top 10 things i wish people knew about me when i'm using WIC checks

1. wic checks and food stamps are 2 totally different things.

2. actually, yes, i am married to a mexican. just as much as i'm married to an american.

3. i love my "effin' half breeds" as much as you love your little wasps.

4. i get wic checks until my kids are 5 years old wether my husband makes $100 a year or $100,000 a year. if you've got a problem with it you can adopt your own child from foster care.

5. i will not apologize for choosing to adopt through foster care because of all the assistance that comes with them.

6. i bought these pants from a goodwill store in florida 3 years ago, these shoes are from target 5 years ago and my shirt is so old i have to wash it every time i wear it and yes, i'm wearing deodorant.

7. i don't buy the kroger brand because i'm so poor, i buy it because i'm so frugal and i found out i love kroger brand of everything.

8. i can hear you huffing and puffing when you see me give the wic check to the cashier.

9. i quit a job making more than i ever thought i'd make to take care of my babies, i did not have babies so i could live off the system. if you only knew my struggle just to get here you'd realize what a jerk you're being.

10. i know you're judging me because you are ignorant and that is why i am not screaming 1-9 at you. it's not your fault you have these thoughts about people using wic. there are a lot of people who do abuse the system, i just happen to not be one of them.

the ups, the downs, the weekend

my husband is training for his first marathon. i'm so excited for him and proud of him. he wanted to last year but with the addition of asher we just did not have the extra minutes in a weekend for him to do the runs. so sadly it got pushed off. well this year he vowed again that he was going to do it and i am determined not to push his goals off for another year. my husband is in shape all the time. even when he's at his fattest he's skinnier than most people. which means, if he's training for a marathon i can not let myself go, even for a minute. and i love eating chocolate. love it!
which leads me to this morning. i woke up before the kids-that never happens. i had energy-that never happens. i rolled over and said "mind if i go running?" i knew he wanted to go running today. he told me last night. and we have a double running stroller so we can go together-but let me tell you-it's one thing pushing a double running stroller, it's another doing it in high altitude, going uphill. (we live at the bottom of the hill no matter which direction you go.) he said he didn't mind. within 7 minutes i had brushed my teeth and was out the door with my running shoes on. i ran 4 1/2 miles in 45 minutes, got home, and fed the kids breakfast. paul was still getting ready to go running. he moves really slow on saturday mornings because "it's the weekend". and for me, the weekend is all about getting the stuff done i can't do during the week because i'm keeping up with the kids, wearing them out, getting them home for lunch, into bed for nap time, getting the house clean, laundry done, dinner made, grocery shopping. all of the things that go unnoticed literally every other minute of the week. he doesn't believe me that 30 minutes late on a lunch/nap schedule is a big deal. i assure you, it is! which led to more frustration. we got the kids down for naps and i hit the door to get my errands done.
and the neighborhood next door was having a garage sale. it's a really nice neighborhood. most houses go for $500,000 to $800,000. which means they've got nice stuff in those garage sales.
i scored these bad boys, all 4 for $50 (one sells for $40):

i'd show you how they look around the bar except we don't have the bar yet. give me a month or two.
and this bad boy for $5:

that will hide all of these secrets:

AND not pinch fingers. huge score. i love saving money, but best of all, i LOVE repurposing stuff and not buying things brand new and sending perfectly good stuff to the dump. LOVE it. my sister-in-law, jenn, is an amazing recycler. i seriously think she's eliminating the carbon footprint for at least 10 people all by herself. i wish i could be a smidgeon as good at it as she is.

and while i was getting those pictures off the camera i found these to tide you over for a while. asher eating a snack with all 5 of his teeth.

and karyssa taking a bubble bath. special treat around these parts because of asher's eczema. We're working on "smile" with out squinting her entire face.

karma baby.

