Archive for January 2018

Snow Day

January 17, 2018 1 Comments A+ a-


Snow Day

Well, last night it didn't look like we were going to get much snow. Then, I wake up this morning to this. While it seems like there's not a whole lot of snow, underneath the stuff that's on the cement is comprised of solid ice. Combine the snow and ice with 14-degree temperatures and a wind chill of -1, and we have a snow day today.

The snow is beautiful, don't get me wrong. But, it is so cold outside that I can't even take Chloe out to play in it. When she got up this morning, I took her downstairs and told her to look outside. Since she's under the impression that else makes it snow, she got super excited to see the white stuff all over the place and immediately wanted to go outside. Unfortunately, we can't go out yet.

Schools all over Metro and North Georiga have canceled classes for today. Our county calls snow days Online Learning days. In fact, I was given a list of activities to complete with my kid. Of all twenty items on the list, I am to do two of the things with her and then email the teacher telling her what we did together. The older kids have school work they have to complete online and email to the teacher. So, in all actuality, it isn't a snow day.

My husband received a text message early this morning letting him know that his employer was opening at 11 am. When he left to leave for work, he got up towards the main highway and got another call saying that they were remaining closed for the day. So, he ended up not having to go to work. Everyone in our household is currently home doing their own separate things throughout the house.

The other two kids, Torrey and Wyatt, also have a snow day today in South Carolina. Sometime in the middle of the night, their school was closed for today. They currently have two inches of snow, and it is still falling.


Because my friend April lives in a part of California where snow is scarce, she lives vicariously through the rest of us. So, I'm adding an extra picture of snow for her since I know she reads my blog. The photo above has a name: Footprints In the Snow. I'm sure she'll enjoy it, and, maybe, she'll get some snow of her own soon. 

Tonight through tomorrow morning is supposed to be super cold which makes the possibilities for ice even stronger. Hopefully, some of this is melted, and the roads aren't too bad. Only time will tell.

Until tomorrow ...

The Kid Rode A School Bus

January 16, 2018 1 Comments A+ a-


The Kid Rode A School Bus

Today was Chloe's first day of her second week of school. During her Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting back in December, we discussed the option of her taking the bus to school. At first, I was very hesitant. In fact, the school bus idea was first brought up in November; I was reluctant then too. But, at the IEP meeting, I was talked into allowing her to take the bus given that the school buses had car seats with harnesses installed on them for the smaller kids.

So, today, Chloe took the school bus for the first time. It was a heartbreaking first experience. We walked down the driveway to the bus. When we got to the end of the drive, she didn't want to get on the bus. I had to pick Chloe up and carry her up the stairs to the driver. The monitor put her in the seat and strapped her in. Then, Chloe pointed to me and the seat; she told me to sit. When I said I couldn't go with her, she started to cry. Per the report, she cried all the way to school this morning.

After she left for school, I paid my brother-in-law ten bucks to run me to QT and Starbucks. You know, I have to have my Chocolate Chip Frappe fix anytime I possibly can. When we got back, I cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes, started 1 of 3 loads of laundry, cleaned the living room, cleaned Chloe's room, and also managed to straighten up the den (my office space) a bit. Overall, the three hours that Chloe was off at school was a very productive time for me.

Chloe's bus brought her home around 2:20 pm. The bus was supposed to arrive by 2:15 pm, but what're five minutes? When she got home, I got her from the bus and spoke to the driver. On the way from school to the house, Chloe didn't cry. She had fun. A little girl sat next to Chloe on the bus and talked to her, made her laugh, and the likes. Chloe's ride home was better than the ride to school. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better for her.

Once we were in the house and settled, I check her school bag for the folder her teacher sends home every day. There were three things inside it: the usual what we did today worksheet, a ziplock bag with the change from the cash I sent for milk, and a letter from the nurse announcing that someone in her class was diagnosed with the flu #FML.

Chloe took a nap shortly after she got home. I could tell she was tired, she wasn't very active, and she pretty much told me she wanted to go to bed. While she was napping, I did a few things for school, worked on some of my Harry Potter project guidelines, and anticipated the completion of the big WoW patch.

WoW was down all day, clear into 8 pm which sucked because I was supposed to raid at 7 pm. Oh well, hopefully, the raid leader will reschedule the raid for another day so we can work on my gear.

Chloe ate Chicken Noodle Casserole for dinner tonight, which is abnormal. She usually doesn't eat any meat. I am glad she's trying new foods.

It's snowing ...


It's currently snowing outside as you can see in the picture above. But, that's the gist of what we've gotten since 5 pm. So, I don't foresee much of a problem for the commuters tomorrow. However, that could change overnight!

Until tomorrow ...

I Got A Legendary

January 15, 2018 1 Comments A+ a-



I Got A Legendary!

I am a World of Warcraft (WoW) player, and I don't discriminate between the Alliance or Horde. I enjoy playing both factions. I have an Alliance main; a Gnome, Holy Priest who acts as my primary healer, and a Blood Elf, Marksmanship Hunter who serves as my primary DPS. I also like playing Druid healers and tanks. 

Until recently, I abandoned my Alliance characters to focus on my Horde toons. My hunter has a 926 item level and two equipped legendaries. I thought it was time to do some work on my Priest. So, I started playing her again on Sunday. When I started, she was at an 883 item level. Now, she's 906 and climbing.

Today, I got my first legendary on my Priest. It isn't the most significant legendary item for my specialization, but it boosted my item level quite a bit. I was able to get into the Antorus raid in Looking For Raid (LFR) and obtained several more pieces of gear to replace the crappy equipment I was wearing. My Heals Per Second (HPS) was sitting at about 400k at 889 item level. I break about 1.2m HPS now, and I'm happy with that. I'm sure it will get better with raid progression and better gear.


