The Value of Money

Tori learned a valuable lesson this week. She learned the value of money. Two weeks ago, we got our Sunday paper with coupons like always and in there were coupons issued by Hasbro. They had coupons for $4 off Transformers (used it), $5 off My Little Pony, and $5 off a Baby Alive doll. I've never considered one of these dolls for Tori, but Tori seemed very interested in having one. Since her Easter gift was already purchased and I wasn't intending on buying another doll for her, Tori suggested she buy this doll herself.

I told her that was fine on two conditions 1) she have the money to buy doll (taxes and all with coupon), 2) she keep her room clean until I can take her to the store.

Since Tori was two dollars short of her goal, she spent two weeks keeping her room clean. I, to be fair, kept reminding her to put away clothes on the floor and put away toys that belonged in drawers or toy boxes. She was pretty good at doing this. And in now way, would she earn money from ME that she needed for this Baby Alive. Tori had to find it on her own.

Finally, yesterday, it was decided that I could take Tori to get the doll. However, she still needed the two dollars. As luck would have it, Tori checked her piggy bank in her room and lo and behold, two dollars (plus some) were in there. I told Tori to bring the extra, just in case (I'm not used to sales tax in Arizona).

We went to Wal-mart where they had the doll cheapest ($15, plus $5 coupon, meant only $10 for doll, which is completely reasonable).

Now to interrupt, I just want to say, I remember when I was Tori's age and a few years older, raising my money to buy toys I wanted. It always felt so good when I finally had the cash and I could go to the store to get the Barbie or My Little Pony that I wanted (those were my big toys when I was a kid). There is something about buying something yourself that makes you so attached to a toy.

But anyway, we went to Wal-mart, Tori picked out the doll herself (Baby Alive - Baby Beautiful now), went up to the cashier, presented coupon and money, and walked off with the doll all by herself. I could tell she was so proud.

However, we do have an agreement. Before Tori can raise money for her next toy, she must put some money away into her 'fund'. It's always good to save for that rainy day and never too early to start saving for your future.

Oh and the baby doll...happily slept by herself in the Dora bed next to Tori's bed. And today, Tori gave her swimming lessons in the pool, after she took her for our walk at Saguaro National Park. *sigh*

Spring has sprung in Arizona!

Wow! It's been too long since I last updated. Sorry about that. Been busy with the children and trying to write other things. Maybe one day I can actually earn a living writing...but I doubt it.

Anyway, Spring break has come and gone. School started two weeks ago. To our surprise, so did spring in Arizona.

I first noticed the baby prickly pear pads (yum) starting to come up, along with potential fruits (double yum). Then Tori noticed these beautiful flowers on the organ pipe (?) cactus. Just today, we went walking through another part of Sagauro forest and noticed flowers of all colors (orange, yellow, and purple). The saguaro flowers are not out yet, but they will be soon. I can't wait to see those.

So, despite living in the desert, we are experiencing a beautiful spring here. Things are greener and more 'flowery' than we expected. I'm loving it. Of course with spring comes pollen. We have this strange tree in our yard that has pom pom like balls for flowers. They are kind of the equivalent of those stringy pollen strands that fall all over back east. These balls are everywhere now. And they are invading our sinuses like crazy.

With spring comes spring cleaning. We decided to straighten up our backyard today. Our old picnic table chairs started breaking, so we went off to target to replace them with new chairs. Instead of getting boring beige ones to match the table, we got them in rainbow colors. The kids like them and it adds color to the back yard. Kevin powerwashed the back deck before he put the chairs up and now, it looks great.

I also cleaned up our sandbox and added sand. Stefan loved helping me do that. Then we enjoyed the new lounge chairs Daddy got (our old ones from Bealeton also broke). So all in all, it's been some nice sun time. But of course there is no going outside without sunscreen...or SPF swimsuits.

Gotta love it!

Letters from Virginia - Part 2: The Response

Tori's response to Crissy...apparently she has a 'rood' brother too...and soccer is hard...lol...

Letters from Virginia - Part 1

A note to Tori from her friend Christable in Virginia. A little back story: apparently it was decided that in order for the girls to live together when they get older, it was agreed over the summer that Tori should marry Crissy's brother, David Jr. and Crissy should marry Tori's friend Liam...I guess by this letter that plan is off...

Spring Break - Day 2

Check out the craftsmanship on this house!!! Of course this was Day 2 of spring break. The kids encouraged me to get started early on this. I didn't mind because it mean it would keep them busy the entire day.

There is one story I have to tell before I get into this. Years ago, before Kevin and I even got engaged, I had lived in an apartment briefly with four girls. I splurged and got myself a desk for my computer. Then I attempted to assemble this desk all on my own. Now, normally, I can put things together. This however, was a challenge. Apparently reading direction is really important. Later, Kevin came over and saw what a botched job I did and had to fix it. Since then, he always teases me on how I don't read directions. Lately, I've been trying to do that (but I will say since this incident I have assembled many things such as medicine cabinets and kid toys with no problems).

