If it Wasn't for Bad Luck, I Wouldn't Have Any at All.

I'm very stressed out today.  Why, you might ask?  Because I can be stressed out, that's why.  

Actually, I think everyone is stressed out around the Holiday season -- which is funny because isn't it the season to sit back and relax?  Unfortunately, when you're a single mom working full-time with a 6 year old's birthday coming up right before Christmas and two family get together's that you're hosting...things get even more stressful.

My youngest was due on Christmas Day but because my OB/GYN was due on the exact same day that I was, she chose to induce me on December 21. 2007.  Since my daughter was born so close to Christmas I need to throw Olivia a party for her friends (usually a few weeks before her birthday), a birthday party for mine & her father's side of the family and I also host Christmas at my house as well.  That's a hell of a lot of money and way too many parties in such a close span of time, but I wouldn't change it for the world no matter how stressful it is.  

As I sit here, I'm thinking about everything I need to do for this weekend, which is her friend's party at Chuck-E-Cheese.  Since I live paycheck to paycheck until my second job starts up in January, everything is done very last minute.  So yes, I have to run out tonight and get a cake, order balloons, grab some decorations and get goody bag items as well.  All 48 hours before the party, which is absolutely lovely.  Not only am I thinking about what I have to do for this weekend but I am also planning the menu for her family party (On Dec 21st) and trying to figure out what activities I am going to have for the 6 kids that will be there. 

I also have to plan when we are going to get Santa pictures done for the girls, when we are going to get Christmas card pictures done and that damn elf...I have to keep thinking up creative ideas of where to put the damn thing.  That's pretty stressful in itself; especially when I'm going to bed at midnight!  I'm usually dragging myself back out of bed, unwillingly, to go put the elves out.  

Want to hear the best part? The icing on the freaking cake? My daughter, who's Birthday party is on Saturday, got sent home from school today with a 102 fever.  Of course, never fails.  Why would things actually go smoothly?  Ironically, she's taking after me.  As a child I always got sick, without fail, right before my birthday and right before a major holiday that we were hosting.  That was the two times out of the year that I actually would get sick.  I had pretty shitty timing and it seems like my daughter is following right in my footsteps.  Of all the traits she could have gotten from me, THAT'S the one she chooses to get!  I'm just kidding -- mostly -- but when it rains, it pours in my family.  If it wasn't for bad luck, we wouldn't have any at all.

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Mommy Gone Crazy -- Where's my sanity?

This is my day after I leave work today.  

I usually work until 4pm with my day job and get home by 4:30pm, I work about 30-35 minutes away from where I live.  Today I have absolutely no free time at all today, not even after 11:30 when I finally get home from finishing shopping.  

A few weeks ago I found out that I have a leak in my air valve on my front passenger side tire and it keeps losing air. I finally just put electrical tape around the air valve, it did help, but when it rains it looses it's sticky and it starts losing air more rapidly again.  The only time I can get to the dealer is on Saturdays and they have no time until after Christmas to see me.  Finally, I called Firestone and asked if they can do anything for me.  Thankfully they said that they can replace the air valve for me instead of the whole sensor -- but my air pressure light will still be on my dashboard.  Who cares about the damn light, I just don't want to have to constantly fill my damn tire with air every other day!  I set up an appointment at 4:40pm for that, directly after I get home.  

Yesterday my oldest, Alayna, woke up with a fever, horrible cough and very scratchy throat.  I figured it was just a 24 hour thing and gave her Tylenol while she stayed home from school.  Optimism is definitely my thing because I thought she would be better this morning.  WRONG!  She still had a fever this morning and felt even worse so I kept her home again and made a doctors appointment for her at 5:15 today.  Now I have to run home from Firestone after that is done, get Alayna, my mom and Olivia and go to the doctors office.  Why do I have to bring them all with me?  I have a job interview at 5:45 with H&R Block.

For the past 7 years I have worked seasonally at H&R Block as a receptionist and this year will probably be no different.  Yes, I do have a day job but unfortunately I need a second job to help catch up on the bills we were late on when I was unemployed.  I figure that this seasonal job (jan-april) will help with paying those bills down so we are current on all of our bills.  Right now we don't have too much leeway with money after paying bills and I wish we had some extra. So basically I have to leave my mom and the girls at the pediatrician's office while I run to the interview and then pick them back up.