My Priest, Gypsiezimmbi (pictured above), is finally getting the love she deserves! I've had more fun playing her the last few days than I have while playing any other character in WoW. It helps that I'm part of an active guild and I don't have to pug (find random players) groups to do dungeons or raids.

During the Draenor expansion, I played her a lot as a disc priest. I switched to Holy when the Legion Expansion released. I'm not sure what her specialization (spec) will be with the upcoming Battle for Azeroth expansion, but I know I want to stick to a healing spec.

That's all I have for you today, a little bit of gamer nerd info about my characters in WoW. Oh, wait, no! Check out what I had for dinner!


You know you have a great chicken pot pie when the crust just falls off the edges of the pie holder! It was truly delicious. :D

Until Tomorrow ...

Birthday Brinner & Officer Training

January 14, 2018 3 Comments A+ a-


Birthday Brinner & Officer Traning

So, today was a pretty chill and relax kind of day. My husband and I played some World of Warcraft, I did some school stuff, and then around 3 pm, we had birthday Brinner with our family on his side. January is a busy month for us as far as birthdays are concerned. Chloe's birthday is January 2nd, my birthday is January 10th, and my husband's birthday is January 19th. Mix that in with our friends birthdays: CJ, January 8th; Nick, January 10th; Nacer, January 13th, and Jeff, January 16, and we just have so many people to celebrate!

CJ, Nick, and Jeff are in Charleston, SC. When my husband and I first met, we just to go to Charleston on my birthday weekend to hang out with friends and go out to dinner. That happened the first couple of years. Now, we can't afford that trip as often as we'd like. This year though, we all talked to each other on the phone or through Facebook. It's not the same as spending the day together, but it works.

From the moment I got up today until about 1 pm, I was taking notes on lectures for both of my classes and getting my initial discussion posts ready to go. This week is all about ideation strategies in English and the Judicial System in Intro to law. Let's fast forward to around 3 pm.



So, Brinner was terrific. My husband's dad grilled up some steaks on the grill (see pre-cooked above). His steaks are to die for; I'm not sure what goes into the rub on his meat, but it makes beef delicious. He uses the rub on beef and pork. My husband's mom cut up some veggies for the grill too. Overall, Brinner was amazing.

You might be wondering what the word Brinner means. Well, I'll tell you. Brinner is a term used for a meal that happens later in the day but isn't considered lunch or dinner. AND, when you don't eat breakfast that morning, we have Brinner. :)

At any rate, after lunch, we gathered around a cake and Chloe received three cupcakes (see picture at top) each with their candle. We sang happy birthday to the three of us, and then we had cake and ice cream. My little one is the only child I know who won't eat cake or ice cream. It drives me crazy.

Chloe asked for cake all week. When she finally got it, she wouldn't eat it. Chloe did eat a tiny bit of frosting off the top of one of her cupcakes. And, when she blew out the candles, she did so with her nose--YUCK!

After all the birthday stuff was completed, I got in the Discord Voice app on my computer and attended an Officer Training session with my Guild Master in World of Warcraft. I recently joined an active guild that spans 12 different servers. One of my friends, who used to be an officer of mine, recruited me into this new guild, and apparently sang my praises to the GM. Then, they convinced me to fill out an official application, put me through their Officer Bootcamp, and I am now an officer in their guild.

I spent the better part of my evening running around in Azeroth, talking to people in discord, and spending time with Chloe. It was a pretty chilled and relaxing day.

Until tomorrow ...

Taking Notes Is Hard

January 13, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-


Taking Notes Is Hard

& We've Got Snow Coming

& Voldemort: Origins of the Heir Released Today!

I've spent the better part of today finishing up notes from the first three chapters of my Intro to Law textbook. Chapters 1-3 were the required reading for the week. The problem with note taking is that I often can't figure out what's relevant or not necessary, so I end up writing too much and hurting myself in the process. 

When it comes to the law, responsibilities, and duties of lawyers and paralegals, as well as other law-related things, I have the mentality that everything is essential. That is especially true for someone like me who is just starting out in legal studies. On the front and back of 31 pages of my 80-page, College Ruled notebook, I have written notes from the lecture, and the first three chapters of my textbook including key terms and definitions as well as diagrams and charts. Think about that for a moment, let that sink in. Keep in mind; there are 7.5 weeks in a semester (a total of 3-4 classes every 15 weeks).

I'll tell you right now, truth said, my writing hand is yelling at me. If that's any indication how the entire semester will go, I'm going to need another notebook and something for pain management!

At any rate, I finished off the week by turning all of my actual assignments in this morning as they were due tonight by 11:59 pm. The teacher for my Intro to Law class graded all but one of my assignments already, and I currently have 100% in the class. Go me, WOOT! The teacher for my other class hasn't graded any of my work yet, so I'll update you guys when I hear more.

On a different note, we're supposed to get snow this upcoming week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I love snow, but only in moderation. I love it more when it snows, sticks to the ground for about a day or two, and then melts. All of my kids love the snow too.

Back in December, we got a small winter storm. We weren't supposed to get much snow. In fact, we supposed to get a dusting. By the time it was all said and done, we had about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground where I live, my step-dad got 7-10 inches (he's like 30 minutes away), and so did my mom and sisters. 

When the snow fell to the ground, it came down in big and beautiful flakes. It was Chloe's first snowfall, so I took her outside in it. I have a ton of pictures from that day. The shown below is my favorite one:


In the picture, Chloe is checking out the strange white stuff on her glove. I had to take the picture because she wasn't looking, and I've always found that candid photos are often the best pictures and moments. 

