Sometimes you are just really thirsty

We went to see LeCount's half of the family this week. We had a great time. We just got back a few minutes ago, and of course, it is crazy in here- 5 loads of laundry to do, unpacking, shopping, etc. I am just going to have to upload the pictures and videos a little at a time, as I get time. This was a very funny video (in my opinion), so I thought I would share this first. Grandma Frances was having a nice cold drink, and Morgan wanted some- and then, wanted more and more... Enjoy!

Indoor Indy 500

Morgan got a trike for her birthday (with the combination of cash & gift card she received from Uncle Ray, Aunt Sally, Andrea, and Grandma Mary). Jaden and Morgan have been riding through the house all morning.

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I was looking at different things about Dr. King this morning, and I came across these quotes on MSN. We have all heard the the parts of his "I Have a Dream" speech, but he was so great with words. There are great quotes out there that I had never heard, so here is MSN's ten quotes:

1. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. -- "Stride Toward Freedom," 1958.
2. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -- "Strength to Love," 1963.
3. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963.
4. Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. -- "Strength to Love," 1963.
5. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. -- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963.
6. The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. -- "Strength to Love," 1963.
7. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. -- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963.
8. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. -- "I Have a Dream," civil rights march on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963. (Source: The New York Times)
9. Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals. -- "Why We Can't Wait," 1964.
10. The security we profess to seek in foreign adventures we will lose in our decaying cities. -- [Referring to U.S. Vietnam policy.] Address at Riverside Church, New York. (Source: History Today, April 1998)

Morgan's 1st Birthday!!!

Well, it isn't officially Morgan's birthday yet, since she won't be one until Tuesday. We had fun celebrating her day, anyway. You can see the contact dermatitis on her face that I talked about in the earlier post. I hate that her birthday pictures have to show her red cheeks, poor baby. We are going to wait until it clears up before we get the professional ones taken.

Anyway, anyone who has ever been to one of Jaden's parties knows that we make birthdays into a big event. We usually invite around 50 people, and it is a way for us all to get together (if only for once a year). We did the same for Morgan, and as it got closer and closer to her party day, more and more people started telling us that they wouldn't be able to make it. Since we don't ask people to RSVP, we never really know how many people will show up. I am glad Morgan is only 1, because I felt bad when we only had 4 people show up (I will go ahead and name these WONDERFUL folks who came out- Grandma Leslie, Grandpa Lyale, Aunt Audra, and Uncle Clay). Of course, Morgan didn't noticed, but Jaden would have. I guess we will start asking for an RSVP, so we can get a better idea for next year. I have to mention, also, Uncle Kevin, who is away at college called us during the party, so that he could be a part of the festivities.

We had a good time chatting, and eating the food (taquitos, tortilla chips, 7 layer dip, caramel popcorn, and cake).

Morgan was happy to be opening presents. She, also, loved all of the attention that she got. She is now worn out, and sound asleep in her bed. I am about to head to bed myself. Good night!

Jaden gets ready for the party

15 minutes before the party was scheduled to begin, Jaden decided to make herself beautiful. Luckily, she picked the regular mascara, and not the waterproof one that was right next to it!!

That sneaky little rascal

Today is the big day- Morgan's 1st birthday party!!! Preparations are underway... but the party will be small. At least half of the people we invited will not be able to make it. Morgan is in her crib resting up for the party. I hope her face looks better by the time the party starts. I had to take her to the doctor yesterday. I wanted to make sure that she doesn't have an ear infection. She has had a runny nose, cough, and has been pulling on her ears... Well, no ear infection, but it's a good thing we took her in because we found out what's wrong with her face. It is red & bumpy. It looked like that last time she had a runny nose, so I figured it was from her nose running while she was sleeping (and making her skin irritated). I sure was shocked when the doctor said that it wasn't from her runny nose... It was from US WIPING her runny nose!!! She is allergic to kleenex!!! Good grief!!! So, when I brought her home, we switched to handkerchiefs. Hopefully, it will clear up soon. Poor baby!!!

These pictures up above are from Thursday. Morgan got real quiet, and I went to check on her. She had gotten down a bowl of crackers that Jaden had left on the table, and she just helped herself. We really have to watch her now. She is into EVERYTHING!!!

