Erika's random words and thoughts

Happy New Yr!!! 2011 Update!

2011-01-15T23:54:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I have not update my blog in soooo long. Oh well Facebook may be to blame LOL

Anyways lots of things are happening, I was blessed w a part-time job and I will start on monday ;) I'm supper excited and cant wait. The best part is that Keilah will be able to come with me and I can work from home and make my own hours!

Sam is still working away and going to school but took a semester off since it was really affecting K. She would act out and was missing him too much.

We are still in the same house and no activity has happened from the bank so we are tnkful that we still have a roof over our head!

We also started the yr 2011 w a trip to Disney! I entered K in a contest and she won 4 tickets to Disney. We all had a blast and can't wait to go again.

Christmas was great K didnt get too many things which was perrrfect b/c she already has sooo much! She did get the leapster explorer and we all love it! She loves it b/c it has a puppy game and I love it b/c it's the only way she will get in her stroller so that I can walk and get some exercise.

Right now I'm planning her 4th b-day it's going to be a puppy theme party of course! I can't believe how time flies!

That's all I can think of from the top of my head!

Is being tnkful...

2010-09-03T21:53:00.002-04:00

even when sometimes I feel that life is not fair! So after reading an e-mail I decided to blog about it!
Today I got the 'weekly' update from a young mom-to-be that lost her husband 3months, I cant even imagine the pain and mourning that she is going thru. But through it all she decided to be tnkfull in the midst of chaos. Yes her life is going to be hard raising a baby as a 'single mom' but at least she has God by her side encouraging her and guiding her in the darkest moments that she feels at times.
Sometimes even lil things in life tick us off like the Internet is not fast enough, we dont make enough $ for this or that or the lady at the drive thru messed up my order but REALLY is all that important or have we gotten to the point that we think we deserve it all??! Sometimes I need the kick in the rear to put it all into perspective... that is God is the giver of all things and our purpose in her life is to Glorify HIM in all that what we say and do.
So I will be tnkful today for my beautiful family God has given to me! I will be tnkful when my 3yr old talks my ears out some days and is like the energizer bunny. I will be tnkful when we have to move from our home b/c after the lay off we can no longer afford a small 2bedroom house! Yes I will be tnkful b/c God knows our needs and he cares for us and will provide accordingly.
Will you be willing to be tnkful today too?! tnkful for another beautiful day that God has given to us!
Also take a moment to pray for all those going thru a rough patch some are dealing w a sickness or cancer or recently lost a loved one. Please pray that God will comfort them and that we will not be sooo focused on our 'personal' lives that we will miss what others r going thru!

Excersise Routine...

2010-08-04T20:40:00.002-04:00

Those that know me know that I'm NOT a morning person and I dont like getting up early for what ever reason! Ok maybe if we headed for a cruise or to Disney! LOL

Well the last 3 weeks I'm happy to announce that I HAVE been getting up early by 'early I mean 7am!!! YES I consider this early since my toddler usually sleep in until 8 or 9am. The reason I have been getting u early is to WALK WALK WALK and do my exercise for the day. I walk from my street to the end of Naples Park (aprox 13blocks) one way so total of 26blocks. It's been great I really enjoy spending that 'me' time and I also meditate and pray about friends and family.

One of the main reasons I started to walk again were my new SKECHERS shape up's sneaks that I got as a mother's day gift! I use to walk w K all the time everyday to Publix supermarket a few streets down the road, but w the FLA heat it's just tooo much for lil K and she doesn't like the stroller anymore!

I have been wanting to write a review for a while but I always come up w an excuse and never come around it! SO i will make it nice and simple Q&A...

Would I recommend them?! YES absolutely
Have they helped me to 'tone up' or 'shape up'?! they do make ur legs feel stronger and w an excersise routine after my walk I would say YES they def help u tone up
Is it 'worth' the $?! from my blog name u can tell that I'm very careful where and how we spend our $ and this was the first time i have ever spent sooo much $ on shoes!!! That being said since it was a 'gift' and I don't wan this gift to just sit there I'm even more motivated to use them and work out since they were SO much $!
Can u run in them?! I would say NO they r meant for walking only
Any complaints in the last months? Nope no complaints at all other than price! LOL

If u have any ? about them or would like more info just leave a comment and I will get back to u.

Memories of my Grandma...

2010-06-19T19:49:00.003-04:00

My grandma from PR (my mom's mom) went to be w Jesus on Fri. June 18th, 5 days after her 83rd b-day! She was a strong woman that inspired all of of and always cared about others. She died peacefully in her sleep after a very agonizing day of pain and suffering. She loved God and was not afraid to say it. About a yr ago we discovered that she had been suffering from uterus prolapse and after many studies we found out she had cancer. A few months ago she also fell from her bed and had surgery in her leg to repair the damage. She could no longer walk and was forced to quit working (yes at her age she still worked hard) she really didn't have to work but she loved to cook and helped a local buss make their fried foods (alcapurias, rellenos etc =typical puertorican foods)
After I received the call from my mom I was numb i didn't know how I should feel, in a way I was sad that she was gone but she's also no longer suffering and in pain and she is HOME w Jesus something that we all strive for!!!
In this post I will post some of the memories I have as a child in PR. As you may or may not know I was born in PR and was raised there until I was about 7yrs old. I remember when we (PR cousins)all use to play in my grandma's house running around like kids do and playing w this huge tree in front of her house (looking back in reality it wasn't that big LOL) I remember walking to a lil candy store around the block and she would give us $ to get what ever we wanted! My grandma would also allow us to jump on her bed and let us sleep w the tv on, she was a supper cool grandma ;) My grandma also use to have chickens, pigs and rabbits and we would play w the lil chicks and she allowed us to take a bunny home!!! In her backyard she had a tree that has a fruit similar to cherries they are acerolas and me and my sis would climb the lil shed in the back and pick the fruit from the tree! My grandma was a great cook, she would make the best typical puertorican dishes from pasteles to dulce de coco.
PR is a beautiful island but unfortunately there is a lot of crime. My grandma showed her inner strength when my grandpa was shot and killed by thieves robbing the community he use to guard. It was a shock to us all and I think after this event my parents decided to move to the US.
One of the things that my grandma would do every yr is send me a b-day or mother's day card she didn't have much but she made sure she always included some $ in it. She also remembered all of the other cousins b-day and sent them a card too!
I know that she is gone and I will no longer be able to visit her in PR or talk w her on the ph, but I will hold these memories close to my heart and always remember the sweet, loving and caring grandma that I last visited in 2009.

May update...

2010-05-27T19:04:00.002-04:00

yes i know i have been slacking in the blogging dept but if u have me as a 'friend' on fb then u can keep up w me ;)
A few things are happening one of the big one's is that we put our house in the market and praying it all goes thru smoothly. We will still rent in this area until sam is done w school and then we will decide what to do next. Sam is doing great in school he's such a nerd b/c he keeps getting really good grades! Sam is doing good at his job he's really enjoying it b/c he can put into practice what he is learning in school at work.
K is getting bigger and smarter by the min i think by next yr she will pass me! LOL i'm only 4'11" ;) K is now loves company logos and can read/recognize or spell a lot of them, Publix, UPS, and many car makes just to name a few. Her lil personality is really starting to show and the poor girl has my 'perfectionist' gene in her. Just the other day I found a crayon when we were on our way out so i just placed it on the art easel to put it away in the drawer later. Then K says no mom that goes in my drawer put it away please!!! She was right I always tell her that everything has a place and it needs to be put away there and she was NOT going to let me brake my own rules! LOL She is also intrigued by the past, present and future, she wakes up and says is it the future yet?! and day we r in the present right?! Too smart for her own good! She did have a hard time when I first told her that in the future we will have to move to a different house but now she asks when are we going to see the new house?! We r praying that we get at least a 2bedroom guest house since we have a lot of K outside toys that we dont want to get rid off. We are already moving K from the only place she's known so i dont want to give away her things too!
As for me I'm doing ok just taking it one day at a time and trying not too stress about lil things. It's a lil stressful b/c 3 days out of the week I'm a 'single mom' since sam goes to school at night and i have to take care of K all day and all night long w no break b/c she doenst nap. SO far I havent 'lost' it yet but have come very close and I usually put myself in 'time-out' We dont spank her at least not yet and we dont scream or yell at her so it can be 'tricky at times when we have to discipline her. Usually a 'threat' for a time-out will have her stop the behavior b/c she knows I WILL go thru w it and she will NOT get away w it. Also takign away priviledges has worked for her and she remembers next time. SO besides the challenging times we all have tons of fun and sometimes I forget she's only 3! She talks up a storm and we can carry a conversation about what ever is in very imaginative mind! She still calls me her best friend and I just love every min that i get to spend w my lil K ;)

The universe

2010-04-24T21:41:00.003-04:00

I Love to look at pictures of the universe and wonder of how many more galaxies are out there! It's amazing how we 'earth' is only a speck in an imense space filled w trillions of stars and galaxies. Often me and Sam talk about how God was showing off his grandness and glory by creating the universe! Today is the hubble's 20th yr and it has taken some great pics over the yrs... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/photogalleries/100424-hubble-telescope-20th-anniversary-pictures/#hubble-cloudy-nebula-ngc-602_19426_600x450.jpg
I'm amazed everytime I see these pics and I'm reminded of the verse in the bible that speaks of it... Psalms 8:3-4
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
I thank God that he cares for us and that he sent Jesus to pay for our sins! God is good and his love endures for ever!

2010 has been good so far!!!

2010-04-05T22:05:00.002-04:00

Compared to the yr 2008 and 2009 this yr has been a great yr for us! We start off the yr and Sam still has a job which is good news! Then K turned 3 and we did a sm party at our house w yummy cake from Kakes by Karen! Then we just found out we are getting a 'refund' for our taxes and we will be able to 'pay-off' some of the debt we accumulated when Sam was um-employed for a yr! Trust me I wish I can just go 'cruising' LOL But u know 'me' my blog name says it all!!! And I just found out today that Sam's boss is giving him a CAR!!! YAY no it's def not a new car but it's a FREE car!!! All he has to do is get it from another state here so we will see how this goes! ;)
We rejoice in all the blessings we have and we tnk God for every bit of it including our health and well-being. We also pray for all those that are un-employed b/c we know how hard it is not having a job to provide for the fam!

Long time....

2010-03-10T20:17:00.002-05:00

Lately I have been forgetting to blog! sorry if any one out there is really following or reading LOL
Trying to keep up w a very energetic 3yr old drains me out and by the end of the night I just want to do NOTHING. Specially since she doesnt nap at all anymore and is go go go from the time she gets up!
Nothing new or interesting going on just taking it in one day at a time. In Feb we celebrated K 3rd b-day YAY and we did a sm party in our backyard, she had a lot of fun. On her 'actual' b-day her lil pre-school friends came over and we had 'pre-school' here where we learned about music and sang K happy-b-day!!!
We have also decided that one child is good for us and I have been selling and giving away all of K baby 'stuff' from toys to clothes! All i need to get rid of is the crib and the mattress, i think i will re-post it in craig's list. I think hubby still wants another one but I'm DONE!!! So we will see what happens in the next few yrs, maybe a 'puppy' will fill in that gap for another child for sam LOL.

Kakes by Karen cakes r yummy!!!

2010-02-20T22:37:00.003-05:00

Karen is going to do K b-day cake and I cant wait to see the finished product!!! Her wedding cakes are amazing and she is sooo artistic. Not only are the cakes beautiful they also taste delicious!!!
We got to 'sample' these beautiful cupcakes she made just for K and they were amazingly good!!! Everything from the cake to the frosting was supper yummy and I would definetly recommend her for your next event. I will do a follow up post of K chicka chicka boom boom cake, there's a 'hint' for ya!
As u can see from the pic we had already eaten 3 of then before we got home! LOL K carseat was covered in cake crumbs but she loved it!

Confessions of a 'Real Housewife'...

