A Hectic Schedule

Geez, when it rains it pours. Not that I am complaining..not really. I am very pleased with most of the things I'm having to schedule time for these days. It's just that I feel like I need a calendar to remind me when to look at the calendar I have written everything on. Or that I must consult that calendar before making any plans...appointments...dinners...or even brief trips to the bathroom. I have to schedule in my showers these days. We are supposed to close on our new home sometime between the 29th of this month and the 14th of May. Cat has story-time every other Tuesday. I have Avon orders to enter every other Wednesday. Then I have to package everything up when it comes in every other Friday and then call all my customers and make arrangements to deliver their products. (Some as far away as an hour drive). Alan's softball season starts this week which means he will be rushing home from work expecting dinner (something light and easy on the stomach please) to be ready when he gets home at 6:00 so that he can be at the softball field by 7:00 for his game at 7:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. May 7th Alan has a written exam as a prerequisite to an interview with another law enforcement municipality. Then that night we have to be in Atlanta by 6:30 for the Braves game that starts at 7:35. (I bought Alan two tickets for his birthday). May 9th is my grandmother's birthday. May 11th we have to go to the hospital where baby#3 will be born to have an ultrasound done to determine baby's size and whether baby will be daughter #3 or son #1. Then the next day Alan is having his wisdom teeth cut out, which at the age of 31 is NOT going to be a pleasant experience. It was hell when I had mine done at 16. This will put him out of work and on the couch for about a week on a liquid/mush/jello diet which is not going to be a day at the beach for either of us. Especially with 3 and 1 running around wondering why daddy looks like a chipmunk that lost a good fist-fight. *sigh* AND somewhere in the midst of all that drama, I have to find time to pack up everything in our house except for the daily essentials that we need to survive between now and then end of June when, HOPEFULLY we will be living in, or at the very least moving into, our new house. And in the middle of the moving Alan and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary on June 23rd, and hopefully we will be settled, unpacked, and content in time for me to plan the girls' birthdays in July. "3" will be turning 4 on July 20th and "1" will be turning "2" on the 10th. By this time I will be close to seven month pregnant with "baby #3" and thouroughly exhausted as well. Then I get to look forward to getting up at 6:00 every morning and waking 4 and 2 up, throwing clothes on them, shoving a bag of cheerios and a cup of milk at them as I strap them into the car on the way to take "4" to kindergarten. She starts in August. Oh God...I'm tired already. See you guys later. I'm going to take a nap!

A Tisket, a Tasket...How 'Bout a Gift Basket?

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have started selling custom-made Avon gift baskets for men, women, and children. If you know of anyone who is looking for gift baskets for Mother's Day, Father's Day or any other event...I can create various multi-piece gift baskets at different price ranges. The smallest Bath&Body/Fragrance basket I have put together so far was about $15.00 and had about 4 pieces. However, if you give me a price range I can usually create something lovely to meet your specific needs. I just let the customer tell me what product line he/she would like to use and then I can quote sizes and prices. Favorites so far have been the Naturals: Peach, Vanilla, or Cucumber Melon, Skin-So-Soft, ProSport for Men, and Mark. Hollywood Pink Chocolate or Garden Blu. I also do "Beauty Baskets" with color (make-up) in them. A complete make-over kit. They are usually $20.00 or less as well, depending on how many pieces are involved. Avon has a wide-range of products available to make gift baskets for all occasions, including but not limited to:

• Baby Showers
• Bridal Showers
• Sweet Sixteen Parties
• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Thank You's
• Housewarmings
• Graduation
• Teacher Gifts
• Mother's Day
• Father's Day
• All Major Holidays, etc.

You tell me your favourite Avon products, your desired price range, or simply tell me a little bit about the person who will be receiving the gift; and I can create a beautiful customized gift basket for you to deliver to that special someone in your life. All I need is at least two week's notice so that I will have time to order any products needed that I don't have in stock. With enough notice, and a reasonable shipping fee, I can also ship baskets either to you, or to the gift recipient directly. Please pass this along to anyone you think may be interested (or to anyone whom you would like to have a basket created for YOU! *hint* *hint* ) Thank you for your time, and God Bless!

*** Thanks guys for putting up with my shameless plugging of my business. Things have been lacking here lately at a time when the extra income would be greatly appreciated. Especially with the new house and new baby coming up quickly! I will try to post pics of some of the baskets I have done soon to give you an idea of what they look like. You can always visit Dawn for her input, at http://overactiveimagination.blogspot.com as she was the recipient of two of my Christmas gift baskets this past holiday season. I am currently working on two 8-piece Skin-so-Soft baskets (one Light & Lush and one Soft & Sensual) for a local Real Estate company. Each one includes: a shower gel, hand cream, body lotion, body buffer, foam bath, bar soap, roll-on deodorant, and bath puffy. I will try to post pics when I'm done with them. ***