tonight we went to kohl's to exchange some shirts i got paul for christmas. for some reason medium looked HUGE so i got him all smalls. every single shirt small. well, he tried them on today and whoa. he's not a small. we made our exchanges and checked out, and paid the difference put coats on the kids and headed out. as soon as i got karyssa in the car i said "you've got my wallet?" paul looked at me nuts and said "no!" that's when i realized something in the last 2 minutes had gone awry. i went through my kohl's bag. i checked in my seat. i checked all over around the car. i walked back into the store...correction...ran back into the store. i went up to the guy that checked us out and he said "no, if i'd seen it i would have told you." it seemed odd. i went back out to paul we searched the cart again. we searched under the car. we searched all the seats. paul went back in. again the guy wasn't incredibly helpful and we both began to suspect he knew exactly where my wallet was. he came back out and as we pulled away i looked at our spot one more time. no wallet. i said "did they take your number so they can at least call us?" and he realized no one had done that. he went back into the store and i could see from the car things were escalating. something wasn't right. i parked the car and hauled both kids back in side. at this point asher is screaming hungry. (he's not eaten well for days because he's getting teeth.) and by now i'm SURE our cashier knows full well what's going on. i said i'm about ready to call the police. i am getting more pissed by the second at this point. the manager (who was all of 19) watched the video and said he could see me pay and put the card back in my wallet then the wallet back in my left pocket. where i now have an empty cheerios container. why i put it in the only full pocket i have is beyond me. but lets get back to how it's all the cashier's fault. then he checks the video of the parking lot and paul watched it with him. all the way down the sidewalk i go with the wallet in my pocket. no one around me for steps. but then there's this blank spot over by the far doors that's not on the video. we searched and searched and searched. the bushes. the parking lot. the car. the kohl's bag. the shopping cart. the parking spot. everywhere. we finally had to come home and eat dinner. we called all the credit cards and bank cards and cancelled everything. then it dawned on me-at this point we know full well it is not the cashier's fault and we did not apologize. we walked in, he did his job, we shat upon his night and left. um. that's not good. so i pulled out the receipt and called the store to leave a message like a chicken. they gave me right to the cashier. ugh. now i've got to apologize "face to face". i told him in the tizzy of leaving we hadn't apologized and i was so sorry and he interrupted and said "ya and your whole family was watching me!" (we had bumped into some friends while leaving the store so they stood with us in a mob ready to bust some knee caps until we saw the video.) i said "i know! i realize-and they knew too that it was on the video. i apologize. i am so sorry! it was not your fault at all and i felt awful!" with that he chippered up. he was seriously still pissed at us - and, i must say, rightfully so. a few minutes later tatum started barking like a banshee. i took her outside to pee and a cop pulled up. um. this is not normal. i took tatum back inside and the cop said "are you sheri?" (i did not correct him-my name is pronounced cherie). "yes......did you find my wallet!!!!" a customer at kohl's had found it. "WHY DIDN'T SHE JUST GIVE IT TO KOHL'S!!??!!" "she didn't speak english...she took it home to her husband that did speak english and he called the police." she didn't know what to do! she found my wallet, complete with the $6 cash in it, didn't know it was safe to give it to kohl's, finished her shopping, went home and called the police.
and this is where i believe in karma. i was so glad i had already called the cashier BEFORE my wallet was found so i could clear my conscience. and then my wallet came back to me. THANK GOODNESS. now i just have to wait for all my new credit cards to come in. oh jeez.

made BANK!

this morning i went to a MOPS garage sale at our fairgrounds. i kicked BUTT! i got peanut outfitted for the entire year and i only spent $11 more than our allowance. today was the last day of the garage sale so it was half price day. i made out like a bandit. she rang me up and i thought i easily would have spent another $400 if i tried to buy all of that new. nordstrom, carters, gap, hannah anderson, incredible stuff. and a play mat with an overhangy thing and a baby bath tub that the county said we had to get. before we went i said "dear god-please provide" and that's all i said and then i went in and there was so much stuff i could use. i still haven't made up my mind on a sling. i don't know how to pick one out? everyone gives me different suggestions and i just don't know how to use them. and i have a weak back at times so i'm not sure if i could even sling a kid if i had one. anyway-i was proud because i prayed and let god provide and then was so incredibly frugal i think even god said "dang!"
people complain all the time because we get a one time allowance for each kid, it's not even $100, but i, seriously, have never had a problem. i just buy what i need and make sure what i bought is resale, looks brand new, and then i take care of it. i'm so excited.
OH! and best of all, the onesie on top says "peanut" on it. if you click on the picture you can see it. my eyes about bulged out of my head when i found that. can't wait until he fits into it this summer.

one more thing-when i was ringing up they were asking sweet pea "so do you have a brother or a sister?" and i said "a brother." and they said "how old is he?" and i said "5 days." and every head at the table whipped and looked at me and said "what?!" and i said "OH NO! I didn't give birth to him." And they said "wow, in our house we were still in a daze at 5 days." i wanted to say "ya, but i did make dinner every night this week, and made every appointment on time, and cleaned the house from top to bottom and today is the first day that the house isn't spotless!" but i didn't. i just let them think i was a slacker. i'm not sure what they thought my connection to the baby was.