2010-02-05T22:47:00.002-05:00

Real as in not like the show Desperate housewives (yes i do watch it LOL)

Anyways these last few weeks I have been 'experimenting' w our tile floors, not really but u will read on. And u thought budgetfreak & germafreak mom couldnt get any worst?! muhahahah
Well at the conclusion of my 'experiment' big word for not much study, but our home is a shoe free home now!!! U might think this is not a big deal but the floors stay clean much longer!!! I know it's true it's been proven!!! I have become really paranoid about clean floors and now even the dog gets his paws wiped when he comes in b/c he brings in junk like lil piece of grass or sticks. And he is always dripping his slobber everywhere so that doesnt go well w shoe dirt! yuck. He is tempting me to put a bib on him!
First thing in the morning that I do is sweep and after dinner-before bed time i try to sweep as well. U night think it's overexagerated but when u have an 80lb Golden retirever shedding like crazy u will see why I have to constantly sweep! Now I only have to mop once a week YAY and the house looks clean all the time!
Another thing that I have been trying to do is make our bed! U may find this easier said than done but my thought was why bother if I will mess it up again tonight! and who cares nobody comes to my room anyways right?! But our room was starting to looks like those houses that the show 'Cops' go into and their bed room r a crazy mess! seriously!!! We dont have much space so BOTH of our desks r in our room so u can imagine the paperwork and files we have. But at least now the bed is made the floors r swept and the microwave is not being used as a 'filing cabinet'!!! And the best part is that I dont have to spend a whole day cleaning the house if I can just 'keep it up' during the week! Call it being lazy or OCD but I will stick to my story and my 'experiment' :)

Mission of Hope - Haiti

2010-01-23T23:51:00.003-05:00

Please cont to pray for the ppl in Haiti and all the worker's and volunteers that have taken the time to help in this time of chaos. I cant imagine what they are going thru.
One of the many ways you can help is by praying that God will comfort those that have lost a loved one and that many more ppl will hear the gospel and know Jesus as their personal savior.
Another way to support them is to make a financial donation to this organization called Mission of Hope, http://www.missionofhopehaiti.org
Our church has partnered w this amazing organization and many missionary trips were made to this location even before the earthquake.

Happy New yr 2010

2010-01-01T22:24:00.003-05:00

We made it to 2010 and still not flying cars! oh well maybe next yr! LOL

I hope 2010 will be a whole lot better than 2008 and 2009 but we are thankful for everyday day even if we think it's a bad day or not.

Lots of things happened in 2009 some of the good news...sam finally getting a job after almost a yr of being unemployed, he started school something that he always wanted to do, K turned 2 and had a great b-day party at the park. But there are more bad news like getting foreclosures papers and one of our former pastor's wife dying from cancer and leaving behind her husband and 4 sm children. She is missed by all but we rejoice knowing that she is w Jesus!

I hope and pray that 2010 will be a great yr for all and i pray that this will be the yr that YOU will make a life changing decision and accept the greatest gift of all...Jesus.

Pete Rapps Seasonings is the WTG!!!

2009-12-10T21:16:00.002-05:00

We got 2 of the seasonings and wanted to make a few things before I blogged about it and let everyone know how it turned out. Well we have made roasted potatoes in the oven, ckn, steaks on the grill, burgers etc etc. and they all turned out Great!!! it's so easy to just put one packect of seasonings and not 5 different one's I know I'm lazy LOL.
The posibilities and recipes are endless. If u r looking for something different in ur cupboard I suggest u ck their website!!! They also have a booth in the North Naples farmer's market off Airport rd and Vanderbilt where peyway is.
http://www.captainrappsseasonings.com/Items.html

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-26T20:51:00.002-05:00

We are so thankful for so many things even though it's been a rough year for many. I'm thankful for my family and for our beautiful daughter Keilah and for God providing for us in many ways. We r so tnkful for many family and friends that have supported us this past year. SO tnkful that sam has a job and he loves it.

I'm also thankful that Sam helped me clean the house today even though it's was his day 'off'. But I needed some one to move the fridege and the washer/drier to clean there! :)

Now off to bed ot get ready for tom!!! YAY Shopping (well not really more like 'window shopping LOL) They do have free crayola crayons at Toys R Us w the purchase of anything!

Royal Palm Chocolates

2009-11-24T21:52:00.003-05:00

I'm excited to announce that Royal Palm Chocolates is now open for Business!!!

They are located off Old US 41 in Naples and their address is...
1040 Collier Center Way
Naples, FL 34110
(239) 325-8300

Please stop by and support this new business and enjoy some good Belgian Chocolate made fresh in the store & no preservatives!!! They also have choc covered pretzels, marshmallows (my fav) and many other goodies!!!

You can also get gift boxes for special occassions or events!!!

Please pray for rain!!!

2009-11-14T19:45:00.005-05:00

Check out one of our missionary friends blog, she is a missionary in Africa.
I cant imagine walking 2-3 hours and waiting in line for some 'dirty' well water that can contain bacteria!
We are so blesses in the US and in many other parts of the world. I pray for all those suffering from this drought and for the missionaries out there doing the hard work of reaching every man, women and child for Christ!
We may not be able to go out there and personally reach out to these ppl but you can support them in prayer and financially support any local and abroad missionary or organization.
May God provide for them accordingly and may he give them what they so desperately need, so that they may never thirst again. Read, John 4:13-14
http://www.tossingstarfish.blogspot.com/

Lucky?!!

2009-10-20T21:16:00.002-04:00

A few ppl have mentioned to me how 'lucky' I was to have K early that I didnt have to worry about the last few weeks being miserable. Seriously????!!!
I would have wanted to endure the last few weeks instead of all the drama we had to go thru!!! ...

The fear of is she going to make it?!
Is her tummy processing the breast milk
will she get an infection
did she gain any weight today
is her jaundice under control yet
can we hold her now after 4 days
why did my body failed her
why does she forget how to breath and the monitors keep going off
what are all these tubes and needles on her
it's so hard to leave the hospital w out her

After 26 longs days in the hospital K was able to go home w us she was a whopping 5lbs and had to wear an apnea monitor 24/7.
So next time some one tells me how "lucky" I was I will try not to slap them and say no we werent lucky we are blessed and we tnk God for being w us thru the hard times.

Busy bee...

2009-10-12T23:03:00.003-04:00

It's been crazy the last few weeks that sometimes me and K will just stay home and try to relax. Between library story time, gym class, thurs morning bible study and things to do in between we have been busy bodies. I dont like to rush her in the morinings since she likes to sleep in (I totally dont mind LOL) But sometimes I have to wake her up to go go go and she ends up eating breakfast in the car!
I love to just hang out w her first thing in the morning since she is soo happy and very creative (usually I'm still half awake and wondering where she gets her energy) Or maybe it's just a sign that I'm getting older?! Dont answer that!
I'm aso already planning her 3rd bday party!!! I know it may sound crazy to u but I have to since Nov and Dec revolve around holidays and i need to send out invites by Jan! I asked K what she wanted and she said she wants a #3 b-day cake (it will be made of cupcakes) and she wants it to be about numbers and ltrs. So what we r going to do is base everything off the book Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM. It's about the alpahbet climbing up a palm tree. I'm having a har time finding any party decorations with just ltrs and #'s so I bought some things at the teacher supply store and will improvise!

Lot's of things happening!!!

2009-09-23T20:43:00.002-04:00

Another quick up-date....Good news Sam has a JOB YAY finally after almost a year!!! He is working for a friend that just took over a fancy chocolate store. He use to be a lawyer but stopped doing that and is working on what he enjoys to do and asked Sam to be his sidekick or 2nd in command! That is what Sam loves to do! And another good news is that I will be doing the bookeeping for the company how awesome is that! Sam is also going to school at night time since it's something he alwasy wanted to do and we never had the funds for it. But unemployment is paying for some of it so might as well get it done now! So our lives turned from doing nothing to crazy in a matter of days!
K is doing great and she loves going to her gymnastics class, trying to keep her busy so she can release some of that 2 yr old energy! LOL She already has a Christmas list and is planning her own 3rd b-day party! LOL a planner just like her mommy! You can ck out her blog for a more detail of what she is up to!
In regards to our house we r still here and no new news yet, we will see what happens and praying that God will also provide in this area. I know a lot of ppl are also losing their homes and I pray for all those that dont have anywhere to go and have no hope. We are very thankful and grateful that God has provided for us so far and we know that He will cont to open doors.

NEW item for the 'potty bag'

2009-09-08T20:29:00.002-04:00

Listen up all mommies that are headed towards 'potty training'!!! Besided the basic items that i listed in my previous post (not sure how to link old post w a fancy link sorry! LOL
SO besides the portatble potty, soap, wipes, xtra panties and pants, sanitizing spray and wipes ypu will also need POST IT NOTES!!! Yes you may think I'm crazy and that I have gotten out of hand but let me explain... I actually stole this idea from a magazine i think! When you are in a public restroom that the toilets have an 'automatic' flush and you lil one is trying to go you definetly dont want that toilet flushing while they are in the middle of something!!! You know very well that those toilets flush like 10X even while you are still sitting on them! SO much for them being more 'enviromentally friendly huh! It happened to us last week K was in the going pee pee and then the darn toilet started to flush!!! She hoped out of it so fast that the toilet seat almost fell in! I felt so bad b/c I had forgotten about the 'post it's!!! She didnt want to go back on it and I knew she wasnt finished. At the next restroom I was able to find some stickers and placed that on the sensor and it worked like a charm!!!
So hopefully by now you will understand my 'madness' and attention to detail, what can I say I was born this way! LOL

August update...

2009-08-29T20:11:00.003-04:00

Yes i know it's been a lil over a month since I dont up-date my blog! You can say I have become a slacker or maybe I should blame facebook! LOL Either way here is a small update of what's going on in our household.
Lots of things happening in the month of Aug, K is officially 2 1/2 yrs old we tnk God for every min that we get to spend w her and pray that one day she will know HIM.
This month we also celebrated our 10 yr wedding anniversary!!! Yikes I cant believe time went by sooo fast. We had originally planned to take a cruise but due to circumstances out of our control we decided to post-pone it and maybe we can do a Disney Cruise w K next yr! :)
K has been doing soo much better in her bed and she is officially potty trained!!! We couldn't be happier! She also can go thru the night w no pull ups and if she does have to go she will get up around 3am and we take her in she goes and then goes to bed, sometimes right away and sometimes she takes a while to go back to sleep! Either way we don't let her out of her room until 'the sun comes out' that's what we tell her! LOL It feels great not to spend the money on diapers and constantly chng them!
We also ordered K an actual 'bed' since she has a twin sz mattress on the floor b/c I wanted her to get use to her bed and not have any reason to climb anything! Her new bed is supper cute and contemporary it's a platform bed and it's low to the ground.
K is smarter every min and she surprises us every day! She will use the 'ing' when it's needed and we are amazed at how she figures things out on her own! The other day we asked her what she wanted to do that day and she says 'let's go to animal kingdom!!! I was like mmm we cant go right now it's a 4hr drive K! We will go next week b/c our free ticket expires in sept and we neeed to take advantage of that! I think we might upgrade our tickets to a yrly pass since K loves going there soo much!
On other news Sam has enrolled in night school and he has a potential work opportunity that starts part-time and then goes to full time. I also have 2 potential clients that are interested in me doing their bookeeping from home! YEAH!
They would be a more steady and daily work instead of the current non-for-profits that I currently have.
I almost forgot to mention that I got a new dig cam!!! I have been waiting 7yrs for this thing and finally got one! It's great and it takes nice videos which is what I wanted.
That's all I can think of at the moment!

Crib to Big girl bed...

2009-07-25T00:24:00.003-04:00

Oh my goodness what a nightmare it has been the last few days!!! K jumped out of her crib, the first time she made it on her feet the second time NOT so lucky, she has bruised in her arms from hitting her Dora kitchen! Don't worry she is ok now! So we had to take out her front side of her crib so that she will stop trying to climb and told her it's a 'big girl bed! She was NOT amused and HATES IT. When she jumped out it was around 3am so she finally went to sleep around 6am after 20+rounds of us putting her back in bed! The next night we put pillows in front of her crib and once again she jumped put of her bed and wondered around her room! She turned on the lamp and started to read books like if it was day time! So I went in and took out her lamp but left her night light on. Once again after knocking on the door and walking around she finally fell asleep on the floor! Face down on 2 pillows one on her head and the other on her legs w her butt up n the air! It was the cutest thing ever! She eventually woke up around 1am i took her to go potty and then put her back in her 'big girl bed' and she was out. Then another night she opted to sleep in front of her big girl bed in her lil princess couch that opens up. I don't mind that as long as she sleeps!
Last night she got off her bed once again and started her excuses for getting out of her room... mama pee pee potty (she is daytime trained) mama read another book, mama get out, dada clean boogies! LOL
She went to her lil vet hospital toy and got some toy keys and was trying to open her bedroom door! We felt so bad but at the same time we cant let her have HER way. She eventually gave up on the keys and opted for another action that she KNOWS gets an immediate response....She got up on her big girl bed and started to CLIMB the sides!!! Can you believe this girl! She didn't have to climb it b/c it's already open in the front but she KNOWS that we will go in right away so that she doesn't fall! So as I watch on her video monitor and laugh hysterically (what else can i do lack of sleep mixed w a stubborn child I'd rather laugh it off!) Sam goes in and she immediately stops climbing like 'oh there u are i knew u guys are watching!' Sam leaves the room and he barely makes it back to our room when she starts to CLIMB AGAIN!!! This time I got up as well and told Sam to take OUT her crib completely and leave her baby mattress on the floor! If not she will play this game all morning long. She CANNOT have any type of bed b/c she will try to climb it! So for now she is sleeping on the floor and we put her lil couch next to her bed just in case she wants to sleep there.
We will see tomorrow how she does since these last few days have been horrible! I really hope this is just a phase that will be over soon! What ever happened to my sweet lil baby that slept 12-14hrs STRAIGHT?! I guess this is why they call it the 'terrible two's huh?!