Everything seemed pretty straight forward with the house...just insert and click. However, the directions did tell me to put screw where there were no holes. I repeat, the directions told me this!!! As you can see, however, the house is standing and it's not crooked (as far as I can tell). The kids helped put the stickers on and the put together the little inside doohickeys.

They pretty much spent the rest of the day in the house. They even ate lunch and snacks in it. Tori got some of our extra cushions to sit on inside the house. Her friend that visited really enjoyed being around for the house unveiling. The next door neighbor girl even came over (for just a bit).

That was pretty much day two...that was enough! Day three...a second sleep over and the kids' first dentist appointment in Tucson...oy!

Spring Break - Day 1

Day one of spring break started out a little later than normal. We were all tuckered out from such a busy weekend. Everyone was up at 7am and we all had our normal breakfast. Then it was time to do chores. Tori had to clean her room because she was having a friend come over.

Most of the day was spent cleaning, feeding kids, and doing little things here or there. There were two highlights of the day. One was making our first Peep diorama. If yDoou have never heard of making a peep diorama, then you have never seen the Washington Post Peep show. I highly recommend it. We look forward to it every year. It's online if you do not subscribe to the Washington Post.

I thought it would be cute to tackle a Arizona desert theme. Our diorama is plain in comparison to what the Washington Post comes up with, but I am happy to say the kids did alot on their own. The main focus was on cacti. Tori colored a prickly pear while I fashioned a pencil cholla out of straws. Merrick insisted on including a peep snowman in our desert. Don't quite know how that fits in, but he made it himself. While some peeps disguised as quails (towards the back), a littlest pet shop toy filled in as a tarantula.

I realized later we should have included coyotes and javalinas somehow, but we did include alot of 'sweating' peeps. Tori made the sweat out of hot glue.

My favorite part was making the 'melting' peep by microwaving it. The kids loved watching it blow up.

After our diorama making, I was tired. I layed down with Bubsey (aka Stefan) on the couch. Just as I was about to doze off, I got a text message. The new playhouse I ordered for the kids arrived at Wal-mart --over a week early! This was totally perfect since it was the first day of break. So I packed everyone up and off to Walmart on Speedway we went.

It took a while to get there and when we did, we found out the box was too big to fit into the car. No biggie, I did some car seat shuffling and had them take the item out of the box. I knew I was keeping it and I made sure every part went into the car. Besides, who needs the huge box, it was ripped to heck anyway.

On our way home, I got a call from Tori's friend's mom asking if I could come pick up her friend. So I stopped home, unloaded the house and went off the pick up the friend.

Pretty full afternoon...but it made for an exciting second day...

Daylight savings

Since I'm not using Facebook...for any East Coast people that MIGHT read this blog...keep in mind we just sprung out clocks forward...so everyone here in Tucson is three hours behind the East Coast now...Just keep that in mind when you go to call.

THANKS!

Just an awesome weekend

The title says it all. We had an awesome weekend in our wonderful Arizona. The weekend started of windy as heck. Friday, the winds we were waiting for on Wednesday kicked in. I was glad I didn't put the baby gate back up around the pool. (don't worry it's up again now). However, once Friday afternoon blew in (har har), the wind had stopped and the nice weather worked it's way into the weekend.

On Friday night, I hung out with women from my MOPS Club. It was Bunco night at someone's house. If no one knows what Bunco is, I'll break it down for you: It is a mindless dice game someone made up so women can have a moms night out and have an excuse to eat, drink and socialize. I LOVE IT!!!! I love that I can play the game without thinking, I love that I got to hang out with some totally awesome women, and I love that I went home with my cheeks hurting so much from laughing. It was just what I needed right now.

Saturday, we literally spent all day at the Tucson Festival of Books. I've been to the National Book Festival the previous four years and I have to say, the Tucson festival kicks the DC festival's ass. Not only did EVERYONE in the family come home with a book, but I never saw so many local and/or self published authors in one place. It was so motivating to see them all there. I kept thinking "I can do this. I can be here next year!" I think I need to make that my goal...

The kids were really wonderful at the festival too. We were there from 10am-4pm and only Stefan was mildly fussy at times. The kids loved getting a free book, seeing the Ronald McDonald show, and they loved the Science City the festival set up there. Even Merrick did the experiment at the Raytheon tent.

Today, after starting out a bit blah, I threw Kevin out of the house and told him to take a bike ride in the desert. Then I took the kids on a bike ride to a nearby park. After that, we took Signal for a walk. Then neighbor girl came over to play with Tori for a bit. I kind of started to crash by this time, but we made it through dinner. Now, I'm writing this after a break of playing the Sims.