bless your little heart!

today i went shopping with my christmas bonus. i'm not being selfish-our boss gives us our bonus and then takes us shopping to be sure that we spend it all on ourselves. it's really hard for me to do. REALLY hard. but today i went shopping for some much needed jeans. the last time i bought jeans was when mom and dad took me and paul shopping when we were poorer than dirt and paul was in school. today we were at the buckle and i told the girl i thought i was a size 31. i tried them on and whoa nelly. i'm not a size 31 anymore. i looked like saggie sally for sure! so i tried on the next size down, then the next! i'm a size 29! then i said "do you have them in a 29 short?" and she said "no...we don't carry the short in the smaller sizes." !!!! i'm now considered one of the smaller sizes? by the buckle? i could understand if walmart or lane bryant considered me a smaller size...but the buckle? i was shocked! i said "well, bless YOUR heart for calling me a 'smaller size'" and she chuckled and said "well you're smaller than me." !!!!! shocked again. so i guess all this no sugar business does have some perks. and maybe buying some way over priced pants will be the lucky charm to ensure i won't fit into them long because soon i'll have a pregnant belly. *sigh* maybe.
on that note-tonight i was putting sweet pea to bed and i often pray over her and i pray for her education and her development and her future and her family and for judge mclean and for all of the case workers and G.A.L.'s and casas and attorneys assigned to our case. i pray for wisdom and softened hearts and for the new baby and that some how it will find its way to our house. and that we will get to love this baby for years to come into her future and all of a sudden i got this feeling of "it's done. it's already written that she will be yours." and then i got this tiny bit of reassurance that she's not the only one. so we'll see.

i got my new shoes on

yesterday i got sweet pea some new shoes. we got home and i pulled them out of the box and she came charging across the room and sat down and started pulling on her tennis shoes so she could get them off to try on the new shoes. heehee! she is sooooo cute! i put on her new shoes and she was soooo proud of them. she loved them. this morning we tried to wear them to school (daycare) but they slip off after a short while so they won't make it a whole day. but i can't wait for this weekend so she can wear them.

whoa.

sweet pea woke up screaming in terror at 1:45am so we snuggled and ate bottles and cheerios for an hour last night and i prayed for her health and her brain and bones to grow big and strong and for her bio family and for things that we need. random stuff like an exersaucer, a baby carrier and a diaper geenie. this morning paul took tatum out and our new neighbors across the street with an 8 year old boy were having a garage sale to get rid of his old toddler items. random stuff like an exersaucer, a baby carrier and a diaper geenie and all kinds of toddler books and tub toys. they let me have it all for $20. it was kind of eerie. like god was telling me he's hearing my prayers and answering them. i hope he answers the part where i prayed that this one will lead to adoption in under 12 months. :) we love her!

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Today we went down to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. I have waited to go to this since last year when we went hiking instead of going. A few years ago I went with a friend from work and saw this artist. I love her work. I told myself then, when Paul was a student, that some day I would buy one of her pictures. They are so cute and creative and make you think about how big the world really is even though it seems to get smaller and smaller every day. Anyhow-this is my favorite picture of all of them. I want to get it to hang up in my dining room. It's such a great picture to see when you start your day.

in an effort to update

ok-i'm going to try to keep you posted day-by-day instead of week-by-week. i know i've been slacking lately and it's pathetic really. my days are getting so busy that by the end of the week when i have time i've forgotten most of what i was going to say.
so today i trimmed off the edges of my quilt and started putting the binding on. it looks awesome. and i love it with the raggedy ann and andy sheets that are on that bed, however, paul has informed me those sheets aren't very "boyish". so we'll see how long those sheets last. i keep telling myself "after this quilt i'm taking a break". and then i find yet another pattern i'm just dying to put together. do you think i could put quilt tops together and sell them to people who want to do the quilting? i like the quilting part but not as much as the piecing together part. i can throw a quilt together in a weekend, usually. this quilt took me a whole week. so i told myself "no more!" and then i found some super cute patterns i'm DYING to do for my neices that i need to make quilts for. i am not ready to give up that self-made tradition. and i found the cutest cutest patterns for each one. so...we'll see how long i can hold out and not make another quilt. because then it sits in the basket waiting to be quilted giving me guilt when i watch tv. that's when i get most of my quilting done because i'm just sitting there. other than the office there's really no show where you have to SEE the people's acting. it's all just lines. but the office, you miss one awkward camera glance and you've missed some serious plot. man i love that show. derailed-sorry. anyhow. tonight a friend from work, linda, i think she's a left over hippy. i just love her. she gets on these religious kicks and they crack me up. this year she has decided she's not celebrating holidays. i'm not quite sure i follow her logic but she's adimant about it. man-i'm a train wreck tonight...back on track-she has a storage unit full of toys she has to clean out. and i have a cleaned out house that needs toys. so wah-lah! we're helping each other out tonight and i'm gonna go empty out her toys for her. yippee!!! now foster kids will want to stay for something more than cool bunk beds! she gave us so much stuff we are beyond blessed. i am humbled, once again, by the way God chooses to provide. it's little things. i wanted a little step stool. nothing fancy or major, just a little something for brushing teeth. she had one. i was looking at some more blankets, just in case, but i'd really like a blue blanket that would match the boy bed, but gosh, i hate spending money on it. she gave me one. and it looks like a down comforter, but it's blue. and not baby blue. it's like stormy sky blue. baby block bible. puzzles with the alphebet. learning toys. alphebet flash cards. a barbie kitchen that talks. AND it not only talks, it says "for nutrition help, press one. for fitness tips, press 3....etc" and a baby doll that talks and best of all it says "i love you." something these kids might or might not have heard and have trouble with. a children's book, about the size of a golden book called "does god see me". hello!? do these kids need to know that or WHAT?! let me think what else...a cradle and so many stuffed animals i can hardly cram them all in there. a couple pairs of pants that are neutral, some girl pajamas. a bucket full of cars and boy toys, and a bucket full of dishes and girl toys. just enough baby toys that it didn't freak me out. a baby doll stroller. a baby stroller. a toddler stroller. an ecta-sketch and one of those sketch toys that has the little slide bar that clears the board. a mr. potato head. seriously-i can't even think of it all. so much stuff and things EXACTLY what i've had my eye on but just can't spend the money on because i just don't know who to prepare for.
ok-i've been bleaching toys and washing clothes and stuffed animals for 4 hours now. i gotta go to bed. thanks to all of you that have been praying for god to provide. it's working.

Caffe Luna

This morning I went to my favorite little coffee spot, Caffe' Luna, on our way to doggie day care and there was a line out the door! It's so delicious. If you live anywhere near Longmont, you have to go here:

Tonight Paul is going down to his parents to go camping/cutting wood/having "the talk" with Jacob. I am so torn. I want to just pack up my quilt and Tatum and go down and just quilt all weekend but I have SO much to do. I don't think we've done the dishes since Monday. The house is a mess with dog toys strewn about like a tornado came through her toy basket. There is a layer of some kind of dust/gunk on all the bathrooms. I'm still up in the air. And if I don't go, I can go to a ladies movie night for a group at my church, or go see Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at the high school, and we have a tenative date with Buster tomorrow morning to go to the dog park. *sigh* what to do, what to do?!

it's coming, it's coming!!

so this week we drove down 119 only to find the fourth wall, the store front, has been added to the best store coming to longmont. i was never really a shopper or a shoe person until i worked in the commercial office in downtown denver. my co-workers there were totally into shoes and i quickly realized how fun it really is to be obsessed with shoes. and so began my love for DSW Shoe Warehouse. i'm not sure why the web page doesn't list the longmont store, but i cannot wait and i hope it's a good one. i've become quite the DSW critic in my recent years. the best part of DSW is when you walk in and go straight to the back there's the best section ever. the clearance section. there's the cutest shoes that you can only wear with one outfit but the best part, is they are super cheap. like, i got the cutest pair of green leather shoes. so ugly and you can only wear them with a couple shirts that i have. but guess what. they were $8. another pair of super cute brown leather boots with a braid of leather up the side-$12. yes, that's right, i said $12! so i'm super excited and i hope it's a good one like the one in park meadows and not like the one on colorado blvd. i've never seen a pair i couldn't live with out at the colorado blvd store. but needless to say i'm beyond excited and every time i drive past i squeal a little more. sunday i scared paul with my squeal. he had no idea i've been stalking the construction workers at the new DSW.