K new bed on the FLOOR!

Keys used to escape her room!

Her convertible crib that is now in her closet!

Potty Training Bag....

2009-07-14T21:42:00.003-04:00

Not interesting talk but some other potty training mommas can relate!
Potty training is the hardest thing i have encountered, not only the stress but the germs and the trips to public rest rooms!! ahhh that's a germ a freak's worst night mare! But given the fact that pee is sterile and that Lysol exists I feel a lil more at peace!
As soon as potty training became 'public restroom ready' i HAD to make a potty bag w the essentials #1 being a portable potty, Lysol spray, sanitizing wipes, x-tra pull-ups, baby wipes, and hand sanitizing soap (yes MANY bathrooms we encounter DO NOT have soap!) how gross is that! You can call me organized or '@nal' but I don't care I NEED these items in order to master public rest rooms & a toddler!!!
K already knows the process, first we have to spray the toilet w Lysol then wipe it down w a sanitizing wipe and THEN we put down her lil potty seat.' I like it when some 'family' restrooms have a lil potty they r soo convenient!
Here is a link of the potty seat I'm currently using and highly recommend!

http://http//www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&search_query=cushie+tushies

The one w the step stool is GREAT for home use and the portable one is soft and sturdy. At first K was a lil intimidated and didn't want to use it but after a few hrs she finally sat on it and did her business YAY! The cushion on the seat is soft but sturdy and will not get all squishy when a child sits on it for a while (K loves to sit there for a few mins!)

As far as the portable seats, I use to have the sesame street portable plastic potty seat and it sucks! For less $ u can buy the cushie travel seat and it actually has lil non-sliding plastic stoppers on the bottom of the seat. The sesame stree one does not it only has a lil padding that is 'suppost' to stop it from moving. Well it does not work and K almost fell into a public restroom toilet!!! talk about major acck factor. It moves around when you put the child on the seat and it's not helpful at all! The only thing that i liked was that it had lil handles off to the side so that the child doesn't not touch the actual toilet seat. If they can do that to my current potty seat I will give it a 5 star rating! LOL

So now that I talked about all the essentials for my 'bag' i had to find the perfect bag to put all of these items. I wanted a bag w lots of pockets that are easy accessible. When i was using the sesame stree one (before i ordered the cushie one) I was using the Target $1 section bottle organizer bag (it's the black bag on the pic below) It worked great but once the other portable potty arrived it was too bulky for it! So i was on a mission again! I also wanted a bag that can fit into her other bag that is like a book bag where we keep her chng of clothes and xtra wipes etc. Finally while browsing the Bed Bath and Beyond catalog (in which i rarely read it, i usually throw it out!) I found a bag that might work. The catalog had a coupon on the back so that justified my purchase! LOL

Here are the pics of my old bag (the blk one) and my new supper cute bag!!! Yes I'm excited about it only potty training moms will understand or maybe organizational freaks like me! LOL

Maggie's slideshow...

2009-07-12T22:46:00.003-04:00

Please continue to pray for this family, Maggie was/is an amazing woman of God, she is already missed.

http://obits.syracuse.com/obituaries/syracuse/obituary.aspx?n=maggie-stinziano&pid=129467967

Plz pray for this wonderful family

2009-07-07T00:33:00.003-04:00

http://www.jordanstinziano.com/Site/The_Rant/Entries/2009/7/5_Maggie_is_with_Jesus!.html

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=609193758#/group.php?gid=2393683287&ref=mf

ck out their websites and see their story.

Maggie was/is beautiful inside and out and will be greatly missed. We cant wait to see her again in heaven when we all go back 'home'.

It can happen to any one of us...

2009-06-29T22:01:00.003-04:00

Death, cancer, loss of a job, loss of family member, friend, health issues, marital problems, addictions, the list goes on & on. The question is, are u ready?! Ready to fight thru it w God on ur side?! Ready to give it all up to God the provider of life and of everything that we have. Are you ready to give control and stop trying to do things on ur own?!

Or are you going to hide, be bitter, depressed and get angry at God for the things that happen in this sinful world?! I know that we have learned a lot in these last few months. Loss of a job is not easy for anyone and neither is loosing ur house, but we are still here and we still tnk God for the blessings that we have.

I'm I happy that we r in the situation that we r in?! absolutely not, but who I'm I to complain?! There are other ppl that r in worst situations than us and they still tnk God for every breath of life. I will continue to enjoy life as it is and grateful for every breath we take. Be tnkful for friends and family. Be tnk ful that we have running water and the ability to go to a supermarket to buy food. tnkful that we have a choice in what we wear every day even though it may not be in 'style' according to this world standards. honestly if i had to wear the same thing every day I would happily do it, b/c at least I HAVE something to wear!

Our family's greatest desire in life is that ppl will 'get it', that they will see the world thru Jesus's eyes. that we will stop being so selfish and self centered and care about the hungry, the needy and the hopeless. We may not have much and what we have may be taken away from us but we still have hope, Faith and love and there is nothing in this world that can take that away!

Here is a quote that we have on our fridge to remind us everyday not to hide under the 'Christianity bubble'!...

"I was hungry and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger. I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel in the cellar and prayed for my release. I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance. I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health. I was homeless and you preached to me the spiritual shelter of the love of God. I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me. You seem so holy, so close to God, but I am still very hungry, and lonely and cold." author unknown

Oh how many of us are sooo guilty of this, I know I am and I pray every day that God will show me opportunities to make a difference. I pray that we will all be united in one goal, to reach every man, woman and child. And to not only present them the good news of salvation but also help their needs at the moment and not get so distracted by the circumstances.

I'm not writing this to make any one feel guilty, I'm just writing what's in my heart. No I'm not perfect, no one is perfect but God but I pray that every day we will make wise choices, that we will be wise in what we say and do.

Read: Ephesian 2:10

Prayers, Prayers and More Prayers...

2009-06-21T21:55:00.002-04:00

There is sooo much need in our community and I pray that we will always be aware of that and be able to pray and help those in need. Please continue to pray for my grandma in PR she was not able to get surgery due to health and age issues. She is at home and they dont know what's going to happen in the next few weeks. Please pray that she will know Jesus before she goes into eternity!
Also pray for 3 families that have lost a loved one recently. They were very ill and they went home to be w the Lord. Please pray for those that have stayed behind that God will comfort them and be w them as they go thru the grieving process. Please pray for another family that is battling w cancer. They have 4 young children and their mom is very sick. Please pray that God's will be done in their lives and that he will give them peace.
Also pray for my lil baby K she got bit by something yesterday and woke up today w a swollen eye! Poor girl she has very sensitive skin and we r not sure what bit her. We are taking her to the ped first thing in the morning.

The joys of parenting!

2009-06-14T23:36:00.003-04:00

K is such a good girl we r sooo blessed to have her as our daughter. She is so intelligent and our prayer is that she will follow Jesus will all her heart mind and soul.
I will say that potty training is the hardest so far but I know that will overcome all obstacles!
Her new thing is everytime we correct her when she uses the wrong word for an item she will say the new corrected word and the word she used at first!!! For example she was helping me cook and saw white vinegar, she says 'water' I say oh it's vinegar (it's clear so cant blame her for calling it water!) Soo she then says it's 'vinegar water'!!! It's like she's saying ok I will go w whatever u r calling it but I will also call it what I want! LOL got to love her!
She is also very independent, tonight she read her books to us instead of us reading them to her. Where does time go?! It feels like yesterday we found out we were pregnant!!!
I love this stage (yes she's 2 and yes she has her 'terrible 2 moments) but for the most mart she is a very calm lil girl. Unless a toy doesnt do what she wants then that's when the 'other' side of sweet K comes out!
It's been great to be able to communicate w her and know exactly what she wants, even when she changes her mind, one min she wants frosted flakes the next it's froot loops and so on, let's not forget cheerios too!
No I dont want to her the 'oh she needs a lil borther or sister talk either! We want to spend time w her and MAYBE in a few yrs I will consider the idea! I cant imagine being pregnant and having a toddler! Raising a toddler is hard enough why add morning sickness, more tiredness & going to the rest room every 2 min to the list!
I also want her to be fully potty traine before we even go that route! So for now she will have to settle w her BFF.., the DOG! They r best buddies and it's so funny to see them play! Or more like Keilah walking all over him! LOL

Sam's B-day week...

2009-06-10T00:06:00.003-04:00

Happy b-day Sam! His b-day cam and went and we ate tons of cake and ice cream!!!
We surpised him and had our church comm. group come to our place. He was totally surpised and had a LOT of fun since it's been a while we have that many ppl over! (our house is not very big)
We are very blessed to have friends like our comm group and pray that God will cont to speak to each and every one of us. Here are a few pics that Erin took w her camera! They came out suppper cute! tnx Erin!!!
And tnx to all that came to our place and showered Sam w gifts we are very grateful!

Fruit Loops...

2009-06-01T20:29:00.005-04:00

Fruit Loops is one of Keilah's fav cereal! (Yes she eats the non pediatrician recommended sugary cereals, we allow her to eat a few as a snack)
The cute thing is that one time she asked to eat cereal and also wanted me to eat some w her. I gave her some in a purple plate and I got mine in a green plate and we sat on the couch eating the fruit loops.
Well that was like a month ago and she still remembers and wants me to do the same thing every time! She will say momma u get the green plate and Keilah gets the purple plate and then she will say come on momma sit down! It's so funny that she still remembers that and even though sometimes I don't want to eat fruit loops at the time i LUV to spend time w her! I call it our 'fruit loops moment' LOL

Where is my 'safety bubble' !!!

2009-05-27T21:34:00.003-04:00

Yes I want to live in a bubble and NOT get sick! But unfortunately I dont have a bubble and I think i'm getting sick now! This morning I got up w a sore throat, nothing else just a sore throat! I hope it's not a cold or the flu or what ever else is out there!
Yes I always wash my hands and I'm very careful but it caugh up w me! The germs are after me ahhhh! LOL

Shopping at Kohl's!!!

2009-05-24T22:21:00.004-04:00

I'm beginning to wonder if anyone else gets a $10 gift card from Kohl's!!! We usually get them in the mail w their lil catalog or a post card. So if u get one to let me know! Sooo w a gift card in hand we headed over to Kohl's to get K a bathing suit since the one she has the shirt is a lil small. K had sooo much fun trying on bathing suits that she was 'modeling' them for us! Daimy joined us that day for a fun day at the beach, lunch at home and then shopping at Kohl's! Daimy found a supper cute bathing suit and after a few tries we found K the cutes one! I wanted to match my brown/pink bathing suit so that was kinda hard to do. K would see a green and blue one and say 'oh that's cute i like it'! I was like mmm let's try THIS one! LOL Anyways here are some pics of K trying on her bathing suits, Daymi & K and a lil video of her shaking her bun bunz!!! And for the record we did NOT try on all those clothes for some reason ppl leave their clothes behind and it was a mess in there! And the final bathing suit will be featured soon!!!

Thought for the day...

2009-05-22T21:44:00.002-04:00

I stole this from another blog b/c i think it's such a great story!!!
Watch the clip and u will see.

I always say don't let ur job or circumstances define who u r, we can all make a difference!!!

Opportunity...

2009-05-19T21:03:00.002-04:00

Today as K cries and cries in her crib for no reason (other than she doesnt want to go to bed!) I'm reminded of Evan Almighty's movie clip for those that havent seen the movie I posted a link. In the clip he talks about when some one asks and prays for patience God doesnt give them patience but and opporunity to BE PATIENT. It's so hard for me to have patience so I see this time as an 'opportunity' to be patient w K.
I also see our curent sitation as an opportnity to do something different. We may not know what God has in store for us but we are going to continue to serve HIM no matter what until he calls us home.
So what ever u may be dealing w see it as an opportunity. An opportunity for change, what ever that may be!

8 things to look forward to...

2009-05-16T14:36:00.003-04:00

One of my PW friends (Jill) tagged me in her blog so here it goes...

8 things to look forward to ...