I am looking forward to the next snowfall. I'll get some use out of the winter jacket I just bought, I can take more pictures of my girly out in it, and my dog will have a field day because she'll be in her element.

I watched a pretty amazing fan-made movie on YouTube today! A film company called "Tryangle Films" produced a movie named Voldemort: Origins of the Heir. The movie was released today all over the world on YouTube around 3 pm EST. At 3:02 pm, the short film had over 10k views. I just rechecked the stats on it; it has over 1.2m views. I've linked the video in the movie title above. However, I believe you have to subscribe to their channel to watch it.

The film itself is about 60 minutes in length. For a fan-made movie, it was pretty amazing. A lot of time and money went into the project, and the producers had the backing of Warner Brothers (though, not financially). So, if you haven't watched it yet; DO IT! I will be doing a review of the movie sometime in the next week. Keep an eye out for that.

Until Tomorrow...

My Kid Has An Issue With Clothing

January 12, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-


My Kid Has An Issue With Clothing

Chloe discovered quite some time ago that she likes to be naked. From time to time, she'll take all her clothes off and run around the house. I know it's normal for kids her age to do that sort of thing. However, the fact that she's a girl makes me feel more uneasy about it. 

Today, I tried to put her down for a nap around 12:30 pm. She didn't go to sleep. Instead, she took all her clothes off--down to her diaper--and put on her frozen beanie. I took a picture of that, but it didn't seem like I should post that. I would never hear the end of it, and I'd get a ton of backlash from people who might stumble across this blog.

At any rate, I put her to bed again around 3:30 pm because she was cranky. I figured if she took a nap, she'd feel better. She's had a cold or something since Wednesday afternoon. Well, it took about twenty minutes for her to go to sleep. She took off her shirt, laid down on the floor, and covered herself with a sheet and blanket. Then, she went to sleep. Around 5:30, I went to wake her up. I found her buried under a blanket and sheet on the floor. And, that is the picture at the top of this post.

I got a lot done today--school-wise. I got through chapters one and two in my Intro to Law class.  I took notes and wrote down key terms, a few quotes, and the likes. I still need to read and do the same thing for chapter 3 tomorrow. 

When the hubby got home from work, I went out to meet my mom and sisters. My sister, Destiny, brought me a birthday card and gave me a $15 gift card for Starbucks! She knows me so well. My mom and step-dad bought me dinner. We played Pineapple/Chinese Poker. My step-dad and I won the first game, then lost the second. 

After the second game (which took forever), I decided it was time to go home. It was 60 degrees earlier today. It dropped down to the low 30s with a real feel of 21. I was worried if I started back too late, I might hit the ice on the road as it was cold and the streets were wet from all the rain. I felt the car pull to the left twice on the way home; it scared the crap out of me. But, I made it back safe and sound before midnight.

Now, it's time for me to relax for a few minutes. Then, I'm going to bed. I have a few things to do for school tomorrow. Otherwise, it'll be a nice and quiet day at home with the kiddo and the husband. 

For those that read this, I apologize it's so short tonight. Nothing too exciting happened, and I'm crunched for time to get this post out before midnight! So, until tomorrow. 

Sick Day, A Picture-less Post

January 11, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-

Sick Day, A Picture-less Post



This is my first blog post of the year that doesn't include a picture. Do you want to know why? Well, I did not take a single picture today. For those of you who don't know me, that is entirely not me. I usually take pictures daily, and the views are mostly of my kid(s). 

But, time to get down to business and why I am here writing this post. Today was a sick day. Chloe came home from school yesterday with a cough and runny nose. She wasn't running a fever, and apart from the look on her face, you'd never have known that she wasn't feeling well. This morning, we got up with Daddy to take him to work. She looked worse this morning than she did yesterday, but she was her usual bubbly self. 

Well, when we got home from dropping Daddy off at work, we took a nap, and she went back to sleep. That's how I could really tell she didn't feel right. When she woke up, her nose and ran and dried up all over her face. She was coughing a bunch too. So, I called the school and told them what was going on and was pretty much instructed to keep her home today. She still didn't have a fever. However, I'm not 100% sure on that because she wouldn't sit still long enough for me to put the thermometer under her arm. 

Around here, the flu is going around and the second round that's been hitting the kids has been pretty bad for the younger ones. Chloe's teacher informed me that, luckily, none of their students had come down with the flu, but colds were going around. 

Anyway, sometime around 11:45 am, we had lunch. Afterward, we ran out to Walgreens to pick up a different thermometer. The pharmacist recommended the one that you can use on the temple and under the arm, and it wasn't cheap, but worth it to make sure that my baby didn't have a fever. We also picked up some Pepcid for me because heartburn has been kicking my butt as of late. 

When we got home, I checked my temperature to show Chloe how the thermometer would work. Then, she let me check hers. She wasn't running a fever. Soon after that, it was nap time. I put her down for a nap, and she went right to sleep, again. She slept until 4:25 pm and only woke up because I had to wake her up so we could pick Daddy up for work.

While she was napping, I got a good bit of school work done. I literally have one assignment left to do for both of my classes, and I can't do either of them until Saturday as they are supposed to be completed on the last day of the week for each course. 

The only other thing to happen today is sort of entertaining. I was browsing posts on Facebook and came across a post on a Harry Potter group page that said, 

"How to download Harry Potter movies?"

Well, I hit the comment button and wrote,

"You don't. You go to the store and buy them like a normal, ethical fan."

Then, the comments started coming in. I was getting notifications left and right about comments posted to my comment. It turns out, I totally posted the comment on the WRONG post. Apparently, I made a lot of people laugh. When I realized I posted in the wrong place, I apologized, and people seemed to enjoy the "ha ha" moment that was being not paying attention to where I was posting something on social media. 

