So many horrible things have been said to me and about me that for such long time I didn’t. But now I do.

I believe:

I am smart

That I am worth it

I am not lazy

If I fall, I can get back up

I am a good wife and mom

I can make a difference

I don’t have to be perfect

Being myself is ok

I don’t have an attitude problem

I deserve to be happy

Life is worth living

I am lovable

I can step out of my box and be ok

I don’t have to settle

I have a good heart

IN ME!!!

What do you believe about yourself?

I was reading my new issue of RedBook magazine and came across a page that listed 10 things to never say to a working  or a stay at home mom.  If you are a mom, I just know you have you own little list in your head. I have been both on both sides of the fence. I have definitely had some people say some things to me that I felt were insensitive. Unfortunately some of those thing have stuck with me. In my mind there are just some things you don’t say.  The list of what not to say to a stay at home mom included:

• Oh, so you don’t work?
• Well, what do you do all day?
• When your kids grow up are you going to get a real job?

The list for a working mom included:

• It’s cute when they call your nanny “Mama”
• You must feel so guilty
• I love my kids too much to leave them during the day.

I have had the question of getting a real job said to me too many times to count. That one really hurts because the way it was said implied I was being lazy and taking advantage of my husband. “It must be nice not to have to work” gets under my skin too! No one knows the reason behind the decision my husband and I made for me to stay at home. Quite honestly, it is not anyone else’s business. It is also rude to ask a stay at home mom or dad “So, why don’t you work”?

When I was working the comments were not any better.

• Don’t you miss your kids?
• I would never use daycare!
• Wow, you are missing out on a lot.
• I am glad my mom stayed a home with me.

The decision to work or not is already hard enough without people you know or complete strangers weighing in. Do you have anything to add to the list?

Even though it is fall, my husband and the kids go fishing whenever they get a chance. At least Nannah and TJ go with him, Kayla only goes once in a while. She says it is too boring, lol.

My husband finally had a day off and decided to visit a friend of his who lives in Tichigan. They had fun and caught lots of fish including blue gill, dogfish, northern, perch and large mouth bass.

Of course Savannah grabbed a camera so she could take lots of pictures. She says it was nice and relaxing. 

They came back with smiles on thier faces. If they are happy, then so am I.

I see a lot. Like the time that monster attacked my van on the driver’s side one winter. Ok, it wasn’t really a monster it was a deer. But it was really dark and unexpected and shoot, it looked like a monster, lol. Now every time I see a deer I get nervous.

I see my children actually getting along and helping each other.

I see the man I am going to grow old with and could not be happier.

I see how quickly my nieces, nephews and cousins are growing up so fast. I have to stop telling them “You look like such a big boy ” every time I see them. Yes I really do that. I am sure they don’t like it since they are grown but they let me get away with it.

I see my children holding doors and being polite for others.

I can spot a clearance sign clear across the store, behind a few people,  without my glasses on.

I can see the laundry piles and clutter. But so what? There will always be laundry and clutter.

I see the coupons I let expire. I slowly count backwards from 20. Not ten because there were some really good ones I let go to waste.

I see how happy my husband is when he has a great time fishing.

I can see what a wonderful family I have.

I see so much kindness in others.

I can see who I used to be, who I am and who I am becoming.

What do you see out the corner of your eye?

Since my kids were little I taught my kids manners. Always say please and thank you, respect everyone, make sure you are always polite. No exceptions. That is what my Grandmother taught me.  I guess it is working because I always get compliments about how well mannered my children are.

When I was in high school and got my first job I learned how to give great customer service. And this was years ago, but it has still stuck with me.

• You keep a smile on the your face
• You don’t argue with customers
• You are polite and never, ever rude
• You are always pleasant
• You do not talk about how you do not like your job or should have been off 10 minutes ago
• You do not yell at customers
• You do not hold private conversations with other employees or friends
• You do not ignore customers
• You greet customers
• You do not answer and talk on your cell phone or text

It has become second nature to me and I can not help but wonder if customer service is still being taught by companies. While taking my kids school shopping we are experiencing different levels of customer service. And it is not always good. This is not only disappointing but unacceptable. I am spending my hard earned money at your place of business, is it too much to ask for a little bit of courtesy? If you are not willing to do that why should I spend my money there instead of somewhere else. Over the past 2 weeks on at least 2 seperate ocassions my family has been given poor customer service.