After that (bored yet?) I have to finish Christmas shopping, I'm going out with one of my friends for a few hours of sanity tonight and then come home and make:

• 18 Christmas bags for Alayna's class
• 22 Christmas bags for Olivia's class
• 22 Birthday/Christmas cupcakes for Olivia's birthday tomorrow. (Class)
• 15 Birthday/Minnie Mouse cupcakes for Olivia's birthday party tomorrow night
• 15 Goody bags for Olivia's birthday party tomorrow night

I also have to prep her Birthday activity for her party since we are having a bunch of 4-5 year old making foam gingerbread houses at the party.  I'm going to be up until probably 3 am doing all of this and I don't know how I'm going to do it.  Nobody better bother me tomorrow, I'm sleeping for as long as I can before I have to do a million more things....

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NEVER go to the mall with kids.

Tuesday I made the very hard and stressful decision to leave Old Navy.  I enjoyed the job but the 45 minute commute to and from work everyday was very stressful on me and tough on my wallet for gas money.  As much as I loved everyone there and enjoyed the job (and the discount!) I told them that we had to part ways as I didn't want to be unfair to them when I couldn't give my all to the job. As I was in the car on the way home from telling them I had to leave (and I was in tears) I got a phone call from Coach.  I had applied with them a few weeks prior and had gone on an interview about a week and a half before...  They were offering me a job!!  I was so excited I could barely contain myself and all I wanted to do was get out of my car and jump for joy.  Not to mention how perfect the timing was of their phone call; when I was crying and stressing over my decision to leave Old Navy!  

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The Bottle / "Baba" Dilemma!

Alayna was such an easy going baby.  She lost the pacifier by the time she was 4 months old and before she was a year old, she shed her bottle as well.  She didn't want anything to do with being a baby, even at 11 months!  As soon as she could talk, she proclaimed herself a "Big Girl" and has been that way since.  Olivia is a different story...

She was great with the pacifier.  She quickly got rid of that by the time she was 4 months old; just as her sister did.  We're having a problem with the bottle.  I don't know if she finds it her security or she just likes to drink from a bottle because she can use it at bedtime (I know, I'm a bad mother if I give my child a bottle at bedtime)  but she just won't give up the "baba".  Trust me, I have tried numerous times.

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A Mother's Guilt...

 

Olivia's dad is one of the best dads I've seen in a long time.  He wants to be very involved in Olivia's life as well as Alayna's and I love that he cares for both of my girls.  He lives in Long Island and we live in New Jersey...that ride is a good hour/hour and a half long each way.  I have driven it a few times, but every other weekend her dad comes to pick her up for a great and fun weekend with him and his family.  

 

She has been going to her dad's house every other weekend since she was 7 months old, and at that time Alayna started to have a very hard time with Olivia leaving.  Alayna would cry when Olivia would be getting ready and when she would leave with her dad, Alayna would stand there on the front porch and cry while she waved to her sister.  I would promise her that while Olivia was gone we would have a very fun day, and we did.  We would do special activities with just myself and Alayna so I could give her that extra attention that she needed.

 

Finally, Alayna got used to the fact that Olivia would go every other weekend and she would look forward to our weekends together.  Even though she would still say she missed Olivia, she wouldn't be as upset as she had been in the past.  I thought we were finally over all of the crying and tears.

When Olivia turned 2, she started to get very upset at the fact that she would have to leave every other weekend to go with her dad and his family.  Of course, she loves them, but she wanted to stay with myself and Alayna.  Now I had the other one crying and refusing to go!  

 

I have to tell you -- It breaks a mother's heart when you see either of your girls crying over this!  It breaks your heart to have to put her in her dad's car, give her kisses and walk away while she's still crying and refusing to go.  I do know, however, that walking away is the best way to go because otherwise we'd be sitting there for hours with her crying and refusing to go.  It's heartbreaking, but I know she'll stop crying soon when she realizes she can't have her way; and she does!  We always look forward to our phone call from her and her dad 10-15 minutes after they leave when she's happy, calms down and adjusts to going.  

 

Even though I know she has fun and I love to see the pictures they post on Facebook of her visit, it makes me feel so guilty to just leave and walk away when she's crying in her dad's car.  I just hope that as she gets older the transition will get easier for both of my girls!  