Keilah getting up from her nap
Going for a walk
Sam's B-day
My B-day
Summer Fun
Finishing my certification
New housing location
Dinner tonite

8 things I did yesterday

walked w K in the mall
Bought 2 new cargo pants (on sale!)
Ate ice cream w K for lunch :)
Delivered a Flan to a sm party of sam's old co-workers
Watched the movie Bed time stories
Ate pizza for Dinner
Went to walmart
read everyone's blog

8 things I wish I could do

go back to the gym
speak multiple languages
go on a cruise ship
move to a remote island
get a new computer
buy a new dig cam
make our buss. grow!

8 shows I watch (or wished I watched! LOL)

desperate house wives
House
The Office
How it's made
W K ...
Mickey Mouse Club house
Dora
Handy Manny
Lil Einsteins

8 People I tag ...
(PW girls that were not tagged by Jill! LOL)
Lisa
Bekah
Velia
Bri

Erin
Daimy
Ashley
Sam

June 6th...

2009-05-15T20:54:00.003-04:00

Yes I know today is NOT June 6th but it's turning out to be a very interesting day!!!
So far we have been invited to soooo many b-day parties, 1 graduation party and it's also Sam's b-day weekend! If i see another invitation in the mail im going to SCREAM! seriously we cant multiply and there are other days in June! LOL
We cant go to some b/c of their locations and times but we did promise to go to a b-day party way back in Jan so we will go there for sure. Before that one we have to stop at another b-day party for a few min drop off a gift and off to the next party 2hrs away!
Not to mention that we wont wind down so we will rob celebrate Sam's b-day on his actual b-day which is fri. Not sure what he wants to do after all it's HIS b-day but he is soo picky and it takes him a while to make a decision. We shall see!

Still Here & there!

2009-05-14T20:17:00.003-04:00

I havent been updating my blog in a while, not much to say! LOL
I have been studying for my bookeeping certification since I have been procastinating for a long time!!! I got one certificate already and 4 more to go!
Right now I'm working on the inventory book, just 1 problem can take a whole page! It's not too bad as long as I follow the procedure & right steps. It's so hard to study on my own time b/c I get distracted! I'm trying to set at least an hour each day so far I have been able to keep up.
Work is going well I told her that I needed to stop working since Sam was working full time but now he is done w his job until august! So she already got another lady and i told her that's fine b/c I dont want to say in a few weeks hey he got another job and she is stuck w no one! So we will see what happens.
K is doing great she is sooo funny and silly every day she does something new! Her new phrase is "wait a second" LOL. We went to target to get her diapers and we were also meeting a friend for lunch and I got there a lil early so that I can do the shoppign first and K goes "wait a seconds where's the pizza!? It's was soooo stinkin cute! I told her we had to shop first and THEN we get to eat! She was ok w it and got distracted w something else.

Prayers needed for 2 families...

2009-05-04T20:05:00.002-04:00

As mother's day approaches all I can think about is 2 different mom's and their families. One mom lost her lil 3 1/2 month son and the other mom of 4 lil one's is battling stage 4 cancer.
Can u please pray for these two families tonite. I believe in the power of prayer and nothing is impossible for God. I also don't know why this has happened to these 2mom's but I pray that God's will be done in their lives and that God will give these families comfort.
There is hope in knowing that we will all be reunited in Heaven for those that accept HIM as their personal savior.

A lil secret...

2009-05-02T22:44:00.002-04:00

Well it's not a 'real' secret!
Ever since we brought K home from NICU we have placed a lil sign on the doors that says...
"DO NOT KNOCK BABY IS SLEEPING call 123-4567 tnx!" and guess what we have NOT removed this sign! LOL It works wonders!!!!
Nobody selling you magazine subscriptions, or hurricane window shutters, or who knows what ppl sell now a days!
It even works with ppl selling their 'religion' on us and putting lil booklets on our doorsteps! (it's still there by the way!)
And no worried about deliveries b/c one time a FEDEX guy called our house! I thought it was GREAT that he followed instructions!
Sam doesn't like it b/c he says that it looks funny on the doors but who cares the house looks funny as it is it just adds character! LOL :)

General Updates...

2009-05-01T21:09:00.002-04:00

I figure i need to update on a few thigs that have been going on lately, if anyone is out there and is keeping track! LOL
House situation: we got a letter from the bank saying that they will review our paperwork AGAIN for the 3rd time and see if we can come up w an agreement. So far foreclosure will be happening in the near future and we r not going to stress about it! We are all just prolonging the process and living rent free since what we have is for necessities. What ever happens we know that God will provide us w something else.
My grandma in PR: they still have not done the operation (PR health care sucks!) they gave here a pressary (sp?) which is a device to 'hold' up everything in place but it keeps falling out! So they need to see if she is a candidate for surgery since she is so old and frail. SO we still need continued prayers that she will get well soon and that God will cont. to guard and protect her. She is a stubborn as a person can be and is still going to work!!!
My bookeeping certification: I received my first certificate in the mail the other day!!! woohoo. But i have been procastinating A LOT lately!!! I seriously need to get back on track and continue to study since I have 5 more books to read and pass the test!
Keilah: Is doing well and growing & talking like crazy. She is the joy of my life and we tnk God for blessing us with such a beautiful, funny, caring and smart baby. Her naps have been on and off lately but we r taking it day by day. I try to update her blog at least once a week... www.keilah-the-explorer.blogspot.com.
Job situation: I still have 2 accounts that I work from home and i hope to have a 3rd since I'm waiting to see what the lady says! I cant bring K w me to work anymore since it's not fair for K to sit in the stroller watching tv all morning! So next week I will have a better idea on this situation.
Sam's Job: He has been working for the US Census for a month now and he seems to like it since he is in charge of 10 ppl. He use to be an assistant but his boss quit so he was made a leader in less than 2 weeks! His team have been doing a good job so they are already done w their assignment! Not good for us b/c that means his job is DONE. We knew it was temporary but didnt know it was this short! So pray that God will open and close doors accordingly and that he will send something our way!
Our dog: He keeps getting in trouble and goes to time out more times in a week than a 2yr old toddler! LOL TMI ...Not sure if I talked about the time that he ate 2 corn on the cobbs?! Well eventually they both came our from both ends after a month! GROSS I know!!! Now who knows what the heck he ate b/c he has the runs and is pucking up slime! I have yet to clean Keilah's puke but yet this dog pukes once a month guaranteed! uurrrghhhh But after watching the movie Marley & Me we have come to appreciate and still luv him even though he can be a P.I.T.A.!!! BTW that was a sad movie, great movie just sad since we will have to go thru it some day! Hopefully not soon since Keilah luvs HIM!!! She will say good morning wau wau and say wag wag everytime he wags his tail. She gives him hugs ALL the time and say go pee doggy when we open the door or clean up doggie when she's done eating!
Ok I think I covered everything!!!

Germ-a-freak 'talk'...

2009-04-27T23:10:00.002-04:00

YES Lysol is my BFF and I luv the smell of clean and sanitized surfaces!!!
I didn't use to be sooo concerned about germs until a few yrs ago! Specially after going to school for radiology and taking health courses! (that will really screw u up! LOL
I use to be a lot worst when K was younger but now the only thing that I require is that she washes her hands when she EATS! We also clean (w a sanitizing wipe!) the table top at a public restaurant & use a disposable table topper (best invention ever!!!) we clean high chairs, and shopping carts!!! Shopping carts are my worst enemy! LOL (that's when wipes and a cart cover comes in handy!)
Also when you wash your hands at a public restroom PLEASE use a paper towel to open the door! Some people DON'T wash their hands (trust me I have witnessed this many many times!) and they just open the doors w yucky hands and here you come w clean hands to open the door w a yucky handle!!!
If we all practiced simple hand washing the world would be a better place!!!

I got this quote from Web MD...

How does swine flu spread? Is it airborne?
The new swine flu virus apparently spreads just like regular flu. You could pick up germs directly from an infected person, or by touching an object they recently touched, and then touching your eyes, mouth, or nose, delivering their germs for your own infection. That's why you should make washing your hands a habit, even when you're not ill. Infected people can start spreading flu germs up to a day before symptoms start, and for up to seven days after getting sick, according to the CDC.

Some people might say that they want to build their immunity and that's why they don't wash their hands and can care less about germs. I rather NOT take my chances since a lot of illnesses are airborne. And I would rather for K to be exposed to germs when she is older and can at least let us know what's wrong and we can use meds to make her feel better!

My Job ...

2009-04-24T21:59:00.002-04:00

Well it turns out that I may be able to bring my work home!!!! I already do all of my other bookkeeping accounts from home so I suggested this to the account that I got while Sam was not working and he could take care of K. Well since he is working now (full time temp job) he cant take care of K during the day so the last few weeks i had to drag her to work w me. She would do ok but i dont think it's fair for her to be strapped to a stroller for 2-3 hrs!!! She had snacks and her videos but sometimes she will get mad at somethign and disrupt what I would be working on. So I told my boss that I can no longer take her in that she needs to find someone else (even though we really need this job!) and she understood. But I also made her the offer to work from home and just come in to drop off and pick up paper work and she said she will think about it! SO hopefully that's a YES and I will be able to keep that account and stay w K in her sorroundings!!!

R.I.P. Princess the dog...

2009-04-22T16:23:00.002-04:00

My parents lil dog died this morning and anyone that is a dog lover knows how hard it is to cope with the loss. Yes they are only animals to but the pet owner they are like family. She was 9years old and fell ill unexpectadly.
We have a Golden Retriever that Keilah adores and cant imagine the day he too will pass on to doggy heaven!

Please pray for my Grandma in PR!!!

2009-04-20T20:52:00.002-04:00

If there is anyone out there reading my ramblings can u plz spare a few min and pray for my sweet grandma. She was rushed to the ER b/c her uterus broke apart form her body and they are going to perform emergency surgery. She is very old and I'm not sure if she is going to make it. Please pray that God's will be done and that we will rest assured that He has everything under control!
Also pray that my grandma will accept Jesus as her personal Lord and savior before she goes to eternity. She does go to church every sun but we all know that going to church doesnt make u go to heaven.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Thanks in advanced.

Loving these songs right now...

2009-04-14T17:25:00.002-04:00

In these times of uncertainty there is only hope and faith in Jesus Christ that gets us thru each day!!!
I luv the lyrics in these songs and the message that they contain. Ck them out.

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Paper or plastic?!

2009-04-05T19:37:00.003-04:00

No I'm not talking about what type of 'bag' to get a the supermarket check out line. I'm talking about Cash & Credit cards!
Personally I prefer to use cash because it's easier to do a 'set budget' and once the cash is gone it's GONE! I luv the convenience of credit cards but it has been proven in our personal budget that we will spend 40-50% MORE if we use plastic!
It's really not that hard to set a 'weekly or monthly budget'. We have our monthly budget for our regular bills and we also have a budget for spending $ for food, gas, household supplies etc. For the monthly budget it will take a few months to get organized and know when everything is due. I would suggest to start NOW and write EVERYTHING down. Start a list in excel or word with all of the regular bills like rent or mortgage, utilities, etc etc. Write down the due dates and the method of payment (send a ck of pay-on-line) After you have all of your bills and the total amounts add them up. Use approximate amounts for utilities and such.
Do the same process with ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that u buy! Yes including that $4 coffee at Starbucks! You will be surprised in what u spend ur money on and with the current economy it's so important to know where it goes. This process will also take a few weeks. I recommend 30 days straight of writing everything down. It can be started anytime of the month RIGHT NOW, TODAY will be good! LOL
Once u have a total of all the items that u spend ur $ on on a 30 day basis add them to ur monthly budget total and come up with one GRAND TOTAL of expenses.
Example...
These are based on monthly amts
Rent $600
Utilities $ 150 Aprox
Cell ph $ 120
Internet & Ph $125
Car Insurance $130
Health Insurance $ 250
Regular Monthly Expenses Total $ 1,375

Spending $
Lunch $ 250
Gas $ 200
Household supplies $250
Gifts $ 50
Weekend fun $ 300
Total spending $ 1,050

SO your GRAND total will be $2,425.00

This Grand total should NOT be more than what u make a month and if it is you are definitely living above ur means! I would review ur list and take out things that u can go with out or u dont need as frequent. If you have a 'surplus' in which your income is more than you expenses that I would start saving that $ in a separate acct that collects interest! (compound interest is a wonderful thing!)

If u need any help figuring our your monthly expenses and your budget I will be more than happy to assist you. It's really not that hard and once it's all set up and ready to go it will only take a few minutes each month.

It's really sad when people are late paying their bills and they have the $ to pay for them! This only happens when you are not organized enough to know when your bills are due and you are too lazy to start a budget. One of the most common mistakes is to overdraft the bank account b/c you swiped your debit card not knowing that other bills cashed already! SO instead of giving the bank free $ in overdraft fees and other companies late fees do your self a favor and start a budget TODAY. Stop the excuses and get a pen an paper ready b/c it's time to get busy!
Remember a budget is telling your $ where to go instead of wondering where it went!