I took my kids to the bank to open up bank accounts. After the process was over I asked “When are you going to explain about the kids club and how it works. Plus the two youngest were looking forward to the free t-shirts there were supposed to get for opening up their first account. The young lady had no idea what I was talking about. She wasn’t rude about it but she was not very nice either. I decided to drive to the corporate office of the bank, maybe they had some answers. My husband and I have been with the same bank over 15 years. Unfortunately the staff was very rude. The three tellers were having a conversation about going out and I had to patiently wait until they finished before they acknowledged me. When I explained my concerns, they shrugged their shoulders and pointed me towards some doors where a receptionist sat. The kids and I walked over there and explained the Kid’s Club situation again. She actually said “What am I supposed to do?’ My reply was ” Hopefully direct me to the person who can handle my concerns”. She stood up, walked over to the doors and yelled at the tellers (who were still talking), “What do you want me to do with them?”. I have never dealt with so many people who were so unprofessional and completely lost. Especially at a bank.

Jazz went to do some of  her school shopping at a certain store she really likes. (Yes she is doing her own school shopping with money she made from her job!) The cashier was rude, she snatched Jazz’s gift card out of her hand, she swiped it before Jazz could even explain how she was going to pay for her purchase. Because of this, Jazz decided she did not want to get anything at the store. The cashier told her well you are just out of luck, I already charged the gift card. Did I mention she yelled at Jazz. Nannah was with and she was steaming when they got back home. Jazz could not understand why this cashier had an attitude. She likes shopping at this store but knows she does not deserve to be treated this way. Of course I called the store and spoke with a manager. Her explanation was the cashier was “new” but they do value their customers. The money will be back on Jazz’s card within 3 days. I am sorry, but what does being new have to do with being polite? What is even worse is the kids had to describe the cashier to me because she did not wear a name tag. Every job I worked we always had to have a name tag on.

Ok thanks for listening to me vent, I just had to get it out!

Now don’t get me wrong not all companies are like this. There are some companies that give wonderful customer service.

This weekend was busy but it was nice. It started off with taking TJ to tap classes. He participated in the 2010 Mad Hot Ballroom and Tap Competition. TJ made it to the semi-finals Swing dancing part. He was given a scholarship to take tap classes at Danceworks for the summer. Parents aren’t allowed to watch during the classes but since it is almost over the whole family was able to come. He looked so cute. He is really good at tap

I hit up JCPenney do some back to school shopping.  I hit the jackpot! I had two coupons, one for $10 off and the other for $15 off. I found Kayla over 15 shirts on the clearance racks. They were marked down 60 and 80%. A majority of the shirts were $3.79 and $4. 59. I found her two Bobby Jack shirts for $5.99. She loves Bobby Jack so I just had to get them  

I found TJ a bunch of shirts too plus some shoes for $9.99. 

They were on sale for $19.99 and I had a $10 off coupon. JCPenney was out of his size but I was able to get the right shipped to me for free. Loving that!!  Nannah found her some pants for $12.99 that she actually liked  I am now 99.9998% done with school shopping.

I took the kids to a screening of Tinkerbell and The Great Fairy Escape. It comes out on dvd September 21st.  Our review of it will be coming up soon.

The kids’ school had a back to school picnic. There was burgers and hotdogs, games and a raffle. I won a book bag filled with food! You know I was too excited because I love any kind of giveaway! It was nice to go because the kids’ school closed in June. Their old principal is at this new school so it was like going home. She was so happy to see the kids she got all teary eyed. The kids ate some good food, saw some old friends and even got their own swag bags, lol. The fire department was there and gave kids a chance to spray the fire hose. Both TJ and Kayla did it. Nannah was too cool to give it a try, lol.

I also baby sat my nephew AJ and his sister Christie. That is always fun. AJ is moving around more and more. Today he is 8 months old. Christie is 7 and had such a good time playing with Kayla. They played spa with cucumbers on the eyes and face masks on. They were totally relaxing!