A week of Centex

Well, we have had a full week, and it is only Wednesday. We have spent the whole week so far shopping "Centex" properties. On Monday, LeCount did a shop in Prosper (the property that I did about a month ago). On Tuesday, we all went together to do a "couples" shop in Little Elm and Denton. Today, we did a "couples" shop in Addison. Little Elm was the first couples shop that we have ever done for Centex, and it was HARD!!! We failed big time. Every time we shop Centex, we have to use a different name because they enter it into a shared system. In Little Elm, we decided to be John and Jena. Bad idea!!! I called him LeCount on 2 seperate occasions, and I just prayed that she (the consultant) didn't catch my slip up. Then, when the shop was almost over, LeCount called me "Heather" 4 times in a row. Oh, gosh... After we left there, we came up with a new plan. For couples shops, we have to keep our names the same, or it isn't going to work. Now we are Lee and Heather, and we just change the last name. The 2nd couples shop went better, but not perfect... The third shop (the one today) was PERFECT!! We shopped CityHomes (part of the Centex family). They have condos in Addison, and that is a picture of it above along with the floor plan. If you are interested, they go for $400,000 for that 3 bedroom, and the condo association fees are $250 a month. It is definitely made for people that are in to city life. It is in the middle of everything. In fact, there are about 15 restaurants within walking distance, and of course, even more restaurants not far away. That life is not for me, but I have to admit, they did have a nice lay out. Of course, I could probably buy two new 7 bedroom houses in Anna for that price. Hahahahahaha!!!

In love with books

The girls just love to have books read to them. I read a book to Jaden at nap and bedtime. Now, Morgan has wanted to join in, so I read to both of them at bedtime. Last night, after I was done reading them their book, Morgan took this book out to Daddy. She handed him the book so he could read it to her. She usually reads along by jabbering while I read. I hope they are this excited to LEARN how to read!!!

Pictures from Provo, UT

Kevin sent me some pictures of his apartment at BYU, so here they are. For anyone who doesn't know, this is my baby brother- off on his own for the first time- far far far away from home. He is still a teenager, but he will turn 20 on July 4th of this year! We are a whopping 14 years apart.

Days of rest

We have finally been given some days of rest. I am so exhausted from our non-stop days that I don't want to do ANYTHING! We don't have any more shops until Monday. On Monday, LeCount has one shop, and then, that is all that is scheduled until 1/24/08. Of course, I will be checking all of our usual mystery shopping web-sites to see if any assignments come in, and I will sign up for them as I see them.

This next week, we will be dedicating a lot of time to get ready for Morgan's 1st birthday party!! We are doing an Elmo theme, since she fell in love with the "Up, Up Elmo" that she got for Christmas. We are only providing snacks this year- not the all out food feast like usual. It will be a veggie plate and probably the 7 layer dip with tortilla chips... and of course, so cake.

Also, for anyone who is interested, I am starting up a Kids Care Club chapter called "Kids can change the world". We will meet 1 to 3 times a month. It is for kids 3 to 10 years old. Here is the fact sheet: http://www.kidscare.org/files/KCC-Facts-Figures.pdf It teaches kids about charity and volunteering. They do service projects to help the community (i.e. draw pictures for sick kids in the hospital, read to younger children in need such as in the hospital, putting together school supply kits for kids that can't afford them, etc.) I am still waiting on my information to come in the mail, but I am going to try to find a place in McKinney to meet. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please forward this on to them. It doesn't cost anything but time. I would like to get a group of about 10 kids, but if there are more, that would be even better.

I went to my job interview on Thursday, and everything went well. Now it is just a waiting game. They told me that if I haven't heard anything by 2 weeks, to give HR a call. It is for a part-time job with the City of McKinney at the public library. They want someone who is bilingual because they have an ESL group that comes in on Wednesday nights, so I do have something going for me above other applicants who can not speak Spanish. I will keep everyone posted.

Before I was a Mom

I received this e-mail originally from my mom several months ago. A friend sent it to me again, and I wanted to share it with everyone:

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love,the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,before I was a Mom.

Child Care Crisis

I found an interesting article that I wanted to pass on. For anyone that is considering becoming a parent, you might want to read this article. If you want to read the whole article, you can find it here http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/HomeMortgageSavings/ChildcareCrisis.aspx?GT1=10826#pageTopAnchor
Here is a portion of it:

Wendy Brauner's rent clocks in at $1,800 a month -- what some might consider a great deal in San Francisco. But don't think Brauner is living the high life. With a son, 3, and another almost 6, she was spending $2,750 a month on child care until her oldest started kindergarten last fall -- nearly 20% of her household income.
"I was writing a check for $17,000 to the preschool and wondered why it sounded so familiar," she says. "Then I realized it was a few hundred off what I paid for my first semester of college at Wellesley. It's just an enormous outlay."
I get that. Even with just one child, child-care costs were a major chunk of my own family's monthly expenses until our daughter, Harper, started kindergarten. The tab never came close to the $3,200 a month we spend for shelter, but that was mostly because, as a freelance writer, I can shuffle my work hours as needed. And that saves money -- a lot of money. In part-time day care, Harper never cost us more than $900 a month. Video: Should one parent just stay at home?
Still, it's a serious budget item. And we're among the lucky ones. The cost of child care in this country is one of those little secrets -- like leaky diapers and colic -- that parents just don't share with friends who are expecting.
Forget about the angst and expense of finding shelter that is safe and warm for your new arrival. I'm talking about the sticker shock of handing over a significant chunk of your paycheck every month just so you are free to work. That $2,750 a month for Brauner? That was after taxes, of course. Map: Average cost of child care
Yes, the federal government grants a tax credit of up to $1,050 per child for up to two children in child care. But that's annual: Brauner ran through it in less than a month.