As you can see this is a passionate subject for me and I luv to counsel anyone that needs help. Having a budget in place for the last 9yrs has helped us these last few months when we lost our major income from Sam's job.

Laptop is dying!!!

2009-03-31T20:55:00.002-04:00

Poor laptop it's getting old and over used! Arent we all! LOL
There are sooo many lines on my screen that I can barely count them anymore. It's also making a funky noise and they told us it's the hard drive, and that it can crash any min.!
I backed up all of my work on an external harddrive but all of my fav links will be lost!
I will use it til it dies b/c cant afford one right now. If anyone has a 'spare' let me know! LOL

Any suggestions on what to get next?! A laptop or a desk top?! An apple or a PC?!

My work is based on quickbooks, excel, word, going on-line etc.

I want a fast computer for a decent price. Any ideas on where I should start looking so that we will be ready when the inevitable happens?!

Always Keep ur promises!!!

2009-03-28T20:19:00.004-04:00

One thing I have learned as a 1stx mom is to always keep ur promises. It's so important to fulfill what ever we have promised to our lil one's even if u think they have forgotten! (trust me they don't forget!!!)

Sometimes we will say to K u can have that after we do this or we will take u there tom etc etc. sometimes she remembers other times she will forget but we will always follow thru. We also don't promise things in order to distract her or make her behave.

By fulfilling out promises I think that she will trust us no matter what we say and she will always know we are there for her and we r not filled w empty promises.

We also make sure we promise things that are realistic! We wont say we will get u the moon or something like that! Most of the time it's either something to eat or a place she wants to go.

K is supper smart and she will let us know if we forgot something!!!

And that's my 2cents for today!

K goes to work!!!

2009-03-24T19:53:00.003-04:00

So today was Keiah's 2nd day at work and after a rough start she did GREAT! Cant blame her since she was sitting in the stroller for almost 3hrs! Poor girl! She watched tv had some snacks and also made a mess on the floor! But over all she behaved so well i was surprised she lasted that long!
I work at an office doing bookkeeping of course and I have to bring K since Sam started a part-time job for a few months. I don't like leaving K w a sitter and it will prob not even be worth it since the $ I make would go to the sitter!!! (specially now that they cut my pay rate!)
So for now she will have to come w me to work or if it gets to the point where she gets impatient I will have to go in on the weekends. They r pretty open w my schedule since I'm a subcontractor they cant really tell me what to do!
We will see how she does tomorrow, I think eventually she will not want to go to work at all! LOL
I always leave around lunch time so that Keilah gets some lunch and then get ready for her nap so by the time she wakes up from her nap I have to cook so it's pointless to go back to work.
It's so funny how she knows exactly what she wants, as we were leaving I asked her if she wanted grilled cheese or pizza (very healthy huh?!) and she said pizza! Yesterday I asked her if she wanted a sandwich and she said Mac n cheese!!!
When we were driving away she says mamma and K left work! She's the cutest smartest baby EVER LOL

Infinite Business Solutions...

2009-03-20T21:06:00.003-04:00

This is our new venture!!!

If u r looking for a bookkeeper or any type of business consulting contact us
@ infinite-solutions@hotmail.com.

In the current market it's important to know where your business stands and how to manage your assets and liabilities properly.

If your business seems to be stagnant and not competing in this tough market maybe you need to look into redesigning your business plan, your marketing plan or maybe even your space design. We can provide a team of design professionals ready to consult with you about your business needs.

Me & K !!!

2009-03-14T23:00:00.003-04:00

Here is a recent pic of me and my beautiful baby K!!!

I luv spending time w her everyday and wouldn't change a thing! She is so well behaved and we thank God everyday for allowing us to be her parents. My daily prayer is that He will give us the wisdom and patience to raise her to know and Luv Him. I often catch myself daydreaming about things to do clean etc while me and K are playing and quickly realize that I must give her my undivided attention!

It's crazy how time just flies by and we get caught up in our daily tasks and busy schedules. But for me spending time with Keilah is a top priority, even if it's just 10-15 min of undivided attention thru out the day. I don't think time spent in the car counts either!

Keilah usually is self entertained and has an amazing imagination! But sometimes I will go in and as whats she's cooking or building etc and she will either tell me or completely ignore me! LOL.

I cant believe my lil baby is already 2 and I hope that I will always give her my undivided attention!

Potty Training time?!...

2009-03-12T23:17:00.002-04:00

Keilah has no interest in going pee-pee IN the potty at all! She will say pee-pee in the potty after she pees in her diaper! She cant hold it yet and when we sit her in the potty she does NOTHING! Sooo today she was watching her usual morning cartoons, Mickey Mouse and Lil Einstein (she luvs these shows and sings all of their songs!) Anyways when i went to chek up on her she had taken her diaper OFF!!! She took one strap off and laid the diaper next to her in her lil couch kinda like hey diaper watch some tv w me! LOL

So i took her to the potty and again NOTHING. I tried to put a pull-up on her and she pushed it away screaming NOOOO and ran away naked!!! SO i said fine u want to wear 'dora panties' ?! She agreed to that but once again said pee pee potty after peeing in the carpet!!! Ohhh the patience begins!!! She eventually let me put a diaper on her but who knows what she will want to wear tomorrow?!

Possible Disney Trip?!!!

2009-03-11T23:50:00.002-04:00

Yes I know u may say u r about to loose ur house but u r going to Disney?! WTH ??!!

Isnt that what ppl do when too many bad news arise ... go out and celebrate ?!

Let me explain K got B-day $ from grandparents and it was assigned for her 'Disney Trip Fund' we were going to wait until July so that one of us can get in for free (free ticket the day of ur b-day!!) but I said what the heck Lets' go sometime this week!!! The wether has been sooo nice and we def need some time to relax !!! We are going to take her to Magic Kingdom and we will def NOT stay at a Disney Resort they r wayyy to expensive! Maybe we can save the free ticket for a water park since it will be soo hot.

So if anyone has good Disney tips let us know! I have been to the water park but I have never been to Magic Kingdom, Isnt that sad?! LOL I have lived in FLA for almost 10yrs and havent been to Disney!!! Driving by doesnt count!!!

More bad news :(

2009-03-09T16:41:00.002-04:00

Trying not to be a 'downer' but the company I subcontract w is not doing too good. Therefore they are cutting everyone's hrs AND pay rate! I was already doing less hrs since everyhthing is well organized now but w the lower pay rate that's really going to suck!
In the other hand I will be getting more hrs from one of my non-profit accts, but even non-profits r suffering b/c no one is giving! Nobody gives I have Nothing to record!
Sooo it just means we have to get even more bookeeping jobs asap!

M.I.A.

2009-03-08T23:27:00.002-04:00

Yes that's right I have been slacking on my blogging efforts! Too many things going on that I barely have time to blog. Lately I have been really tired (NO IM NOT Pregnant! LOL ) it usually takes me a while to go to sleep but the last few nights i have passed out in seconds!
I try not to stress about anything but when the Mortg Co AKA 'the devil' LOL doesnt cooperate w us I'm not motivated to do anything at all! The last update on that one is we r getting a lawyer involved! They told us we were denied of any help b/c our income is not enough and they keep sending us in circles. One lady had the nerve to say 'why are u calling us u were denied help!!! Can u believe it when we try to do the right thing and call them every week to update them on our situation they question why we r calling them!? WTH it seems that ppl that are honest and try to do things right are the one's suffering!
on another note.. I have also been procrastinating to read my bookkeeping books. The faster I get that done the faster I will be certified, but once again I'm just not motivated to do anything! I hope that we will be able to figure out something soon but in the meantime I will prob post once week. I will try to post in K blog more often since her life is def more 'interesting' than mine! LOL

K b-day party Success!!!

2009-02-28T21:45:00.007-05:00

What a great day!!! We want to thank everyone that was able to make it to K 2nd b-day party!!! K had a blast and she was very happy w all the wonderful and thoughtful gifts! She got to open them once she was up from her nap. She got a lot of cool stuff, Minnie Mouse doll, clothes, bath finger painting, pet hospital animal kit, large piggy bank, Potato head kit, magnetic doodle pad, books, a few gift cards to Target, toys r Us and build a bear and of course $$$ that will be saved for her college fund and for Disney trip in the summer! I'm pretty sure i'm forgetting some of the gifts, sorry I don't have the list available!
The weather was perfect and we go the space at the park! It is first come first serve basis and Sam was there at 5:45am!!! What a great dad huh! LOL It was good that he went that early b/c there were 5 other parties going on!
I could barely sleep last night b/c I was so excited for K!!!
We put the alarm for 5am and Sam was out the door by 5:40pm. I went back to sleep on and off and finally got up at 7am to get the sandwiches ready. K also got up around that time and I gave her some breakfast. We got everything ready and were out the door by 9:30am or so. Sam already decorated the place and we went to the supermarket to get the balloons and the ice.
We got to the park around 10:30 am and K went exploring right away!!! Sam left to pick up the pizza's and I told him to get back before the party started! Last yr he was supper late getting ice and ice cream! This yr NO Ice cream! LOL
Last yr he was also taking pics and he wasn't in any pics!!! So this yr he tries to be silly and jumps in all the pics! LOL
Over all it was a great day and we tnk God for allowing to spend time w families and friends and most of all for allowing Keilah to be 2 yrs old! He has protected her from the very beginning and we are very blessed to be her parents.

Here are a few pics I will post some more on K blog!

Ready to party!!!

2009-02-27T21:25:00.002-05:00

We are all set for tom! All we have to do is make the sandwiches in the morning and then go to the supermarket to get ice and ballons.
My mom 'flew in' this morning and we went today to get all the chips and sodas for the party. They were on sale buy 3 get 2 free and the chips were buy 1 get 1 free! woohhoo on good deals!
We picked up the cake tonite since the publix my MIL works at is wayyyy out of our way and it would have taken us all morning to go over there and back! It looks great lots of colors and it has everything that K luvs! We have it in the room since we dont want the dog to get into it! I would seriouly kill him! LOL It's a combination of 1/4 sheet cake and lots of cupcakes for the kiddos.
We also decided to order some pizza's at the last min since they were so cheap! Only $5.55 ea!!! So we will have chips, cheetos, pizza, ham and turkey lil sandwiches, cake, sodas and lots of candy!!! Perfect kids party huh??!! lots of fructose and lots of junk food LOL!
I think I'm more excited to see what K will do when she sees her cake! I get excited about anything b/c I luv seeing her expressions and as a mommy I want to get her the world! Come on u have seen K w/ her lil face & smile u cant possibly say no to her! LOL
It's funny to see myself as parent and always trying to please K any way I can but sometimes she is not very patient! It's kinda the same way it is w God, we are sooo impatient and cant wait for His timing that we will make stupid decisions not knowing that God had something so much better if we would have just chilled out and waited! That's my 2cents for the day! :)
Let's hope the weather continues to be beautiful tommorrow and we have a good time!

HaPpY B-dAy K!!!

2009-02-24T21:35:00.002-05:00

Happy b-day to the most beautiful baby in the universe! :)
It's here and I survived it! LOL But I still cant believe it!
The day started around 7;45am when K got up talking so we went in her room and sang to her happy b-day song. She luvs it and wanted us to sing it on mon night but we said it's not ur b-day yet silly! LOL
She had breakfast and we got her dressed and ready for a long day. We planned our day w things that she likes to do. First we got her a balloon, then went to toys r us and got her a lil broom/dust pan set (yes i'm teaching early how to help mommy clean! LOL) then over to the mall for lunch. (U can see her pics on K blog... Keilah-the-explorer)
We also turned her car seat around today! We put it in the middle but it was wayyyy to loose and I could turn it from side to side it was ridiculous. The middle seatbelt is NOT retractable so it wasn't keeping a tight fit, so we had to move he to the side. We also have an older car that doesn't have the latch system. One more excuse to buy another car huh! Nahhhh
I think i have everyhting ready for her b-day. I made the baggies last night and they came out really good! I thought i didnt have enough candy but they r pretty full!!! And yes u better believe it it's ALL valentine's candy! LOL hey it was 50% off why not!!! There's skittles, K fav ...m&m's, starbursts, gum, lollipops, hershey hugs, nerds, & other mixed candies. I also went on-line and printed lil coloring pages since my sis had given me a bunch of tiny crayons for the baggies. I also got bubbles, lil rings, lil stamps and stickers! As a kid I luved going thru b-day baggies and picking out what I thought was good! LOL And no we r not doing a pinata since K will prob freak out if we beat on Dora and boots!
My mom will be coming in on fri morning for K b-day so it will be good since she can help me on sat morning b/c Sam will be going to the park very early to set-up since it's 1st come 1st serve! We don't have much to do since I'm planning to make lil sandwiches, chips, cheetos etc. It will not be like last yr where we had rice, pork yuca etc etc! Too much work and too much $! This yr it's simple and I'm not going to stress about food or even ice cream! I believe that cake should be served w ice cream, but I'm going to ignore my rule on sat! LOL
I cant wait to see how K b-day cake will turn out, we gave the all the things that I wanted on it to my MIL and it has been ordered! I'm not going to spoil it u will just have to come and see it or wait for pics!!! Here's a hint it involves Dora and boots! LOL and of course Map!