One thing I love to do each year is go to the Waukesha County Fair. Their dollar days make it really affordable to take our entire family out for an day of fun without going broke. Last month we had a chance to visit the fair once again. We got stuck in traffic because we had got a late start. We usually get to the fair around three but this year we didn’t leave the house until almost five. By the time we made it to the street where the fair is the line of cars was super long from both directions. My air conditioning is broke and it was at least 90 degrees that day. I did get a chance to see the really cool motorcycle like bike. It had four wheels. It was a pretty cool thing to see. It was a older woman riding it and she had it all shined up. She had such a big smile on her face and looked so care free, I told my kids I wanted one! Of course they just looked at me like I was crazy, lol.

The regular parking was all full by the time we inched our way through the line. For the first time ever we had to park on the grass. There were a lot of cars their but the staff did a great job of organizing it all.

It the long run it was not that bad. It seemed like we did not have “that” far to walk. The kids were able to spot a horse right away.

We always stop and look at the animals before we do anything else.

And then they saw this

They were pretty cute!

TJ was the only that actually wanted to hold one but Kayla was right by his side in line.

TJ and Kayla were made deputies. TJ even got to get inside a police car and turn on the lights

The ticket price went up from $1 to $1.25 but I wasn’t surprised. It was still a good deal. The kids had a good time and that is what really mattered.

I even managed to snap a couple pictures of Jazz and Nannah

It is inevitable. Laundry will always be in my future. I have four kids and a husband so there always is laundry. My tweets and facebook updates usually include “trying to catch up on laundry”. I have tried to come up with a few plans to make it work better for me. Only wash on certain days. Doesn’t work. Have kids help. Works sometimes but not enough. I fear they will break my 10 year old washer and dryer. Have different baskets to help with sorting.  I do have a towel basket on top of the dryer. That kinds of works. At least all the dirty towels are in one place.  A few weeks ago I bought each of the kids their own hamper. So see, I am attempting to becoming a little more organized. It does make it easier to wash and dry all the clothes of each child seperately and return them. Getting them put away is a different story.

I can remember a few years ago when I convinced my husband to build me a laundry room on the main floor of our house. It sounds funny to even think about it now. My reason for getting behind on laundry was because it was a lot of work running up and down the basement stairs. If  he built me a new laundry room, laundry would always be done. Ha! That is so funny. So glad I can laugh at myself.

I have a new plan now. You know to help keep my sanity. A week before school starts I am going to the laundry mat. Yep, I am going to pack up all the clothes, blankets, sheets and curtains. And washing them all at once. Then get them all dried at once. It will be so worth the peace of mind. I am going to do this every few months.  I can see it now. Everything washed, everything clean. It is going to be so nice, lol.

When I think about the stuff our family does on a normal day, sometimes it just cracks me up.

The Shorts Incident

I was getting ready to run some errands with my husband. He did not really want to go but I tend to spend less money with him and like spending that uninterrupted time with him. So I was getting dressed. For once I did not put my shirt on backwards( I wear a lot of my husband’s old t-shirts) Picked out my shopping hair, a wig that was pretty and wavy. Known for staying out of my face. I grabbed my license to stick in my back pocket but it wouldn’t go. Not sure why. I wanted to know if it was a real pocket or a fake one that was just for looks. So what do I do? Take the shorts off and look? No. It was too hot for that. I called my husband to come and look at my butt to see if it was a pocket or not. My 12 year old could not stop laughing!!! It turns out that it was a real pocket sewn shut. So my loving husband took the thread out with me still wearing the shorts. The funny thing he was not surprised I asked him to help me with this. He does not expect anything less. Gotta love that in a man

Are you getting dressed?

This is the question my two oldest daughters have taught my baby. I needed to run to Walgreens to pick up a prescription. I was not going in. I was going through the drive thru. It was really hot. I kept on my basketball shorts ( which I have had over 10 years) threw on a suitable t-shirt and my just a quick trip hair. I asked my youngest did she want to ride with me real quick to the store. At first she said yes. When I told her it was time to go, she looked at me and said are you getting dressed? I told her I was. This little girl looked me up and down and said “that’s ok, I want to finish playing this game. That girl is too funny!

None of it bothers me at all. It is all a part of me and there is nothing wrong with it. I do admit to having fun messing with the kids though!

Me.

I am always listening

So I hear everything

My feelings get hurt

Sometimes I cry

Other times I smile

I am not always happy.

But I am not always sad either.

I make mistakes

I never claim to know all the answers

I try to always say exactly what I mean

Sometimes I get lost

But I find my way

I have dreams

I fall

And I always get back up

I am strong

I will make a difference

I care

I love

I am

Me.