Here comes the bride

Well, there is some background to these photos, so I guess I will start with that... It started about a year ago. I was sitting on the couch with Jaden, and she was looking at my wedding ring. She said, "Mommy, can I have a ring like yours?" So, I told her that my ring was because I was married to Daddy, and when she gets married, she would get a ring. So, she told me she wanted to get married. I told her that you have to have someone to marry, and I explained that it would be a boy. She told me, "Well, then, I am going to marry Daddy." I said that she couldn't marry Daddy because I was married to him. Then, she thought for a moment and said, "I'm gonna marry Bryson." It was so hilarious because she just thought she would walk up to Bryson and tell him that she was marrying him, and he would give her a ring.

Months passed by, and she would mention it every now and then. Then, last night I told her that Mommy and Daddy had to go to work for a few hours, but Bryson wanted her to go to his house to play. She was so excited... Moments passed and then she said, "Well, Neely (Bryson's Mom) will have to take Bryson and me to Chuck E Cheese." I said, "Why would she have to take you to Chuck E Cheese?" Jaden said, "because, they have rings there and we can get married!!!" I just could not stop laughing...

LeCount & I took Jaden and Morgan over to Neely's house this morning, and I told Neely what Jaden said. When Neely dropped Jaden off at home, she was dressed up in this wedding dress with a ring on her finger!! Here are the pictures of the bride and groom. They spent their wedding day playing play doh. What more could you ask for?

Life and times of a Mystery Shopper

Whoa! I had an eventful day yesterday! Today will be even more so. Yesterday, I did 9 "shops". 7 of them were in medical offices, and the other 2 were at Tommy Hilfiger stores. I had fun with the Tommy stores because I always get to buy something!! I have to buy; they make me buy!!! hahahahaha- That's my excuse. I have to spend $10, and it gets reimbursed. Plus, they pay me for the shop.
The 7 "shops" at the medical offices were for Accent Health. They are the people that have the t.v. programming in the doctor's office. I had to audit the Dr.'s offices to make sure they were complying with what Accent Health wanted (i.e. no competitor media). Those were boring shops, but they weren't hard to do. The only problem that I had was that it required a lot of walking from one building to the next... And, I didn't realize, until after I tried walking in my chunky heels that I had broken my foot/toe that morning.
Earlier that morning, I was sitting on the couch in the back room. I got up and manuevered around the small chair that was right in front of the couch... manuevering brought me closer to the big reddish chair with the loose cloth. I stepped on the cloth with one foot, while the other foot went underneath the part of the cloth that was now tight (because the other foot was stepping on it). I went down. I couldn't walk, so I just sat down for a bit. After about 2 minutes, I just got up and limped around. I didn't think too much about it. I thought A LOT about it when I walked up and down the corridors of the medical offices!!! Today it is swollen and bruised. It is the spot right where the toe meets the foot.
Anyway, today, we have 15 "shops" to do. I don't know how much help I will be, but I will be in one of those motorized scooters when we do the Target shops. I guess I will have to get the walking shoe from my mom. If I had one of those, I think I would be just fine.
Tomorrow I have an interview. I think I have a good chance of getting this job, since they really want someone who is bilingual. It would just be part-time, which means that LeCount can still get his full-time job at the temporary agency he is thinking of in McKinney. I will keep you posted about the job when I know the outcome... I hope she doesn't notice my limp.

The artist, Jaden

Jaden just loves to paint. She has been begging me to let her paint the last few days. I don't let her do it too often because it makes such as mess, and I have to be able to give my full attention to what she is doing (so, LeCount has to watch Morgan). I finally gave in today. She really made some pretty pictures (that's just my UNbiased opinion. Hahahahahaha).

Morgan is now drinking from a sippy cup, by the way. My little genius baby decided that she wasn't drinking from a bottle anymore, so it will make switching to whole milk easier... 2 more weeks until we don't have to use formula anymore!!!! Yea!!!! Now, if I can just get her potty trained...

On to a more boring subject- Our shops are out of control right now. Last week was dead as far as mystery shopping goes, so now we have to make up for it the rest of the month. I have 50+ shops packed into this week alone. It will be crazy, but I just keeping adding more and more shops to our plate whenever I see them. Hopefully, we can get some babysitting help on Wednesday so that we can both work at the same time... that is the best way. We'll see... Andrea, we are calling you first... If you can't do it, we will have to go the paid babysitter route, or just do the best we can with one person.

