves them) so that should get us through this week, since last week, I bought a three-pack whole frying chicken (priced to reduced, too) and since I used one up last friday and another one last night, I will leave the last one for next week.

Later the next night,……..

DH and I rummaged through a whole bunch of stuff that were stored away in the storage room since either we moved in or since the last garage sale in August of last year.  Or was it when I had to find the snow shovel to clean the sidewalk with the neighbour because the resident manager was useless and lazy to do it?  As we were looking through the stuff, I found more crafting items that I almost forgot I have them and that I will put them to use for the farmer’s market this summer, as we’ll hold another yard sale later in the summer, depending how much stuff is sold.  I still love yard sales still, but this year, I will only find what I NEED, not out of impulse that I don’t need LOL.

So tomorrow is Mother’s day.  I get the day off tomorrow from housework and cooking.  I wonder if this will give me the chance to do my crafts without any interruption?  Stay tuned!

Okay, I got the adapter now. There,………..

This weekend was alright but a little so-so.  Friday night, the place was pretty quiet as it was three months since DH’s mom passed away.  It didn’t seem like yesterday, but it felt like it has been a long time I almost forgot of her.  But we have items that reminds us of her, from two cross-stitch works she did, one for our wedding, and one for her new grandson (DS).  Even the box of stuff she gave me (from painted plaster ornaments she painted to the unfinished baby quilt blocks she was to finish 23 years ago but never did), these were the reminders that she wanted us to move on and be happy and free from stress and anger. It is quite odd that before she passed away, DH and I had money worries ALL THE TIME, as he was going through four jobs that did not last at all, as well as worry if we have sufficient amount of diapers to last before each paycheque (otherwise I had recieving blankets and babylock safety pins on hand, which DH and my mom HATED).  I had tried to find part time jobs to work opposite his shifts but the bad part was, his shifts were so odd, it was very difficulat to work around it.  By the time we got the call from Sister Cecilia of the Grey Nuns, 8:30 that Friday night the first week of February, informing that MIL was not making progress due to cancer and was rushed to the hometown hospital, we had to call my parents that we were on the way from the city to hometown to be at the hospital so they had to wait for us to drop DS off to them and be on the way to the hospital. We were pretty much in her room almost the WHOLE night through and by 10:30 am the next morning, she was gone.  After the funeral (and after a blowup from two mean SILs telling us that we are FAILURES!), we came back to the city, and next thing happened (no I am not talking about a bright sun shining through the window from the cloudy sky), DH got a call from the farm dealership for a job interview. The next day, he went for the job interview and got the job on the spot.  Next thing, DH took his income tax paperwork to the accountant, and he got a huge refund that helped us get food to stock up on, as well as pay off the rent and bills.  Then when his first paycheque came, it was pretty huge, that we had money leftover to pay the rent THREE WEEKS EARLIER before the due date. To this day, we did not have any money worries like we used to.  And because starting tomorrow, DH is going on 8-hour shifts instead of ten-hour shifts, which I don’t know if that really bothered me at all, since his foreman told him to be prepared for unexpected 10-hour shifts in some weeks depending on service calls and number of farmers needing emergency replacement parts to continue seeding and harvesting. So do I feel the money worries coming on again?  Not really, because this summer, I hardly will be using alot of power and heat as well as the use of our SUV, because we are very outdoorsy. And this is an opportunity to go for walks everyday, as well as lots of outings and events happening in the city.  But I will see what goes on this week, depending on how busy the seeding time goes.

Yesterday, we went on a garage sale spree in the morning, and we were finding alot of things we never expect to see. DH found a certain tool set he has been needing for work, DS was fascinated with books that I thought were long out of print, and I found some craft and sewing items worth pennies, in which I am planning on making denim coin purses and mini-sacks, or whatever I could think of.  Then we went grocery shopping and then filled up the SUV on $40 dollars worth, and then come home and relax for the whole day.

Today was supposed to be a lazy day, but I found myself doing two loads of laundry, doing the dishes TWICE, as well as sweeping the floor and organizing the toys AGAIN.  ANd what did DH and DS do? DH was at the computer then upon logging off, he would be watching the classic vehicle shows, as well as step-by-step vehicle garage shows, and since they were all reruns (they were shown four times the last two weekends), so he was back to the computer.  DS, on the other hand, was emptying out the toybox for toys to play, and when the toybox was empty, he looked around to see if the grouchy ‘ol cat was in the same room he is in, and if she is there, he would go to her and poke and prod her.  Nope, she didn’t harm him at all, like, what would life be like if DS wasn’t around? She would be very BORED.

Well, nothing new happened. I wished something good would come along for me to talk about that ALOT, but life is life. 

I think I should log out for the night.  I am tired,…………………………….

Yesterday was pretty stressful, due to a little boy going through an early case of “Terrible Two’s” even he doesn’t turn 2 until September 9.  And when he refused to nap, I nearly wanted to cry because I was so worn out from all the hearing of screaming and tantrums.  And after I put him to bed, I broke down.  DH suggested we should get my mom to take her grandson for a weekend so we could have a break.  I would love that, but how?  And WHEN, depending on mom’s boss and her “scheduling” at the bar kitchen.

So this morning, I dreaded getting up to face the temper-tantrum day, but to my shock, DS climbed onto our bed with a cute,”HI!”  At breakfast time, he ate his favorite oatmeal without tossing the dish to the floor, in which I have to get the vacuum out.  And he never threw a fit to seeing his daddy go to work.  Later this morning, I took him grocery shopping, and he pointed to bananas, in which I picked it up and he smiled at me.  I know he loves bananas.  Then he pointed to oranges and green grapes.  He loves them, too.  When it comes to going by the snack section, I was surprised that he did not scream for cheese puffs or Twisties.  He was too busy babbling to me as I was going along with picking up what I needed.  At lunch time, instead of dropping the food on the floor for our grouchy ol’ cat to play at it, he ate the whole lunch, which consisted of ravioli.  And he did not spit out the sippy cup of milk like he normally do.  And when it was time for an afternoon nap, he did not cry out at all when he went to lay down in his bed.  He was fast asleep the minute he laid down.  Two hours later, he woke up smiling, all refreshed.  By the time DH came home from work, the boys played peekaboo and hide-n-seek while I grilled up the food on the BBQ.  At suppertime, DS did not throw the food down tot he floor at all, not only surprised DH, but got the cat mad that she could not get pasta and peas at all.  Now, I am thinking,”is this the same kid I gave birth to, or what?”  And tonite, there was no bedtime struggles at all.  He snuggled up in his bed while I sang him a couple of songs.  After the lights were turned out, I felt better, unlike yesterday.  Now I am thinking, I wonder what it will be like as he goes for his storytime at the library tomorrow morning?  We’ll see.

 Stay tuned,…………………………..