 

 

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NO OBJECT IS SAFE FROM CHILDREN!! lol

I've professed my undying love and devotion for my point and shoot Samsung Dual View (TL220) camera many times in the past on here. I bought it a few months ago when my Canon Cyber Shot flaked out on me and decided to not work with the LCD screen anymore.  This camera has gone everywhere with me and it even has a nice little padded case.  I'm always so careful with this camera...until today.  

This afternoon I was taking pictures and uploading everything for my Energizer Smart ChargHER Blogher post and when I was done I left it on the kitchen table next to my laptop.  Unfortunately, we were in a rush to get to Kohls this afternoon, so I left the case next to it.  That usually wouldn't be a big deal because we were all going out and I figured when I got home I would just put it into the case and back into my purse.

My mom notified me on the way home that we needed apple juice and toilet paper and Olivia was screaming and throwing a temper tantrum because she couldn't get a toy she wanted at Kohls, so instead of driving to the grocery store with the temper tantrum and leaving my mom in the car with miss moody, I decided to drop them off home and head to the grocery store myself.  It's not fun to go to the store with a cranky, crying two year old in tow and I wouldn't put my mom through the horror of sitting in a confined space (my car) with miss attitude.  I dropped them off and headed back out to the grocery store.

Do you see where this post is heading?

I get a call from my mom while I'm in the grocery store.  It was about 5 minutes after I left home to go back out and get the few things we needed from the store. 

"Now, don't get angry when I tell you this..." She said and stopped after she said that.  I guess looking for an answer from me.  I have learned that whenever something starts off like that, it isn't a good thing. I said nothing. lol

"Olivia was in the kitchen and touched your camera.  I don't know what she did, she may have deleted something."  

Whew...at least she only may have deleted something.

I told my mom that I'd deal with it when I got home and she could just put it on the counter or somewhere out of reach.  So she did.  Only I should have realized, my mom isn't tech savvy.  She doesn't use a camera or know how to use a camera.  

When I got home I went to get my camera only to find out that THE SHUTTER WOULDN'T CLOSE AND THE ZOOM WON'T GO BACK IN.  I cried...no, really...I did cry.  

Not even thinking, I put the camera back in the box and drove to Best Buy, where I got it from.  I swore that I had the credit card with me I bought it with, but after waiting on the returns line for 15 minutes, I realized I didn't have it with me.  (I don't just leave credit cards at home, I don't use this one anymore. lol)  The woman at customer service said they wouldn't be able to do anything without the receipt or without the credit card.  I figured I would go back in the morning with the credit card I had bought it with.

A lightbulb went off in my head on the way home, that maybe I could fix this myself.  Krissy: THE QUEEN OF THINKING SHE CAN DO THINGS HERSELF WHEN REALLY, SHE PROBABLY CAN'T... That' me, that should be my title.  The 'wannabe' tech and repair DIY.  Even so, I googled it and found a website that had a few steps to fix this on ANY camera.  

Tried a few of them and up to step 5 didn't work.  I was losing hope quickly and figured I would jsut have to send it into Samsung and hope they can replace it.  Number 6 was my last hope and I was silently praying and hoping that it would work.  They told me to do this:

Plug the camera into the wall power source and turn it on.  

So I did...the camera went on, that was an improvement.  Then they said to try to press the zoom back and forth.  So I did...

IT WORKED!!!

My zoom went in and out and the shutter/zoom extended and went back in.  I shut the camera off and it went back to it's normal ways.  At this point, I wanted to marry the person who had written that on their website.  I wanted to e-mail them and profess my undying love and devotion to them...only I didn't.  I figured that wouldn't be appropriate from someone who just learned how to fix their camera from their instructions...  And no, I'm not THAT desperate to find love. lol

I'm just happy it worked.  I would have been stuck without a camera if it didn't.  (And I'm one who LOVES to take pictures of everything.)  

Moral of this story:  (There are two)

#1.  NO OBJECT is safe from a nosy 2 year old.  No matter how many times you tell them not to touch things and no matter how much you think they  may understand, don't leave precious electronics where kids can get them.  (I should have known this from when Alayna, as a 2 year old, decided to see if my phone could swim...in the toilet...)  

#2.  If your zoom ever gets stuck extended, plug your camera into the wall power source and try to power the camera on.  When it goes on, if it goes on, try to move the zoom back and forth.  If it worked for me, it may work for you!!

 

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