Well, that's all I've got for today. Until tomorrow ...

Happy Birthday To Me

January 10, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-


Happy Birthday To Me

I'm 31 Today!


Today was Chloe's second day of school. This morning went better than yesterday morning. When I dropped her off at school, she happily went with her teacher. The picture of Chloe above is at the school, in the lobby while we were waiting for the teacher. She waved bye to me and didn't even cry. However, when I picked her up from school, she didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay. So, she threw herself onto her knees and cried. Of course, I picked her up and carried her out the door and halfway through the parking lot. When I told her we were going home to see grandma, she was all smiles. 

While Chloe was at school today, I ran a few errands. I picked up a few notebooks for my school classes, as well as some dry erase markers for our calendar and my task board. On my way home, I stopped at Starbucks to pick up my birthday drink. I got that silly little (largest they had) Double Chocolate Chip Frappe that my little sister got me hooked on. Then, I went home.

My semester of school started today. This term I'm taking English 102, Introduction to Legal Studies and Quantitative Reasoning Mathematics. I lost my scholarship due to failing English 102 last term. I didn't fail because my grades were terrible. I failed because I missed the last 2.5 weeks of school because I was so sick I barely did anything and Didn't turn in any assignments for that class. So, I'm retaking it this term, but having to drop from four to three courses so that my financial aid covers my tuition and books. I'll be applying for scholarships soon, though.

So, today is my 31st birthday, and it's been a pretty good day overall. I cleaned up around the house this morning, took Chloe to school, ran some errands, got some school work done, picked Chloe up from school, and then I came home and started cooking dinner. By the time I finished getting everything ready, it was about 4:30 pm and I had to take Chloe and pick up my husband near Atlanta. Once he was in the care, he decided we were going out to dinner for my birthday, and we enjoyed some fantastic food at Applebee's with our little girl.

Something absolutely incredible happened while we were at dinner though. Our little girl has been having issues chewing and biting food, so we usually give her utterly soft stuff. For supper, she had macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and broccoli! Then, she ate some applesauce. But, that's not even the best part. The best part about dinner was that she drank milk from a STRAW! For those of you wondering why this is such a big deal, it is a huge deal because she's delayed in speech and fine-motor skills. She only recently started talking, and she is three-years-old.

Another really significant milestone was met today when Chloe went "#2" on the toilet. I was on the phone talking to my friend CJ, and she walked up to me and said "poop." So, I figured why not. I walked her to the bathroom, took her diaper off and sat her on the toilet. She held on to me pretty tight, and I had my arm around her so she wouldn't fall in. Then, she did it! She pooped on the potty! I was so elated I yelled through the house to tell everyone. But, the dogs started barking like crazy animals, setting off the doorbell and scaring Chloe, so she starting crying. Poor kid, first potty experience with me and she got scared by the dogs. /sigh

We're going to be working on potty training now. It'll be nice to have Chloe potty trained before our trip in April. Though, I know it may not work that fast. 

I received several text messages, phone calls, Facebook messages, and other forms of birthday wishes today and it was terrific. I think about 70 people posted on my Facebook wall! I just want to say to those out there reading my lame life posts every day and those who reached out to wish me a Happy Birthday, Thank You! I really appreciate it, and I felt all the love today.

Well, that's all I've got for today. Until tomorrow ...

Irate & Chloe's First Day of School

January 09, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-


Irate & Chloe's First Day of School

You know what? I'm mad right now, and I can't even tell you why. It has nothing to do with Chloe, but I'm just so irate and even more irate about being irate because I can't talk about it. Life can be so damn demanding, frustrating, and the likes. I'm so tired of walking on eggshells around people, tired of being worried something I do (or don't do), do say (or don't say) will piss someone off and uproot my life again. That's all you need to know about my issue(s) for now.


So, Chloe's first day of school was today. We took her dad to work this morning, came home and played for a bit before getting her ready for school. Today, she was dressed in all "Frozen" including her boots. After she was dressed and I got her school bag together, she was ready to go "bye-bye." I was still getting a few things together, and she got mad and threw herself on the floor because I wasn't opening the door to let her go to the car. That's the picture I've shared at the top of the post.

Well, we finally get out the door and to the school. Chloe was excited to be there and kept trying to go through the double doors in the lobby to the main school hallway. She got upset when I told her she had to wait for the teacher to get her. When the teacher arrived, Chloe got super excited. They went through the double doors, and as soon as she figured out I wasn't going with her, she started to cry.

Me, on the other hand, I did pretty well. I didn't cry, but I found myself a little lost with what to do for the time Chloe was at school until my appointment later in the afternoon. Eventually, I decided to work on my project a little bit more, put away Chloe's clean clothes, and ran a few errands (kid-free).

Grandma picked her up from school today because I had therapy downtown. It sounds like her first day went very well. She ate almost all of her lunch, participated all day in class, and the teacher's report said she had a very good day. Grandma also told me that when she picked Chloe up from school, Chloe didn't want to leave. She dropped down to her knees a few times on the walk home all upset because she wanted to go back to school. Well, she'll get to go back tomorrow.


The teacher sent up a folder with a bunch of paperwork and information. Included was homework for me; a bunch of questions I had to answer about Chloe. There was an information packet on their special needs pre-k program, a daily progress report to sign, a project she did in class (shown above), and information about her IEP. My husband and I both read and signed her daily report so the teacher can see that we're both taking an interest in her education and learning experiences.

Chloe slept in her big girl bed again last night with no issues. I put her to bed a little while ago, and she's out like a light again tonight. This new bed thing seems to be going off without a hitch.