Another BOOTIFUL day!!!

It is still wonderful outside, so the girls have been playing out there again. This time, I have some pictures.

A BOOTIFUL day!!!

It is so pretty outside!!! Yesterday it was in the 70's, so I took the girls outside for a couple of hours. Then, their friends Rebekah and Joshua came by for a visit, and we went outside again. They loved it (and so did I). We walked up and down the street. I didn't take the stroller. I just let the girls walk. Morgan put her arms up in the air and ran with a big smile on her face. It sure was a great reprieve from the cold. Jaden said it was a "bootiful" day!! Hahahahahaha!!! It looks like today will be nice, too, so we will probably go outside again after their naps.
I'll try to get some pictures of the bootiful weather tomorrow. LeCount had the camera with him yesterday and today as he did 12 "shops" that needed pictures. I hope it is pretty again tomorrow.

How much is it worth?

Well, I know there aren't too many people who realize what is going on in our house since LeCount and I were both laid off. It has been beautiful and hard at the same time. I have taken the lay off as a blessing because it will make me a stronger person, and it has allowed me to spend A LOT of quality time with my family. What does it cost to stay at home with your family? Here is a calculator you can use to see if you can afford to quit working and stay at home with your kids: http://life.familyeducation.com/calculator/stay-at-home-cost/55187.html Our plans, unfortunately, were not calculated. We were not told, for example, "Save as much money as you can for the next 10 years because in 2007, you will both lose your jobs and will have to figure out how to live on unemployment until further notice." If that had been the case, we could have planned a nice little nest egg of money to survive on. Of course, that would be a "perfect" world. Instead, we were thrown into it. It has taught us a lot, and we are in a position now that we have never been in before. We can not buy in bulk or have a lot of storage. We have no sugar. We are down to one roll of toilet paper. The days of walking through the grocery store and picking up everything that looks good are over. No more stopping at the gas station whenever we see a good price.
I know it's hard to believe, but imagine this... When we were laid off, we lost 2/3 of our income... that leaves us with 1/3!!! So, for a nice round number, let's just say that we were making $100,000 a year. 1/3 of that is $33,000 a year. A lot of families live on that amount. However, our bills are based on what we made before. Other than day care, we have the same bills as before.
Yes, we are working hard every day. First, we are putting in resumes and applying for jobs (at least 40 a month). Second, we are watching the kids full time. Last, we are doing mystery shopping.
The mystery shopping is going well. We are making it grow... Trying to bring in more and more each month. However, it takes a long time to get paid. For all of the work that we have done for the month of December, we have only been paid $12 so far. But, we keep plugging along because we know that the work we do today, will pay us in March.
I had 2 "shops" yesterday (that is what they are called, the assignments, I mean). I went to the movie theatre for one shop and a hardware store for the other. When I got home, 4 1/2 hours later, LeCount asked me how much the theatre shop paid. I said, "$20." He said, "$20!!! Is it worth it?" I just asked him if he had a better idea to bring money into this house. What's funny is that I would make that amount in less than an hour at work, but now that I have no job, I will spend 3 hours on a project for that amount. What is the alternative?
LeCount is still trying to find full-time work. He is now thinking of a temporary agency. I am trying to find part-time work with night hours, so that he can work during the day. I don't want to put the girls in day care again.
I am putting this out there to be real with everyone. I know the people that see our blog and see all of the stuff we do may think that we don't have a care in the world. It's really not like that. We just don't voice our troubles to everyone.
Thinking on it, it would have been easier to save up for this day to stay home with the kids and leave the job on my own terms. However, if it had been left up to me, I know that I would have never felt like I could leave because I wouldn't feel like we could live on just LeCount's income.
How much does it cost to stay home with your kids? A lot!!! How much is it worth? It's PRICELESS!!!!

BYU Bound

We went to see the Marrs again yesterday. Kevin will be leaving soon to BYU, and now the race is on to spend as much time with him as we can before he is gone for 5 months. It's sad for me, but I know it is a happy time because he will be getting a degree and learning to live away from home. I'll miss him, so I guess we'll keep in touch with e-mails and phone calls and probably letters until he is back home for the summer. The girls really enjoy hanging out with Uncle Kevin. It is amazing to see how far Kevin has come from 3 1/2 years ago (when Jaden was first born). Kevin was scared to death to hold her, and really didn't want to come near her... Now, he is right at home with both of them. We'll miss you, Kev!

Funny Things

OK, I ran into a couple of funny things today that I just had to post. First, check out the mini episodes on motherhood. You may relate to some parts, and other parts, not so much: http://inthemotherhood.msn.com/ And the other thing is an e-mail I received that made me laugh... Here it goes:



Why, Why, Why?

Do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That hurt, you stupid idiot?

'Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.