And the Cow Says.... MOOooooo

Okay, so did you ever have one of those days where no matter how many outfits you drag out of your closet, shake the wrinkles out of, and throw over your head...absolutly nothing looks or fits right? I'm usually pretty easy-going when it comes to what I'm wearing...I don't spend a lot of time stressing over "the perfect outfit." All I ask is to A) look my age, B) look my size, and C) be comfortable in what I'm wearing. I really don't think that is too much to ask from the clothes that I probably paid too much for in the first blinkin' place. Now if only things actually worked out that way. Of course, being pregnant hasn't helped my wardrobe out much either. In case you haven't noticed...maternity clothes...the good ones that don't look like they were made by Omar the Tent-Maker... are expensive. Then if you've been fortunate enough to experience more than one pregnancy...you probably don't want to wear the same maternity clothes the second (or third) time around that you did the first or second time. Generally by the time that 9 months is over, most women are so sick of maternity clothes they want to burn them. Most of us suffice to pass them along to a friend or make a nice charitable donation to Goodwill or a women's shelter. Anyway, my point is that I am once again forced to wear maternity clothes, and being that this is my third (and last) pregnancy, I don't want to go out and spend a fortune on a wardrobe that I'm going to wear for 9 months and then want to see go up in smoke. I bought two new pair of long pants in basic black and khaki, and acquired a pair of denim shorts and black capri's from a friend. I have several t-shirt type tops that are fine for lounging around the house in, but as far as dressing for dinner, or doctor's appointments, or just going "out" in general I only have two shirts that fit the bill. I prefer the kind that tie in back...more adjustable and figure flattering (if that's even a possibility at this point). LOL I did order two more tops today that should be here by Friday...thank God! Okay, now I will get to the "punchline" of this whole background segment.

I was getting ready to go out to dinner with friends one night last week and I had on a my khaki pants. Well.. the peasant-type blouse I normally wear with those pants was in the washing machine, soaking wet. So my only other option was this almost sleeveless black and white print toile blouse. I put it on and made the mistake of facing the mirror (full-length mind you). Completely irritated, feeling nauseous, and thouroughly disgusted by this point I loudly exclaimed "I look like a big freakin' cow!" and ripped the shirt off while I stormed around looking for SOMETHING more suitable.

I survived the ordeal and the next day, while I was digging in my closet I found that pair of black capri pants that my friend had passed along to me. Well, I put the same black and white toile shirt on with those pants and it actually looked pretty nice! I was pleased....that is...until I walked out of my bedroom and down the hall. Upon seeing me, my three year old immediately looks shocked and says... "but MOMMY...I thought you didn't WANT to be a cow!!!" (Thanks a lot.) But then...I guess I had that one coming. However..I was totally unprepared for the reaction of my 18 month old. She had been asleep during all the excitement the night before and was clueless to any of the previous drama that had unfolded. So imagine my shock when I went to her room to get her...and she waddles up to the baby gate to greet me...not with a smile...not with a mama....but with a large, enthusiastic..... MOOOOOOoooooo. That was it. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed!

One Step Forward...

Well, we heard from our mortgage broker today and the "underwriting" on our loan is being processed and we should have it in our hands no later than Friday of this week. After that the next step is to contact our lawyer and arrange a meeting for him to litigate the actual "closing" of the sale. Which means that there are some documents that will have to be sent to his office beforehand such as the "termite bond" and our proof of insurance, etc. I'm fuzzy on all the details myself. I will just be glad when everything is finalized and this part of our journey is over. I'm actually kinda looking forward to the move. I packed my first box today. Of course it wasn't much since I'm not allowed to do a whole lot by myself right now. But I took down all the pictures on the walls and collected all my framed photos off the mantel and packed them neatly away for future transfer. I guess I will attack my Precious Moments collection next. I probably have about 50 pieces that need to be taken down, dusted, and carefully bubble-wrapped and repacked in their orignial boxes. Since we are not sure yet if we will be closing at the end of this month or the next then I don't know how long I have to actually pack for the move. I decided it was probably safe to go ahead and start packing away all the decorative things, and seasonal stuff that we don't use everyday. Of course if we are going to be closing in three weeks or less I will really have to get my butt in gear! LOL

Sorry for the Neglect

Okay...here is my first post (thanks to Joy who emailed me to see if I had fallen in a hole... lol ) following a long time of neglect for which I am offering a sincere apology. The truth is, I've been so busy that I completely forgot that I even HAD a blog! How bad is that? We are in the process of buying our first home (we currently rent), and dealing with Realtors and our financial company on a daily basis, on top of keeping up with my three year old and 18 month old...accompanied by my being nearly 4 months pregnant now has been...um...EXHAUSTING to say the least! :) Things are going well though. So far baby and I are both healthy. We should find out baby's gender about this time next month. As for the house-hunting, we have put a contract down on a nice 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom home that is just perfect for us. The contract has been signed by the owners and returned to us. Our financing has been approved, so now we are just waiting on the papers we need to get here so that we can head to the lawyer's office for closing. We hope to start moving in by June 1st. God knows it's going to take me the next two months to get everything packed up. I've never attempted a move during a pregnancy before and I'm sure it will be a challenge. Especially when you consider that I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than 5-10 lbs, stand on chairs or step-stools, or reach above my head. Fortunatly several friends have volunteered some help so I guess I'll pack boxes, tape 'em, and point to where they go! (While trying to refrain from packing my kiddies up in one too! LOL) Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes!