The Job Search

Both J and I are in search of new jobs for the coming school year. I am probably a little more anxious than usual because every time I have had to do this, we were taken care of before spring break! Here it is, May 27 - wait!! 28 and we're not quite there yet... I've left no stone unturned.. and as a soon-to-be science teacher, you'd think they'd be beating down my door. Oh well... I've submitted applications and emailed principals until I'm blue in the face. Maybe next week, during final exams for most of the world, someone will want to interview me. Maybe?

Grumpy.

That pretty much describes it, doesn't it?
Grumpy, TWO, and ill-cooperative.
But still beautiful!!

My wonderful friend, Emily, took this photo yesterday morning, and several more, of my beautiful yet grumpy child. She is a fantastic photographer, and she's also very patient! We're going to try again in the afternoon and indoors on another day.

Birthday Fun!

Today was Olivia's birthday party! We had such a fun time with all her little (boy) friends! Apparently, Olivia's friends are mostly boys, since we only had one little girl over today! A few pics from today's festivities....

Coloring fun!



Fun with balloons!!





Swimming Pool Fun!



Blowing out her candles!



Princess Olivia opening her presents!





She is totally exhausted! Phew, what a day!

Bree in the kitchen...

Some of you know that there could be a serious tragedy happen around my house in the next few minutes.... but I'm in the kitchen.

I am attempting 10 minute Sesame Chicken. I thought, just for your amusement tonight, I'd give you a play by play. I'll be back later with pics. But I gotta go now before I burn the place down!

**And we're back! (No fire alarms!)
I will chronicle this dinner with photos, just for your viewing pleasure. Disclaimer: I am using a Kodak digital camera that I didn't pay very much for, and I have ZERO photography skills.



Here is what the inside of the package looks like. I'm thinking this is doable. I see a packet of rice, some sauce, and a bunch of veggies with some sparse bits of chicken.

After successfully putting the packet of rice into a bowl (wow, that was rough) and setting it aside, I added 1 TBSP of vegetable oil to my skillet. It told me to add 1 TBSP but since I couldn't find my TBSP measurer, I just poured "some" oil in. Yeah. Probably too much, but whatever. SURELY this wouldn't be a problem.

The instructions called for me to heat the oil on high heat for one minute, and then add the contents of the veggie/sparse chicken mixture. So, I turned on the heat. And waited. And then I waited some more. I couldn't tell if we were really getting any heat, and the only thing I could think of was to stick my finger on the bottom of the pan.
So I did...... it was cold. (phew! The last time I tried this method of checking, things didn't go so well.)
After determining that my burner wasn't working, I switched to a different one. Finally, heat!


Cook it for 8 minutes (or until it's almost burned because Olivia had to go potty)..
Now for some sauce (read: open packet of pre-made sauce and dump in.)



Perfectly microwaved rice (somehow, I didn't burn this either!)


And here it is, on my plate, read to eat!!


And some for the munchkin!


We polished it off! I can't believe it! I made a pre-made 10-minute dinner in 20 minutes! For my next cooking experiment, I'll use REAL ingredients (you know, like fresh veggies?)

Argh, Gasoline.

Well, since gasoline is doing nothing but getting worse, J and I have started to think of ways to save. I'm thinking of investing in a jogging stroller (or ahem, "borrowing" one from my wonderful parents!) and walking to grocery shop. Why not? It's only a few blocks. Yes, maybe more than a few blocks, but it wouldn't hurt me to get some exercise. And with a nice sunshade for the munchkin, a long walk wouldn't be bad for me at all!

After thinking about that, I'm wondering what else could be walked to - like, the post office, school, work, etc. Maybe J can transfer to the Starbucks just down the road... hmmmm...

Broken.

J has just called me, after a long visit with our doctor. After spending our evening last night with J practically miserable, with severe lower back pain and nausea, he decided to go in. He has broken his coccyx(tailbone), and has a bulging disk. J will need to stay off his rear end for a while, which means his is not to sit, but only to either lie down or stand up. Fun. He is also going to be taking some supplements to help with stress, and some painkillers! More fun!

My dear daughter is doing well, other than an ear infection. Of course, what would life be like without ear infections? We toured a local Montessori school today and fell in love! As long as we are able to reserve her spot, she'll be attending in the fall! Hooray! I'm very excited for her, because she really enjoyed the visit this morning, and because the woman who will be her teacher was fantastic! Plus, she gets to wear a super cute uniform! (not that that matters, but it is CUTE!)

Progress with the 2 year old!

Olivia and I went to the Post Office to pick up our mail. She wanted to do the key in the mailbox, so I let her. I showed her how it worked, and even showed her that the key wouldn't work in several other boxes, only ours. When it was time to go, she threw herself on the floor and started kicking and screaming. (ugh.)

I picked her up and left, and immediately, she started pinching me, over and over, harder and harder. I ignored it until I couldn't anymore, and I said, OUCH Olivia, don't pinch mommy. She continued to pinch. So, I said, "Olivia, give me the keys." And she said "NO!". And I took them. I told her she couldn't have the keys if she was going to pinch mommy. So then we get in the car, and she is crying. Then she says "tunes?" and I say "No tunes. You have been a naughty girl so you don't get to listen to music." She cried more. A few minutes later, she said "I sorry mommy"

A-HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PROGRESS. :)

Weight Watchers

I decided to go back to weight watchers! I have needed to do this for a while now, but just didn't feel like I had the energy to do it. So, here we go! :)

Sleep Issues

Olivia has decided the last several nights that she does NOT want to go to bed. She screams and cries. I am not sure what the deal is... because everything was just fine, and she would even go upstairs and put herself to bed, but all of a sudden, not happening!

So, this makes for a TIRED mommy and daddy. We're both sort of dragging... How did I ever make it through the newborn period? Haha! I guess we got really spoiled with her sleeping through the night!

Jason finished all of his coursework to finally graduate with his Bachelor of Arts in Business... I'm SO excited!!! He is really happy too! Jason is getting his degree from Ashford University, which is in Iowa. (He did attend UNT and a community college before that, before we found out we were pregnant with Olivia). He did the coursework online, so his assignments are usually due on Thursdays and Mondays. We had a Thursday night without homework. I'm not sure how long it's been since that happened! It was sort of nice. In any case, we'll be having a big celebration for him soon!