The next big thing that we'll be doing with her is starting the potty training process. She's already showing us some signs that she's ready by letting us know when she's got to go "#2 (haha)." That will be coming up very soon. I'm kind of eager and excited to see how she does with that.

The only other thing to happen today was pretty cool. I've been on a Starbucks kick as of late. When I went through the drive-thru and pulled the app up on my phone to pay, I was told I had a birthday reward (my birthday is tomorrow) and a free drink reward. Both of the awards gave free drinks. So I got one today, and I'll get one tomorrow (LOL). That double chocolate chip frappe is fantastic! I blame my sister, Destiny, for getting me hooked on those.


Well, that's all I have for today, maybe tomorrow will be better (mood-wise), and I'll have something interesting to say. Until tomorrow ...

Nothing Really New to Report

January 08, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-


Nothing Really New to Report

Today was just an average day. Nothing too exciting happened. Chloe did sleep in her bed all night last night until about 7:30 am this morning. She went to bed tonight without a fight, thankfully. And, she's starting school tomorrow. 

I take her to school at 11 am, and Grandma will be picking her up because I have an appointment at 2:30 pm. So, I don't even get to ask the teachers about her first day :(. 

I am excited and worried at the same time, about Chloe staring school. I've been very protective of her in not letting anyone but family take care of her. So, Chloe going to school for a few hours a day without me is going to feel weird, and my anxiety is going to be through the roof.

But, all of that happens tomorrow. I just need to get through the rest of tonight and then worry about tomorrow. 

I spent the better part of my day writing code, again. I do this sort of thing a lot. But, today, I had an issue that I just couldn't seem to fix. I was trying to get some buttons to show in a custom user profile, and no matter what I did, those buttons wouldn't show up. After spending about an hour and a half trying to figure out the root problem, I reached out to the ProBoards support staff for some guidance. It turns out it was a stupid easy fix. I wasn't paying attention to the tab I was editing, and therefore I was adding the wrong variables to the template.

I'm a firm believer that when you fix one problem in a code, you create a million more. Hence the shirt pictured above. My buddy Chris in the U.K. sent me that shirt almost two years ago now. We use to code and create things together all the time, talk on skype, and yell at each other when one of those "it worked fine yesterday" moments came around. 

Anyway, I got a good bit of work done on the Harry Potter project today. Custom Profiles and Mini Profiles are set up, changed some color issues with that chat box at the bottom of the site, created and modified a news page and four common room areas for each Hogwarts House, and wrote up and uploaded two site guides to DropBox for April to go over. It was an entirely productive day in that regard.

Today, one of my closest friends has a birthday. So, Happy Birthday CJ! I miss your face! ~ I've been so worried about him because he was diagnosed with two inoperable brain tumors not too long ago. Sometimes, he disappears and I don't hear from him. It worries me. But, after talking with someone about it, I've learned there is a reason I don't hear from him. I just do my best to check in and make sure he's doing alright from time to time.

Well, nothing else is going on over here tonight. I need to finish up a few things then head to bed as I have to get up super early in the morning to drop my husband off in Atlanta for work. Until tomorrow ...

Burrr, Boo Boos, & Growing Up

January 07, 2018 4 Comments A+ a-


Burrr, Boo Boos, & Growing Up

(Not Necessarily In That Order)

Growing Up

Last Tuesday, my youngest daughter turned three-years-old. It seems like I just had her yesterday. I can still remember holding her little six-pound self in my arms, bottle feeding her, and laying on the floor with her during tummy time. 

This week is a massive week for Chloe. To start with, we went out today and bought her a toddler bed. She's been in a crib up to this point and has yet to try and climb out of it. She's been overdue to switch to a big girl's bed for a while. 

We went to get her bed with our hearts set on the Frozen bed shown in the picture above. However, when we got to the store, we found a wooden one (dark wood like her crib) and fully intended to buy that one in case she grew out of her "Frozen" obsession before she outgrew the bed. But, the wooden bed was much more expensive. So, she got the Frozen themed toddler bed. 

When we finished cleaning up her room and putting it together, we brought her upstairs to see it. She was ecstatic. She walked right up to it, climbed into bed, and surrounded herself with stuffed animals and pillows. I'm pretty sure she loves it.

I was unsure how she would do her first night in the new bed, but surprisingly, she's done well. I put her to bed around 7:30 pm and she's been out like a light since. She's growing up and way too fast for my liking. She even starts school on Tuesday this week. I'll post about that experience then.

Boo Boos


Chloe got her first "big" boo-boo today. We were at Burlington, and she cut her finger pretty bad on one of the coat racks. She said "ow," but didn't cry. There was, what seemed like, a lot of blood from her little index finger. It was running down her wrist and covered her finger. Daddy took her to the bathroom to try and clean her up and stop the bleeding. 

We got a band-aid and some alcohol wipes from the manager. It wasn't until then she started to cry. She wasn't even crying because of the cut. The manager had already covered it with a band-aid. She was crying because we were trying to clean up the rest of the dried blood with the alcohol wipe and she didn't like that we had to restrain her.

It took a band-aid and a little bit of pressure to stop the bleeding, but she was a champ through it all. She didn't let it phase her one bit. I took the above picture shortly after she saw her bed for the first time and she was all playful and goofy like her usual self. Sometimes, I tend to worry too much which isn't good for anyone.

Chloe is doing just fine; we've been cleaning it and changing the band-aid out. The cut looks normal. It's not red or warm to the touch, and there's no puss around it. I'll continue to monitor it and take her to the doctor if needed.