K B-day getting closer!!!

2009-02-22T21:11:00.002-05:00

AHHH I cant believe our lil baby girl will be the BIG 2 on tues! Yikes.
I'm excited and sad at the same time b/c she's growing up so fast!!!
She already wants to walk on her own to her bed at night. She is still in the crib and I'm hoping she will stay there for a while longer (I'm NOT ready! LOL). We are already changing her car-seat from rear facing to forward facing and my stomach is in knots!!! And no we r NOT late in switching her since it's recommended to change them to foward facing once they reach the weight limit for the car seat. Our car seat limit is 35 lbs and she is barely 27 lbs! SO 'technically' she can be rear facing for a few months, but we have decided to make it a big deal and do it on her b-day take pics etc etc, call me weird I don't care! LOL
Sam cleaned the car today so that the car is nice and clean! He did a great job since it was a MESS!!! It was like one of those episodes from 'cops' and they enter into a home and it's trashed! Seriously my car was this bad! Not smelly though and no dirty diapers just clothes and toys EVERYWHERE!!! And a few gold fish or cheerios here and there!

Tax Time already?!

2009-02-21T22:51:00.003-05:00

WARNING... If u r easily offended dont read or comment! After all it is MY blog!

Urrghhh some ppl dread tax time and some ppl luv it since they will be receiving a large ck in the mail!
As for me I think that the IRS should be out of business and there should only be one flat-rate sales tax! That's JMHO!!! Why does the goverment take taxes out of my paycheck every month, make interest off my wages and then once a year say 'oh here u pd too much here is some of it back'! MMM what about the interest u made on MY $. I serioulsy think that it has gotten out of hand w soooo many forms to fill out, so many rules, deductions, etc etc.

It seems that the ppl that r living off the goverment are the one's well off in this current economy. Heck they get everything pd for them and they dont have to do a thing but fill out forms!!! I believe in helping out the less fortunate and I also believe that it is the church's job to do so. I also believe that education and proper training will make ppl living off the 'system' want to get out of that cycle and eventually they will be good tax-paying citizens that contribute to our economy.
I know not all cases are the same and that some ppl need it more than others, but I have also witnessed many instances were ppl lie in order to get more $, isnt this sad!
While Congress continues to give themselves raises to their already high wages the average american gets taxed on everything to support them (even though they take more time off than what they work!) Have u seen what u get taxed for lately?! Your paystub can tell u where ur $ is really going. For example take out ur ph bill and ck out all the taxes and surcharges they add to it, its ridiculios!

Off my 'soap box' now...

SOooo needless to say that we have procastinated on the filing part since we will most likely pay something or 'break out even'. Last year our bussiness was not really organized at all so I had to go back to each bank stmt and highlights all of the expenses. Gathering the income part was easy since I'm the one that does the bookeeping so I made a report of my self in quickbooks!

For the record...
We do pay our taxes on-time but I refuse be stuck in the 'rat race' w no end. That is why we have started our own consulting firm in 2009!

Every day is a Gift...

2009-02-16T23:04:00.008-05:00

"Yesterday is HISTORY
Tomorrow is a MYSTERY
Today is a GIFT
That's why it's called the'PRESENT' "

It'a crazy how time flies when u r having fun huh?! Keilah will be 2 in less than 2 weeks and we still can't believe it. It feels like yesterday we brought her home from the NICU.

We have been blessed with such a good lil girl and our prayer is that she will continue to have a good caring heart for others. She is always smiling and so well behaved (90% of the time!) We also pray that we will be a great example to her and that one day she will know Jesus as her personal savior! We are thankful for every day we get to spend with her and enjoy every min of it. Everyday she brings joy to our life.

I always take tons of pics so that I can look back and remember those special moments. It's funny how much they change and how every pic tells a different story. We may not know what tomorrow may bring but we will trust and have Faith that God has everything under control.

ALLERGIES...

2009-02-09T23:34:00.003-05:00

...R THE DEVIL! LOL

I cant stand sneezing and sneezing my head is going to explode! seriously!

I think I will be calling a doc to see what triggers them.

When I was pregnant w K I didnt sneeze for 4 months!!! That's b/c I was traumanized to sneeze and I would hold it. As some of u know we almost lost K at 6 weeks and I started to bleed like crazy when I sneezed! So after that I would be terrified to sneeze. Tnk fully I didnt get any allergy attacks when I was pregnant and even after K was here I didnt get them! After I was done nursing K at a yr it all came back!!! ahhhhh they could have stayed away for ever!

So in the meantime I will cont. to take over the counter meds in hopes that somethign will work or knock me out!

Party Planning time!!!

2009-02-06T14:18:00.007-05:00

K B-day (Feb 24)is just around the corner and I need to start organizing it! I cant believe our lil baby will be 2! Where does time go?! I already sent the invites, if u didn't get one for whatever reason here are the details:
Sat Feb 28th @ 11am call for location!
This yr her party will not be as big as her last party but she will have fun regardless. She luvs this park and she luvs Dora! LOL
Her grandma from CT will be traveling down and they will be buying all of the party goodies!!! YAY for grandparents!
Here are a few pics from her party last yr...

K & Isabella NICU neighbor born 3day before K @ 9weeks early. K was 8 weeks early

K NICU Nurse Jen!

Another good book to read!

2009-02-02T21:38:00.002-05:00

We are currently reading the Five love languages by Dr. Gary Chapman in our small group and I would reccomend any couple to read it as well!!!
http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/
It will bring some new insight into ur marriage and u will be able to know how u express and receive luv.
I'm not a smoochy lovey person at all I like my space and I dont want to be bothered! But I discovered that my lov language is acts of service. Read the info on the website to see what it says and I will also recommend doing the 30 seconds Quiz.

Sad day @ the office...

2009-01-29T21:43:00.003-05:00

As u may or may not know I work a few days as a contract bookeeper for a local co. I luv what I do and I actually enjoy going to work! But today was a very sad day since one of the ladies from the front was laid-off. With the economy buss. is not doing so great everywhere and they already cut everyone's their hours. I was surprised b/c this lady did everything for the office, all of the administrative duties and then some.
Please pray for her and that God will provide for her in this time. She has had a rough couple of yrs w her husband passing away from cancer and now this.
It was very sad to hear my 'boss' crying b/c she was sooo sad that they had to let her go after being there for 12 yrs!

WE R HOME ....

2009-01-22T22:43:00.007-05:00

Tnk God we made it back home safely from PR and birds didn't hit our plane! phew!!! I'm NOT a frequent flyer and I don't do well when news about airplanes crashing happen when I'm on an island and need to 'fly' in order to get home!
We had a lot of fun but we r sooooo glad to be back home and into our normal routine and schedule. Over there ppl don't believe in sched's and the lil girls about K age where up at 11pm and sometimes even midnight. They also don't give them 3 meals a day they just snack all day long and K was sooo off that she would even say rice, beans b/c she wanted real food.
We r so spoiled here in the US and I tnk God for allowing us to come here when we did! I could not live there now. We took supper cold showers not everyone has a water heater, no a/c only fans good thing that it's Jan and the weather wasn't too hot at night.
We stayed w one of my aunts and we were able to 'show off' K to all of our families and friends. They were all amazed b/c she can spell her name and knows her ABC's, shapes, numbers AND colors in spanish and english! And no i don't drill her about learning anything she luvs to read and is a fast learner, these last few weeks have been crazy, it's like she took off and will not stop talking! She will repeat everything and anything including sam's quote...'stupid tv' GREAT sam nice going! LOL
Here are a few pics out of the 360 we took!

random beach off Luquillo, u can even park really close to the water!

First time flying a kite w Sam at el morro (we use to do the same when lil)

San Juan PR (the view is soo pretty)

My grandma! She is an amazing woman and I think I got her strong will genes, she still works hard everyday!
My crazy cousins w their lil ones and my aunt

Happy Three Kings Day!!!

2009-01-06T20:51:00.002-05:00

Most of u are prob saying WTH is that! LOL In PR we celebrate EVERYTHING they are alway partying and having days off from work! LOL
Three kings day is when the wise men brought gifts to Jesus!!! The tradition is to take a shoebox and put green grass for the camels to eat and water under ur bed and the wise men will leave u gifts!!! So another reason to buy gifts for ppl right?!...
NOT I saved some of K xmas gifts from my parents and gave her that! LOL I also got these cardboard building blocks that they sell for $25 at reg price (it's frikin cardboard ppl!!!) So of course I did NOT get her those instead I found the same thing in Target's $1 Section!!! It brings 8 blocks for $2 i think so we get her 2 pkgs and saved $ that way!I will upload some pics later.

Goodbye 2008!!! Helloooo 2009!!!..

2008-12-31T22:12:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

I hope this year will be filled with many good things. 2008 Was an interesting yr to say the least. It started off great w K 1st B-day in Feb and then it dwindled mo after mo. But we are still here and thankful for yet another yr that God has blessed us with!
I pray that 2009 will be filled with many changes in our lives. And I pray for good health and protection to all of our families and friends.

May we live for 'the day' and not just today.

Merry Christmas - 2008

2008-12-25T22:18:00.002-05:00

Wow another Christmas w K has passed! time has flown by us and here we are w a 22 mo old!!! YES that's Right an 'almost' 2 yr old! yikes! Call me crazy but I'm already planning her bday party!
Today was started at 7am sharp! K woke up saying mama mama, she usually says books, up, wau wau or dada so she must have missed me! :) We fed K breakfast and then started to open presents. She would rip them up a lil and then let me do the work! Once she knew what it was she wanted to play w it right away and didn't want to open the rest of her presents! LOL so if she had less gifts she wouldn't have noticed! But she loved everything that she received (tnx to grandparents & titi/tio and Emma)
I think we were more excited than her!!!
K understands sooo much now and is very talkative. I told her that today we can open presents and she got the wau wau gift from the tree and gave it to him!it was soo cute!!!
Anyways here are a few pics from today...enjoy and have a safe and Merry Christmas!

OH BOY!!!....

2008-12-24T15:33:00.003-05:00

Since I started working(part-time)outside the home Sam takes care of K when I'm out. So far things have been good and Sam made dinner a few times already! WOW what an inprovement!!!
But....today he made a 'mistake' or boo boo let's say!. MMM Let's just say that men are not so 'detail oriented' or they don't think 5 steps before the lil one's. Today he ran some errands and when he got back home with the groceries he brought K inside the house closed the door and he went to get the groceries from the car (BIG MISTAKE!!!) I leave her in the carseat and open the door while i take out the groceries first! Then I bring her in and I dont go out anymore. WELL K was suppost to be in her room or that's what Sam said but she actually went to the living room and locked HIM OUT!!! HE is sooooo lucky that I always keep an xtra house key in my car. He calls and says that he has to tell me something that I will find funny or that I will FREAK OUT! Well I didnt find it funny!!!

Counting our blessings...

2008-12-21T20:42:00.004-05:00

As we get closer and closer to Christmas Day let's not forget the reason for the season! As we spend our days shopping and stressing about the holidays lets not forget the greatest gift of all...Jesus.
This year has been a roller coaster for our family but we are thankful for everything that God has blessed us with. In the beginning of the year we celebrated Keilah's 1st Bday party!!! We were able to go to my niece's 1st Bday party in CT and we were also able to go up there this past thanksgiving. Even though Sam lost his job in Oct. we still haven't lost hope or faith. We are very grateful for all of our families and friends specially around the holiday season. Everyone have been sooo generous and we thank God for ea and everyone of you! Thanks to my parents and my sister K has enough toys and clothes that will last her for a while! We have also received various gift cards to Publix, Target and Walmart (the 3 stores we do all of our shopping!) and we have been able to survive these few weeks. I also started this part-time job that will provide for our spending budget.
We are currently praying for guidance on where to go next and what to do. So if you are reading this can you join us in this prayer, that God will make it clear to us His will for our lives.
So from the Hernandezes (friends of ours gave us the nickname! LOL) we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Here are a few pic just for fun!

I GOT A J.O.B. !!!

