ME

I have no time to create a scrapbook page of Me. I guess it is thematic to the fact that I have no time for "me" either. I am too busy looking at my dirty house, trying to pretend to get in a few hours of work so that I can keep full time status, although it give me a headache, because someone STOLE MY GLASSES, and because I have a small toddler, now 16 months, who is aware that Mommy isn't looking at her, and continually comes up to the computer, pushes in the keyboard, grabs my leg, swivels my chair, reaches up her two little arms, and says "Hi", wanting to be held. It's sweet, but that means I get nothing done.
I am only going to stay at 32 until bab number two gets here, because we'll be able to pay some extra bills off, and with double insurance coverage, as with Morgan, the next baby will be able to arrive via C-section, with $0 out of my own pocket, save premiums. Not even a deductible to satisfy. That's cool!
When Morgan is napping, I feel the most tormented. It's daylight, I have weeds to pull, dishes to wash, a book I could read, scrapbooking to do, but then there's also that damn work that needs to get done. She only goes down once a day for 1 1/2-2 hours, so I have to choose my occupation wisely, as there are days when time flies by so quickly that she's awake before I make a decision.
I am a very creative person, so I often find it interesting that my chosen occupation requires so little of that side of my brain. Medical claims involve rules and regulations, leaving little room for interpretation and creative thought. But it pays fairly well, I can make my own hours, I can work from home, the medical benefits are good and the premium is small, my 401K is doing better than Steve's PERS, and between all that, I gotta stick with it. But I really look forward to when our second bambino gets here, because I will definitely cut back to 20 hours a week then. It will be great if I can manage my time where I get up at 5:30-6 and get in my time before the kids are even out of bed. Then the rest of the day can be all about THEM. I sometimes feel like a bad mom because I am trying to distract Morgan with something to occupy her while I try and work, rather than giving her my undivided attention while she explores every facet of her world. I need to do better about that. In June some girlfriends pressured me into signing her up for swimming lessons. The reason I wasn't gung ho about it was because a: it's in Bend, and I will have to pay out-of-district prices as I live in Redmond b: It's in Bend, which means it will cost me $5 every time we go to class, and it's two days a week, c: it's at 5:30pm, which is Morgan's dinnertime - will she make it? .... But, Rylee, 18months, and Krysta, 12months, will be there, the class is for 6-18 month old babies, which means we'll meet a lot of other parents of kids who are the same age, and Rylee's mama works full time, so she can't do it at an earlier time, and she wants the girls to play together, so I signed up. We will just have picnics two days a week for the month of June. And, because she is so great about babysitting Morgan if I need her for a staff meeting or a wedding or such, I am dragging Sabrina and Raegan along too. It should be fun. Morgan already has her suit. I hope she likes the pool! She certainly enjoys bathtime.
Anyway, I digress. I know I don't have time for my own personal scrapbooking, but I have been scrapping a lot when I find a moment, lately. I am trying to establish myself on Ebay. I was inspired at the latest Scrapbook Convention, and then again when I came across a team of scrappers on Ebay who's creative vision should be framed displayed at the National Gallery in London, England. I want to be one of them! I have sold a few things on Ebay, have entered a few contests, and am enjoying myself. We took the closet doors off our back bedroom closet, installed a table, and I scrap in the bedroom so that I can shut the door and keep Miss Grubby Fingers from my embellishments and bits of paper. I will post a few of my latest creations. At this point, my goal is to just get my supplies paid for. I don't want to set my sights tooo high at the onset. But I am certainly addicted! Because of Morgan, I know I have 18 YEARS of childhood memories to preserve, so it is certainly a hobby that will never go out of style.
Other than that.... Steve made me go to the COCC physiology lab for this Fire Department sponsored Health Assessment. I REALLY did NOT want to go, but am glad he made me. They weighed me, squeezed my fat, and then had me walk and run on a treadmill for 20 minutes, occasionally pricking my finger, so that they could determine my VO2 rate and let me know how hard I need to work out, and at what heart rate my body starts to produce lactic acid, which isn't good. I think I am at 160. WE are going to get heart rate monitors so that when we go jogging or I take Morgan on speedy walks, I can see where I am at. It's all with the goal of being healthy. My fat % is in no way accurate, but nobody believes me. I would feel much better if they'd calipered my butt-thigh, but they did not. So the number looks good, but I know it isn't right. I've seen myself naked!
So, I am trying to work, trying to scrap, trying to be a good mama, and contemplating bab #2. I think we'll only do 2, so we are tying to determine when the best time would be to do that. I don't want this stage to go by too quickly, yet I am ready to take them to Disneyland, and Steve says we have to wait until the youngest is 48 inches so they'll remember the experience. We'd better bake a baby now!
Ahhh, there's that time thing again. I took a few minutes to catch you up on me, and now Morgan is letting me know that she is done napping now, and ready to play outside with "pooker"(Cooper), the "pane" (plane) flying overhead, the "choo choo" (trains) chugging by, a "cockooo" (cracker) in her hand, and a "dee" (drink) in the other.