SC Trip, Dinner & A Show

January 06, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-


SC Trip, Dinner & A Show

Whew! What a long day today has been. As I mentioned yesterday, we drove to South Carolina to visit our older two youngins. We woke up early-ish and headed out around 6:30 am and got home around 11 pm. I made it back in time to write a post before midnight! Trust me when I say, making it home before midnight is a feat.

So the day started out pretty good. We got into town around 10 am like we usually do. We fed the little one breakfast as soon as we got there, and then we hung out with my parents until close to noon. Then, we took the kids on a small adventure.

My son, Wyatt, was in need of some new tennis shoes. His everyday shoes were falling apart; the soles torn up with holes in them and pretty close to holes in the front toe area as well. Collectively, we decided it was time for a new pair of shoes. So, we went on our first adventure to Target to find him some.

As we're pulling into the parking lot, the two older kids are in the backseat asking over and over again if they can get one toy while we're there. Of course, we told them "no." They weren't too happy about that either. We walked through the store and found the shoe area for kids and of course they are out of everything in the size we needed for Wyatt. We opted to go somewhere else for shoes. 

At some point, we ended up over with the toys. The two older ones couldn't keep their hands off of things, picking up toys after being told numerous times they could look but not touch. So, we definitively said they were not getting any toys while we were at Target. Of course, they got mad, and we ignored their negative behavior while it lasted.

Both of the older two love the game Minecraft, and they're pretty good at it too. We were browsing the books section at target and came across a world creation Minecraft guide. It ended up going home with them to share (as they both need to be better sharers). When it was time to leave, I took the older two kids with me to Starbucks so I could get my Double Chocolate Chip Frappe that I order anytime I can. Torrey got a hot chocolate, and Wyatt wanted apple juice. After Starbucks, we began our next adventure.

We headed towards Haywood Mall in Greenville, SC. On the way there, the hubby started to get hungry, and the kids were telling us they were starving. So, we took everyone to the Golden Corral. I always like eating there when the kids are with us because there are so many things for them to eat and both of the girls are super picky eaters. 

After lunch, we went to the mall in search of some shoe stores for kids so we could get Wyatt a pair of shoes. We ended up in Rack Room Shoes, which is where we bought his new Batman shoes. While we were there, our nine-year-old found a pair of sketcher light-up shoes that she just really wanted to have. But, because she's got a ton of shoes and that the shoes she wanted were about $60, we told her we couldn't get them today, and she'd have to wait a few weeks. 

Well, all hell broke loose after that. She was so upset about not getting what she wanted that she had a meltdown in the middle of the mall. Chloe (the baby) saw how upset Torrey was and she started to cry and throw a fit too. At this point, it was after 4:30 pm and time to head back to drop them off at home. So we proceeded to do just that.

The older two kids rode with Torrey's dad, Jeff, and Chloe stayed with us. We met back up at my parent's place. 

I have never seen my oldest child have a meltdown like that in a public place. I almost didn't know what to do about it. But, we got it under control and moved on.

Skipping ahead a couple of hours now, my husband, the baby and I stopped at the Iron Skillet just after we crossed the border into Georgia on our way home. This restaurant has been a ritual stop now for over a year, and usually, the food is excellent. Tonight was just one of those nights where they managed to screw up my food. 

I ordered a petite sirloin (medium - well) with a baked potato. When the food came out, I cut into the meat, and it was super hard to cut. When I was finally able to cut through it, it was light pink in the middle just how I like it. I tried to take a bite of the steak and literally couldn't bite or tear the meat with my teeth at all. It was tough. So, I asked our waitress if she could take the steak off the ticket and she obliged. I mean the teeth marks in the meat where I tried to bite and tear it was an apparent sign of unedible grub.

Anyway, I went off to the restroom after I was done eating and while I was gone, there was an altercation between our waitress's boyfriend and her mom. According to my husband, the waitress asked her mom "please don't do this here, just go." The mom ignored her, walked over to the boyfriend and started laying into him about something. I'm not sure what that "something" is, but it got heated pretty quickly, and the boyfriend called the mom a name and some other things happened. 

So our Saturday night dinner turned into dinner and a show. Our three-year-old was subjected to language that we try not to use around her. Overall, it was the first semi-bad experience we've had in the whole year we've frequented the restaurant. 

At any rate, we picked up some lottery tickets from the gas station before we left (PowerBall). The drawing has already happened tonight, and we did not win (sorry April). It would have been nice because there's so much we need right now like a house for us all to live in, cars of our own, debts paid off, and college paid for too. We could use that money. /sigh - Maybe next time. 

Well, that's the gist of my day. Nothing too "exciting" happened today. But, I do think I need to have a chat with both of my older children about the value of being grateful for what they have instead of consistently asking for more. We aren't made of money and just because they had a good Christmas this year doesn't mean we can afford to buy them a ton of new toys and other things they want every time we visit them. 

I need to get to bed, so this is an excellent place to end. See you all tomorrow.

Migraine, Migraine, Go Away!

January 05, 2018 3 Comments A+ a-


Migraine, Migraine, Go Away!

I have had a killer headache for the better part of the day. I feel sick to my stomach, and all the pain is in the frontal left and right areas. It's starting to drive me crazy. I guess that's what happens when you spend the majority of the day staring at the computer screen writing and modifying the previously written code on a project.

At any rate, yes ... I am talking about Harry Potter again. That project I keep telling you about is the source of the code I've been wracking my brain to write, modify, and fix today. I decided to give you all a little preview. You can see it in this post's image at the top.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and dreading it at the same time. We're going to South Carolina to visit Torrey and Wyatt--our oldest two children. I love seeing them and spending time with them, but I hate the long ride there and back and everything in between.