2008-12-17T23:09:00.002-05:00

YES that's right a job!!! LOL well it's a small part-time but anything works right now! It's also temporary but that's ok b/c once Sam finds a job I can't work there since he takes care of K while i'm gone. It's only a few hrs a day but I already miss my lil munchkin!!! :)
I'm doing some more bookkeeping for a local co. and at the same time putting in more hours for my certification I need (3000). So win and win for all parties involved. I still have to read all 6 books YIKES and take the test but I'm trying not to get overwhelmed!
On another note our evil mortgage lender called us back and said they cant help us at all b/c we don't have 'real' job so we said fine TAKE IT! So we will be putting it for a short sale and if nothing happens in 90 days we will do a deed in liue of foreclosure. With the market being so bad and this house being sooo crappy I think they will have to just take it and take their lossess. Soooooo the way I see it is we will be FREE to move anywhere and we will NOT be buying anytime soon it's not worth it at this point in time! What ever we get from now on we will make sure that it doesnt take most of our budget like this house did! We want to be able to use our resources wisely instead of throwing our money into a house that is NOT worth it. SO leasson learned #102 (i just made that # up LOL)

Milk Choc Chip Cookies ...

2008-12-15T23:37:00.002-05:00

These are my fav cookies of all time! Milk choc chip cookies w M&M's !!! YUM

I made them for Laura's cookie exchange and unfortunately I couldn't go b/c K woke up from her nap w a fever of 102!!! (sorry Laura I was really looking forward to go!) Poor baby we think she may have an ear infection and is prob teething too!

So if any one wants these cookies let me know before i eat them all! YES ALL 6 dozen! LOL

And I can share the recipe if anyone is interested! :)

How Great is our GOD...

2008-12-11T20:40:00.004-05:00

Last night at community group we got to see this video of "Louie Giglio: How Great Is Our God Tour" He talks about how we were all uniquely designed and how even our cells reflects back to Jesus. Then he compares the earth to some of the biggest stars in the universe and that will just blow ur mind!!! We luv to star gaze and have a telescope at home that we haven't used in a while so this talk def caught our attention. It's truly amazing how Great is our God and how big is His creation.
Here is a link to the videos u have to watch all 5 parts
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Even in times of trials we will trust that God is in control and that He is the one that gives us strength.

Isaiah 40 (New Living Translation)
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

WE R HOME!!!

2008-12-08T21:26:00.003-05:00

YAY we made it back safely !!! It took me a few days to recover from the trip and I also had to do some work since I was gone for a while. I have over 300 pics but i will not be able to share them all! LOL So i will post my fav's. We left my parents house in CT Tues morning and drove to VA to visit our friends and crash at their place (tnx Joe & Kristin) then we left wed morning to go straight to FL. Our second stop was Merrit Island FL, where we stayed with more friends and crashed there too! (tnx again Karis & Leandro!)We got to their house around 4am and we were soooo tired. I was starting to hallucinate and would see the GPS walking away from the dash board w legs! LOL im not kidding! it was very hard to stay awake!
Keilah did Great, she luved to watch tv and would sleep all thru the night in her seat. poor baby! Now the dog that's another story!!! He will NOT be going on ANY trips in the near future!!! He is sooo needy and gets into everything! First he ate soap and my moms house, YES a BIG bar of bath soap i think it was Dove! He prob thought it was Dove the chocolate makers! LOL Then a few hrs later he pucked soap and his food since he had just eaten before he ate the soap so it wasnt like he was hungry when he ate it! maybe he thought it was desert! Anyways Sam took him outside and there he pucked again and sam had to give him the hemlic b/c the other half of the soap junk was stuck! hahahahah this was hilarious! Then when we got to fla he scratched the treshold to the point that his nails were bleeding!!! So sam once again had to come to his rescue!
The drive wasnt too bad coming back but the tolls are a killer! specially in the New Jersey and Orlando area! Gas was really cheap in the carolinas i think the cheapest was $1.58!
Anyways now to the good stuff ...pics!!! Not all 300 i wouldnt bore anyone w all 300! LOL
Some were taken in CT, at a mall, a farm,on the road, then in VA, and finally in downtown disney!!!
http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/erika123_09/?action=view&current=10d9180c.pbw

Where in the world is Erika?!

2008-11-30T22:23:00.002-05:00

At the last min. we decided to take a road trip to CT!!! We packed all of our junk, the dog and Keilah and hit the road! My parents sponsored the trip and offered to pay for all of the expenses. We def needed to get out and get some fresh air and a change of scenery!
We left tues afternoon and got to Ct thurs at 4am! We stayed in northern Georgia and from there went straight to CT. Keilah did great in the car, we borrowed the inlaws car DVD player and all she wante do do was watch Dora and snack!!! Def not habits that we support watching tv and snacking! LOL
Sam drove all the way and we didnt get caugh in traffic until we got to Maryland and NJ! Tolls are ridiculios and traffic here is crazy! We had no issues coming from Fla but once here a girl HIT my CAR!!! My car wasnt that bad, the bumper got squished and she put a dent on the corner. Her brand new camry got crushed really bad!
My sis didnt know we were coming so when she came to mom's house for tnxgiving dinner she was in shock to see us here! We also went shopping for black Fri!!! I was offically a 'black fri virgin'!!! My sis does it every yr so this yr we all went and had a blast! Me and my mom woke up at 4am and got ready while my sis was driving to pick us up. We went to walmart first since my sis wanted to get a tv, the line was crazy so we just waited on the side for the crazy ppl to go in and we didnt get trampled on! #1 rule DONT walk in w a cart!!! Some ppl dont listen and take a cart, they take too much space! My sis ran to get her hands on a tv and I went and got the shopping cart afterwards (since I wasnt going to shop for anything!) The second place we hit was Target and there my mom got K a car DVD player for xmas! woohooo now we can take more road trips! LOL ok maybe not! Target was more organized and ppl were nicer! We went to Kohl's and then to xmas tree shop and then went to a local bakery and had a delish donut! We were done shopping by 8:30am!!! AND I prob only spent $100 from the $ that I got from the accident!
I will post pics later when we get back home!

Is it 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?!

2008-11-18T20:10:00.005-05:00

I have always tried to be positive and think of it as it being 1/2 full!!! But yes there are times when I wonder is it really 1/2 full or is it something I say to myself to feel better?!
Well the last few weeks have been a roller coaster for us from bad news to great news. As most of u know Sam was laid off from work, we got a notice that our mortgage was going up (it was already high to begin with!) but on the brighter side we have also been blessed with friends and family that are willing to lend a hand anyway they can! We have nothing but God provided for us and just yesterday I was able to pay ALL the bills for Nov. YEAH! We don't have many expenses since we live very simple lives and me being a 'BUDGET FREAK' any misuse of money is NOT allowed! If u personally know me and have been to our house u will clearly see what I mean.
This may sound crazy but sometimes I think that Sam got laid off so that we are able to lower our highest monthly expense... our mortgage! If Sam would have been working we would still be trying to play catch up and wouldnt have the opportunity to talk with our lender for other options to reduce our mortgage. So I hope and pray that we will be able to get a loan modification and that Sam will be able to find a job asap. We want to be able to give back everything that has been given to us and we enjoy giving to other specially this holiday season!

We count our many blessings and we tnk God for providing the basics food and shelter and clothing. Just today we recieved a gift card for publix and some cash that will come in handy since having a lil growing toddler in ur households things go by really fast! We want to say tnk u for the person (s) that provided us with this gift and pray that God will continue to bless them so that they will bless others.

Other random blessings and sales ....I won a bakery platter at publix today !!!! wooohooo. And mac & cheese is only .50 at publix so I'm going to stock up w our gift card since it's K favorite! Also we were able to take K to the movies to see madagascar matine b/c Sam donated blood a few months back and we never used it! So cant wait for next time to donate again! LOL Movies r way to expensive even a matine and those kind of expenses don't even make it to the budget!

We are very grateful for everyone praying for us and praying that God will supply Sam w a job and me more work from home.

If anyone is out there reading my ramblings tnx for taking the time and may God bless u. May we live for THE day and not just today and I pray that we will not get discouraged but trust in God thru the good times and thru trials. May your glass be 1/2 full and may u be willing to share it too! : )

Story of Faith and Hope and some of my 2cents...

2008-11-16T21:40:00.005-05:00

Our church was able to be a part of something bigger than anything that our human minds can ever imagine! Thru this boy's short life many more kids will have a chance to live and many more ppl will hear his story and have their lives impacted. Here is the link to the story and there are daily updates!
http://www.news-press.com/article/20080906/SS22/80906030

http://www.news-press.com/article/20081115/SS22/81112063?GID=UiHI1lgmN/iUjYXMlf5fp6eq2AETHISS5Sl8nrfvGPI%3D
It's crazy how we get 'caught up' in our daily routines and schedules and we really forget what's important in life. It's sad how many hours we waste away doing mindless things and yes I'm guilty of this too! It's even more sad and depressing where we spend the money, resources, talents and gifts that God has entrusted to us. My daily prayer is that I may fulfill my purpose on this earth and that I will reflect Jesus in everything that I say and do. I'm not perfect by any means only God is perfect and I cant say that I will be obedient all the times. I'm only human and my sinful desires want to take over. That is why I seek God everyday in order to get closer to Him. I also pray daily for my family and friends that don't know Jesus as their personal savior. I pray for the those that have no hope and no desire to live. I pray that God will reach out to them and WE that call ourselves "Christians" will be there to lend a helping hand. That we will not criticize, judge or ignore all the ppl hurting around the world. I pray that there will be more unity w the churches and that we will stop making lil kingdoms and cliques and that we will focus on what's important in life! This life is only temporary so let's make the best of it!

Hebrews 9

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

Having Faith in God the father Jesus the son and the holy spirit may seem like a fairytale or a waste of time for some but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord! After all if it is all fake and when I die and nothing happens I lose nothing. But if I die with out knowing Christ I will loose the opportunity to be eternally w Him in heaven!

Philippians 1:21
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

YUM YUM Dinner time !!!...

2008-11-15T23:51:00.007-05:00

I haven't been doing much other than working on the ltrs for the acct firms so not much going on my end! But I can ALWAYS blog about my beautiful energizer bunny!....

One of Keilah's fav word is YUM, she will say it when she is hungry, eating something or sees someone eating! Today at the supermarket she saw ritz crackers and said YUM YUM! It was time for her snack anyways so I let her have a few! (well I lost count after crackers #4! LOL

The other day I was 'trying' to get dinner ready with a toddler wanting to 'see' see' and a dog whining for attention!!! That's when multitasking comes in handy!

While I 'try' to cook in the kitchen Keilah will tear up thru the cabinets and take out pots, pans, tupper ware, etc etc. We call her our lil hurricane baby!

Here are funny pics and snapshots...

LOL

One more thing DONE...check!

2008-11-14T22:40:00.002-05:00

So I stopped 'procrastinating' (wow that's a long word!) and with the help of Sam we were able to finish my cover letter for my resume. I will be mailing this letter to all of the local accounting firms in town to see if they would like hire me for the upcoming tax season. Ideally working from home would be great, if not part-time is the other option until Sam finds a job.

I still have to 'review' it and read it over and over to make sure it sound perfect! If you would like to comment on it let me know so that I can e-mail it and you can say any constructive criticism! :)

Please pray that companies will respond and that we will be able to get some income this way. With this income we will be able to supply for our very basic monthly budget.

Procrastination!!!...

2008-11-13T21:02:00.003-05:00

You know we all do it at some point in our lives!!! Every night I make my 'To Do List' for the next day and I 'try' to get them done. Once again emphasis on try!!!
For the longest time I had an item on there and I would just keep transferring it to the next day's to do list! It was a very simple thing to do and i guess that is why I PROCRASTINATED! I don't like to wait to get things done but if something is not interesting I will admit it that I will put it off for as long as I can!
I don't know what gets top priority in my list b/c every day it changes according to my mood, the weather and what the task is etc etc. Just for fun some of the basic items are cleaning the house:laundry, dusting, vacuuming, mopping etc (fun fun fun) especially when you have a toddler destroying it!!! I guess it's a good thing nobody comes over! LOL Other items can include 'out side' activities like taking Keilah to the library, park, bookstore, play date, going for a walk, the beach, etc. And then there are trips to the supermarket, Target, Walmart, (those are the only places we really shop!)
So to all those procrastinators out there, stop making excuses and get it DONE! at least 'try'. LOL

Don Chevos' Cafe...

2008-11-11T23:51:00.006-05:00

I have nothing to write about, LOL i though the day would never come!
But I do want to promote the in laws Puerto Rican cafe!!! They are the only one's in town and everything is made fresh and authentic! I'm hooked to Yucca al mojo, alcapurias, and relleno de papa!yum fried foods doesn't life get any better! LOL and to top if off you can have homemade desserts too! Flan, tembleque, arroz con dulce, cake, and my fav quesitos (cream cheese pastry!) anything w cream chesse must be good right!!!
They also have the typical pasteles that are very popular during the holidays. They do catering and cakes for all occasions! Here are a few pics of the cakes that Ilia has made.