When it's cold out, it's hard to find things to do with them. But, at the same time, we don't like to take them to a whole bunch of fun places because then they get used to it and expect it all of the time. They need to learn that mommy and daddy aren't made of money, and we can't always do the fun expensive things when we visit.

I am not sure what the plan is as far as what we're going to do tomorrow. I suppose we'll figure that out on the drive up like we usually do.

Anyways, today wasn't too shabby except for a headache. My husband is coming down with a cold or a sinus infection. It sounds more sinus related to me. I cleaned up a bit around the house and had some play time with miss Chloe. She's such a mess, but I love her so much. I love all my kids for those who'd feel the need to ask.

There are many birthdays this month. I'm really surprised that I can remember most of them. But, then again, most of them are family members and super close friends, so maybe that's why I rarely forget the dates. 

I remembered earlier today that I need to run out to my mom's house at some point. I purchased three name necklaces two weeks before Christmas. One for my sister, Destiny. Another necklace for my other sister, Ashli (Shlee). And, the last one was for my eldest daughter, Torrey. Torrey will get hers tomorrow. I'll just have to make some time this upcoming week to get out to my mom's to drop off the other two.

As this week is ending, we're getting closer and closer to Chloe's first day of school. She starts a special education preschool on January 9th. I don't think I'm ready for her to go to school, but that's a discussion for another time. 

I need to get to bed, kick this headache and get some sleep before the long haul to South Carolina in the morning. Until Tomorrow ...

When Kids Break Your Heart

January 04, 2018 9 Comments A+ a-


When Kids Break Your Heart

Today started off alright, then got worse before getting good again. But, for the sake of this post's title, my kid broke my heart today ...

Chloe had a dentist appointment this morning. She went about six months ago, but her daddy took her. He had told me that the baby was awesome and cooperative. Before we get too far into this, you should know that I have a huge problem with taking my kid to the doctor by myself when she has to get shots or bloodwork done because I can't stand to see her get upset. The crying, the screaming, it all just breaks my heart to pieces.

So anyway, we go to the dentist's office and check in. About five minutes later they're calling her back to have her teeth cleaned. We sit in the dentist chair, my legs dangling off the side. Chloe sits in my lap facing me with her legs wrapped around me, and they place a lapboard just under her butt that extends into the dentist's lap. 

The whole concept of the lap pad was new to me. I have two other kids, and I've never seen this done at a dentist's office. The lap pad is used with smaller kids to lay on. It's not very sturdy, and the parent has to restrain the kid if they get upset or fight the dental assistant.

I lay Chloe back onto the lap pad and she just starts wailing. She doesn't want to let the lady get anywhere near her mouth. I'm holding her hands and arms and trying to keep her as still as I can. Surprisingly, she is a lot stronger than anyone would think of a three-year-old. In fact, she's stronger than I am. I couldn't restrain her that well. The lady finally got her teeth cleaned, and it took 20 minutes of screaming, crying and struggling to get it done.

After the cleaning, they attempted to do X-Rays. Again, Chloe had to sit in my lap in the X-Ray chair and I had to restrain her arms and hands with one arm while holding her head back against my chest with the other. Again, she was stronger than me. After another twenty minutes of trying to get pictures of her molars, they gave up on taking the X-Rays. She was fighting way too hard. The assistant did manage to get the pictures of the upper and lower front teeth.

Roughly forty minutes of screaming and crying, my heart breaking more and more as it went on, and I was ready to say fuck it all and leave. No joke. We were sent back to the waiting room where my girly could play for a little bit before the dentist was ready to do her actual exam. Then, we were taken back to the same dentist chair from the teeth cleaning and set up exactly the same way. Her in my lap, a lap pad extending between myself and the dentist, and Chloe laying down screaming and crying her little lungs out.

At one point during the exam, she was so upset and I was so angry that I couldn't take it anymore, and I made the dentist stop. I picked up my little girl and held her close and consoled her. Her tiny heart-beat was so fast and her face was all blotchy. My heart literally hurt for her. 

I laid her back down on the lap pad and the dentist tried again to get a look at her teeth. Chloe was clenching her mouth shut so hard--to prevent the dentist from getting into her mouth--that she cut her gums with her teeth and made herself bleed. One of the next times she screamed they put a bite blocker in her mouth just long enough to get a look at her molars on each side. Then, she was done. 

The good news is, Chloe doesn't have any cavities. The bad news is, I need to find a different dentist. I cannot believe the horror we went through today. I have never seen Chloe so upset in all three years of her life and I swear to you my heart broke today having to watch her and hear her go through all that. 

But, don't fret about it anymore because she's been all smiles since we left that place. The picture for this post shows a happy, laughing, goofy frozen dressed baby. She even had frozen tennis shoes to go with her outfit. 

After the whole dentist ordeal, I didn't have much motivation to do anything. I didn't get much work done on my project. I did help a few people with their projects. And, I cooked a pot roast for dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies. It was amazing! 

On that note, I'm getting tired. So, I think this is an excellent place to stop tonight. I'll see you guys tomorrow. 💔

Productive Days Are Tiring

January 03, 2018 3 Comments A+ a-


Productive Days Are Tiring

As the title suggests, I had a pretty productive day today. I woke up around 9 am. After the kid ate breakfast, we migrated upstairs so she could watch Frozen and I could get some things done on the computer after we played some games and read a book.

I've been working on this ProBoards theme for a Harry Potter forum. I got most of the new profile layout completed in PhotoShop. The next thing I have to do is code it and put it on to the live forum. That should be easy enough (not) ... 

After I finished the designing stuff, it was lunchtime, so I gave the kiddo some mac and cheese with some green beans and proceeded to clean up around the house. I cleaned the kitchen, dining room, and living room. And, I even got in two loads of laundry. After lunch, Chloe took a nap, and I played around in PhotoShop for a while longer.