Check out their website... www.donchevos.com

Tnk God for Family and Friends...

2008-11-09T19:50:00.002-05:00

Just want to write a quick note to let all of of friends and family know how tnkful we are for all the prayers and support thru this rough patch. Today we received a generous gift from someone, names weren't included. I tried to get the DNA from the envelope but couldn't trace it back! LOL just kidding!
We are very grateful for everything that God has provided for us. My parents also informed me that they will send something so we can buy Keilah her supplies. We praise God that he listens to our prayers and I pray that He will bless those who have given.
Please continue to pray that God will open and close doors and that Sam will be able to find a job. Also pray that God will continue to provide our basic needs and that we will not lose hope or faith in these times.

House Mortgage...

2008-11-07T22:02:00.004-05:00

So today we call the mortgage co to let them know that Sam got laid off so we will prob be late for the first time in Dec. SO then they tell us that they can't help us until we r LATE. Urrghhh here we r making an effort to let them know and maybe we can work something out and this is what they say! Sam was on the ph calling a few dept since everyone he called said they couldn't help us! I'm pretty sure that once we ARE late tons of ppl r going to be calling us 24/7! It's just ridiculous for all I care they can keep the darn house they will be doing me a favor! LOL

Once again you can see the importance of budgeting and savings!!!! I know that's pretty much all i talk about since I'm sooo passionate about them! But if we would have 'saved' 3-6 mo living expense we WOULDN'T be in this situation!! When we were both working and before Keilah we didn't save at all and wasted all of our money on 'liabilities' and luxuries well not really luxuries but going out to eat every day is uncalled for! So a lot of lessons learned this yr!

My NEW sweet addiction!!!...

2008-11-05T22:31:00.003-05:00

As most of you know I'm a sweet-a-holic!!! I would eat sweets for bkfast, lunch and dinner and in between! LOL
But I do have a rule I can only eat sweets on the weekends and sometimes I cheat during weekdays and anything I eat has to be eaten before 6pm!!!
I remember almost 10yrs ago we use to eat this a lot and then all of a sudden it disappeared and they stopped selling it!!! I was sooo upset b/c it was soooo yummy!!! But they are re-introducing it for a yr or so, and I hope they keep it around this time!

I'm glad it's OVER...

2008-11-04T20:09:00.002-05:00

The elections that is! Now we can move on and finally get over this election talk! No matter what the outcome is I pray that we will come together as a nation and keep God in everything we say and do. With out HIM we are nobody since he gives us everythign under the sun.

Getting Certified!!!....

2008-10-28T21:15:00.002-04:00

Since i like to crunch numbers and work on budgets and such i have decided to take it to "a whole another level"- of u watch mad tv u will know what i mean! LOL
I will be studying in the next few months to be a certified bookkeeper. I hope and pray that i may be able to pass the national exam since i don't like the word exam or test!!! I'm excited to see what happens in the yr 2009 and hopefully we can start a sm bookkeeping business!!! So if anyone has any ideas for buss. name I'm open for any suggestions!!!

Time flies...

2008-10-24T23:26:00.003-04:00

Yes I know that time does go by fast but when you add a lil growing toddler to the mix it seems to speed up even faster! I don't know what we did 7years before K, now we cant imagine life with out her!
K is 20 mo today and I feel like we just celebrated her 1yr b-day party!!! In just 4 short mo's she will be 2yrs old and i hope she will not be a terrible 2 yr old! So far so good! :)

We thank God for allowing us to be her parents and pray every day that He will give us the patience and wisdom to raise her. Over 2yrs ago we almost lost her when i was 6 weeks pregnant while visiting Honduras on a missions trip. Then she surprised us on her baby shower and came 8weeks early!!! I pray that she will be able to share her testimony on how He has protected her from the very beginning.

Happy 20 mo old b day to the most beautiful baby in the world.. Keilah! :)

Weight Loss Sucess!!!...

2008-10-20T21:14:00.003-04:00

As most of you know having a baby entails a lot of things including weight gain! Before Keilah I use to go to the gym 5days a week for 2hrs but I wasn't getting the results that I wanted. I was in great shape but I wanted to loose more weight and it wasn't happening. So when I was pregnant w Keilah I lost 10pounds in the first trimester and then gained a total of 25lbs back. And she was 8 weeks early so I don't know how much more I would have gained. I didn't worry about the weight since I was nursing Keilah and needed all the calories out there. But after a whole year of breastfeeding Keilah I weaned her off and I was ready to get back into shape and start loosing weight! And yes I do believe that breastfeeding helps u loose some weight in the beginning but then some weight lingers since ur body is constantly working to produce milk and needs the fat! So after a few mo's I was back to my regular weight that I was while working out and then i decided to take another approach to loose the weight!
I DON'T do any crazy diets, or drink some gross shakes and don't like other people telling me what to do eat and making $ of me!!! So April of this year I decided to change my eating habits....

I decided to only eat sweets on the weekends, I'm a sweets-aholic by nature so that was hard to do! But I also 'look forward' for that weekend treat!
I also decided to watch my portion size and calorie counts. Trust me I don't sit there with a calculator! But i just glance to see how many calories per serving etc u will be surprised what u find!
Another BIG change that I have seen the biggest result is NOT eating ANYTHING after dinner!!! I swear by this one, really! We try to eat dinner around 5:30pm everyday and after that I don't eat anything till the morning. Yeah at first you WILL be hungry like crazy but in the beginning i use to drink 1/2 cup of milk and then after a few weeks just plain water.
And last but not least I WALK everyday or at least try to. Nothing fancy, no gyms, no equipment, no hassle just good ole walking and pushing a stroller w a 24lb toddler in it! In the beginning i use to walk everyday rain or shine, but now i try to walk at least 3x a week.

So after 6mo of practicing all of the above i was able to loose a total of ... 14lbs!!! It may not sound like a lot but I was able to loose inches of my hips too!!!!! And that was something that i was NOT able to do while working out at the gym. SO far Sam has been on the van wagon for a few weeks and we will see his results in a few months.

Once again this is NOT a diet but a lifestyle change. I eat whatever I want within limitations of calories and portion control. We also still drink soda when we go out (we don't go out much) and I don't buy it for the house. I also don't think that drinking soda is bad for my weight loss plan. Once again before having Keilah I did the whole NOT drinking soda at all and didn't loose any weight! So.... we still drink soda, once again watching my calories and portion control and I enjoy it! And it's not diet soda either!!! euukkk

SO the point of this supper long post is to encourage anyone out there to start walking and watch what u eat and what time u eat it! I know everyone is different and have different lifestyles but plz don't waste a bunch of money on 'special' foods or shakes that are suppost to help u loose weight they just want ur $. All u need is a lil self control and motivation!!!

Making a Resume...

2008-10-19T23:18:00.002-04:00

WOW making a resume is a real P.I.T.A!!!! As you can imagine we have been working on Sam's resume all this weekend and after five drafts I think we finally got it!!! It's soooo hard to put everything in one piece of paper and try to 'sell' ur self. Sam worked at the firm for over 10years so the 'work history' wasnt hard to type up! LOL
But it's so hard to get all of the lil details, main points and keywords that employers want. Also formatting, spellcheck and proffreading take a LOT of time! SO my advise is REVIEW ur current resume today! In the case that you will need it all u have to do is fix a few things here and there!
So if u guys know of any job openings please let us know and we will send u Sam's resume!

Debt...

2008-10-17T23:35:00.002-04:00

Yes I'm pretty sure u know what the ugly four ltr word means!!! Debt is something that i HATE, HATE, HATE w a passion!!! I dont like the idea of buying something on sale but then paying 3x as much for it in credit card interest charges! So now that we are faced w hard times due to Sam's recent job loss I'm happy to say that we are 'almost' out of debt.
I know there is all kinds of debt but I'm speakng mainly about credit card debt. We have stopped using the credit card completely, we dont even use the debit card anymore. I noticed that when we were using the credit cards we spent a lot more, now we use only CASH for all purchases. Even if we paid off the credit card in full at the end of the month the total balance was always over budgeted. And as far as those 'rewards' go they are not worth it IMO. Having the cash on hand makes u realize how quicly it goes and we can manage it better. But when we used the cards it was easier to swipe and go on with your life not knowing how much the balance was.
So my advice is my fav phrase..."If u think u r in the hole...stop diggin." In other words if u think u r in debt stop using the credit cards! And stop justifying your purchases too! First step is to make a BUDGET and stick to it! And here is my other fav phrase that I'm pretty sure I have mentioned it before and will continue to mention it... "A budget is telling ur money where to go instead of wondering where it went." So stop making excuses for not having a budget. Stop justifying ur current debt. And stop blaming the economy, ur employer, the next door neighbors dog or other ppl for ur current financial situation! We all make choices in life and these choices affect everything.

When it rains...it pours........

2008-10-16T21:02:00.004-04:00

So this is another great reason to have a budget, for life's unexpected challenges and surprises!!! Sam was LAID-OFF today!!! We kinda knew that something was going to happen since everything has been sooo slow. We are confident that God will provide for us and that He will open doors for Sam to find a job. Please pray that we may have open ears and open hearts to what God wants us to do next.
As a budget freak I'm sitting here crunching numbers and trying to see how much we would need in the next few weeks to survive! Also please pray that I may not freak out since i tend to stress a lil about finances! But in the end God is in control and everything belongs to Him!
The verse that we had to memorize in our Crown study fits perfectly in our current situation!
1st Chronicles 29:11-12 Go ck it out!!!

Budgeting...TIME

2008-10-13T21:51:00.003-04:00

Yes I BUDGET everything including TIME! A lot of ppl have asked me how in the world do i have time to blog. Well my answer to that is easy...I budget the time that I have everyday. Being a Stay at home mom (SAHM) doesn't mean that I have all the time in the world either, sometimes it's even harder than an outside job b/c I just can't take a 15min break or an hr lunch when ever I please. I luv being a SAHM and wouldn't chng it for anything. Keilah is a very easy going toddler, she is on a schedule and knows what to expect next. Sooo that means that i have around 2hrs of free time when she takes a nap and 3hrs after she goes to bed. I don't use the computer while she is awake and I don't do housework while she sleeps either! I try to clean when she is playing in her room since she is very self entertaining until she wants me to read her a book or pretend play. So in my free time i catch up on e-mails, download new pics, and do some quiet time and blogging at night. And all that doesn't take me a hr so sometimes I even get a cat nap! Now how's that for Time management! LOL
I do understand that we all have different lifestyles and different priorities. We all have a CHOICE on what to do with our time, some choose to watch sports, tv shows, talk on the ph, work, etc etc. As for me I choose to live on a schedule and my schedule involves rambling on this blog!

Books I recommend reading ...

2008-10-11T22:21:00.005-04:00

I'm not a big time reader but...I'm currently reading 'Rich dad, Poor dad' by Robert Kiyosaki. It's a different view on how we were raised and makes us use our single best investment; our brain! It's not a get rich quick scheme book either, but just another tool to add to ur financial IQ. The book is great if you are tired of the 'rat race' want to make ur $ work hard for you instead of working hard for $. Dont get me wrong I'm all about working hard for ur $ but plz dont stop there. We can use our brains to figure out how to use wisely the $ u have worked so hard for. For example he talks about the poor and middle class always waste their $ in liabilities instead of putting more $ in their asset columm and then their assets will pay for those liabilities. If u dont know what a liability and an asset is then u r in trouble! LOL
As i read more i will share more tips from the book, but in the mean time go and research what a liability and an asset is!

The other book/study we are doing is Crown Financial. We did this study last yr at our old community group and now we are doing it again at our new comm. group. I think it's a GREAT study and it has helped us organize our budget and finances. If u know me I LUV LUV LUV to budget (hence the name to my blog) every single penny and like to know ahead of time what to expect. We don't like to be bound by debt and try to live as simple as possible. The study also helped our 'quiet' time since it was really non-existant. The study is only a few weeks and i would highly recomend every household in America to go thru it!

And lastly I would like to recommend 'the total money makeover' by dave Ramsey. This is another great book to read or listen to since someone let us borrow it and we listened to it in the car! The book is about being financially free and guides u on becoming debt free.

ck out this video!

2008-10-11T22:06:00.004-04:00

I stole this from another blog, but i think it's a great eye opener and makes me wonder what my cardboard tesmimony will say!

1st Post

2008-10-10T22:18:00.003-04:00

I hope this works since it's my 1st blog! tnx to a few friends that suggested i start one! I'm open for suggestions on how to improve the apperance of the blog. And i will be researching how to work my way around this new hobby.