At some point, I took the time to write out a guide for an area of my Harry Potter forum, get my classes registered for next semester (starting January 10th), have a FaceTime conversation with my sister, and post around on some forums. I even set up a discord server with a ton of text and voice channels as a bonus for members of my Harry Potter site. 

Yes, yes, Harry Potter. I'm a total nerd. You'll either learn to love my obsession with Potter or hate it. Either way, when the site is ready for the public, you'll be hearing about it, and I'll share the link with you all. No worries.

Anyways, we (the kiddo and I) also made it to the grocery store and picked up some stuff for meals the rest of the week which brings me to the photo in this post. I made bacon wrapped, parmesan breaded chicken tenders for dinner. Of course, no meal is complete without mashed potatoes and some other vegetable, so I threw in some of both.

The meals I've planned out this week include Chicken Alfredo, Pot Roast, and Teriyaki Chicken and Rice. We're a family that loves chicken. Too bad my kiddo isn't eating solids very well yet. She has to stick to all the super soft stuff. I think she'd love my cooking if she could eat it.

After getting to sleep in for a little while this morning, all the running around and cleaning, as well as laundry and cooking dinner, I am super tired. Hence the title, Productive Days Are Tiring. 

Nothing fascinating happened today. Maybe tomorrow I'll have better luck, and you won't just get stuck with a horrid rundown of my entire day. 

On that note, I will write again tomorrow.

Three Years Ago Today

January 02, 2018 2 Comments A+ a-


Today, My Youngest Is Three

This morning started out pretty rough. Last night, I could hardly sleep. Severe anxiety and heart palpitations just didn't want to give me any relief so I couldn't fall asleep. At some point, I ended up moving from the bed to the couch in the living room, turned on the Disney Channel and ended up falling asleep (yes I'm 30 and I still watch Disney, bite me!). The last time I looked at the clock, it was 3:00 am. 

So, 5:30 am rolls around. My husband gets out of bed to come and wake me. See, normally, he'd leave me alone and let me sleep. However, as we only have one vehicle and the little one was scheduled for a doctor's appointment, that meant I had to get up with him and drive him to work. Which, by the way, is about 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.

When I got back home from taking the husband to work, I logged onto my computer and began working vigorously on a project. I'm building a ProBoards forum theme and I needed to get some coding done. I got in the zone and before I realized it, the time had flown by quickly. One look at the clock and seeing that it was 8:45 am was enough for me to jump out of my chair (not bothering to save or do anything with the work on my computer screen).

The little one's doctor's appointment was scheduled for 9 am. She was still asleep at 8:45 am. So, I woke the poor birthday girl up early, changed her and dressed her, then we got in the car and went to her doctor's appointment. Now, this appointment was supposed to be a normal 3-year well-check. She wasn't due for any shots, so it wasn't the worst possible thing I could do to her on her birthday (I know there are judgemental people out there like that).

So anyway, we get through the triage type stuff. The doctor comes into our room and explains that the little one's platelets are low and proceeds to ask if any blood conditions are in her family. Well, of course, there are. I have Stage 0 (watch and wait) Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. So, the doctor wants to do a repeat finger prick test on the little one in about a month and if her platelets are still low, she'll be sent over to the cancer center to have a full blood panel completed. In the meantime, I'm going to serve her green veggies to see if that aids in the platelet count rising.

The other thing we found out today was that she, at three-years-old, has significant astigmatism in one of her eyes that could be hindering her ability to walk properly. So, she's being referred to a Pediatric Eye Doctor as well. Don't get me started on that, we'll be here all day.

So, we get home from the doctor's office and the little one has a meltdown because she wants to go "bye-bye again." I have stuff that I need to get done and ready for her school and mine next week and I'm not about to run back out for no reason. I fed her breakfast and she was happy until she finished eating and then she wanted to go "bye-bye" yet again. When I told her no, she threw a tantrum on the floor. So I grabbed a sippy cup, put some milk in it for her and carried her to her bed. I figured she'd calm down in a few minutes and we could try something else together. 

Well, about 10 minutes later, I peeked my head in to have a look at her. She was sound asleep in her crib. Cool. I finished up some paperwork for school, worked on my project some more and then around 5 pm she woke up on her own.

The rest of the evening was pretty chill. We watched cartoons, chased each other around the house, played with the dogs, had supper, and even had a video chat with Grandma up in Ohio. 

We didn't do anything for her birthday, which is TODAY because most of our family is out of town partaking in that dreadful holiday traveling. So, we'll be having her birthday party soon, and I'm sure I'll post a bunch of pictures. She doesn't know it yet, but we plan to get her a Frozen themed toddler bed in the next week. I think she's gonna love it!


Welcome to 2018!

January 01, 2018 1 Comments A+ a-


Welcome to 2018

2017 was a downhill struggle for me and I can't say that I am not happy that it's over. With 2017 gone and out the window, 2018 sure came in like a wrecking ball and now I have a problem ...

I have to get used to writing the correct dates on paperwork, checks, and the likes. It seems like I just figured out the 2017 dates and now I have to try and remember to right 18/2018 on everything I sign and date. "Ugh!"

Well, moving on. It is officially a new year. With a new year comes new opportunities. Like this blog. This blog is new. I got this hair-brained idea that I should start a blog and post something every single day for an entire year. Since 2018 just started, I figured why not start this year?

While most people who read this probably don't know me, this blog will be a good way for you to do just that. My life is full of trials and tribulations and I almost always come out on top. I did say "almost." Who knows, while you're reading through my blog, you just might find something you can relate to.

So, here's to 2018 and 365 days of Amanda. *cheers*

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