I think to sum up, this weekend was another weekend where we got to go out and see how cool it is to live there. There seems to be always something going on that is fun and gets us out of the house. Next weekend, Kevin found a benefit event going on for women in aviation. Hopefully, we can get a play ride for us and the kids for 20 cents/lb. How awesome is that???

Well I'm off to bed, and I hope to enjoy the first week of spring break. It's going to be awesome to not have to wake up to an alarm clock or not have to be anywhere. Woo hoo!!!! Hope you all have an awesome week!

Hazy Mountains, Windy Desert

Before I start things, just want to say..."I LOVE BABY HUGS AND KISSES"

Ok...now that I have that off my chest...

Yesterday we had a wind advisory. The forecasters were calling for winds up to 60 mph. This sounded pretty serious, so I did my usual precautions for high wind situations. First, I folded up the new fence we put by the pool. Then I put all the sand toys in the sand box and shut it. Next, I put the outside toys into the toy bin. After that, the playdough pieces on the kids picnic table were put away. Finally, anything else left out was brought inside.

I'm used to getting ready for high wind situations. Last year, in Virginia, we had alot of tornado sightings/warnings. I had a similar routine as I did yesterday. However, I feel the winds in Virginia were harsher than I saw yesterday.

I'm not sure how most of the area was yesterday. It seems in Arizona while one area experiences one type of weather, another area experiences another. Yesterday the winds seemed alot tamer than what was being called for. Almost a kind of downer. I was actually hoping to see my first sand storm...just so I know what one looks like for future. That didn't even happen. I guess that's a good thing.

Today, I noticed the mountains which are usually so clear to see were hazy. I'm not sure if this was just a weather related thing or if the winds yesterday (and still today) kicked up the haze. I know that sounds dumb, but I guess it could happen.

Nothing very exciting otherwise is going on. I am counting down to spring break. Two more days! Then I get to turn off every alarm in the house (except for dance school). But for the most part, we don't have to be anywhere or do anything. We are starting a list of things to do during break. Some of those things include but are not limited to:

Visit Color Me Mine at the Mall.

Make our own 'peep' diorama.

Have sleepovers with friends.

Make playdates with friends.

Have a picnic at the park (Tori wants to do this EVERY DAY...I don't think so).

Hold the first annual Zhu Zhu Olympics.

Hold second annual My Little Pony Olympics.

Play in new playhouse when it arrives.

So as you all see, I may be busier than I expected, but I hope to let my hair down and have a little fun.

Javalina Crossing

A few weeks ago, it was a half day at Tori's school. I picked her up just like normal. We were heading up the hill towards our house when I heard a bunch of kids screeching. I looked ahead because my curiosity got the better of me just in time to see a whole heard of javalinas crossing the street that the school was on.

I had not yet seen a javalina in person at this point. My neighbor had once mentioned that she though javalinas had raided her trash cans one night at her temporary housing. I actually believed it was coyotes that did this because I had seen coyotes. Javalinas to me seemed to be this mythical creature that people talked about, but had yet to cross my back yard yet.

In case anyone reading this isn't sure what a javalina is, it's a creature that is not a pig, but looks alot like a pig. It however, is probably more akin to a wild boar. They are black with the coarse pig fur. They live in the desert and usually are harmless. The creatures we saw a few weeks back, certainly were harmless.

It was actually surprising to see them for a few reasons. For one, I thought they were nighttime creatures (based on my neighbors story about the trash). Second, it was a very busy time in the neighborhood. School was just letting out, cars were driving down the road. To see a heard of these creatures out during this time seemed very strange. I felt even worse when I witnessed one of them get hit by a car as they raced across the road. This didn't seem to bother the javalina, however, because it go right back up and finished running across the street.

I saw the heard take the desert path behind my house. So of course, when we got home, I went out back and crawled up the rocks by my pool (the thing I tell my kids NEVER to do when they are out back). I tried to see if I could find some javalinas, but they were long gone. A ton of kids from the school had the same idea because they were all spread out in the desert area looking too.

So there you have it, my first javalina sighting. I just feel bad because while Tori and Stefan saw them too, Merrick was rear facing in the stroller and missed it. Poor guy!

Yardwork...and such

I thought by giving up Facebook for Lent, I would have more time to blog about life here. However, Lent coincided with a visit from my mother. Therefore, my time wasn't my own. After putting the kids to bed most nights, I've been talking with her or watching a movie. Mom finally went home yesterday. And while it was great having her here to help deal with kids and clean house, it's nice to get back to normal here and start focusing on my Lenten goals.

One of those goals was to exercise more and get more things done around the house. Today left me feeling pretty accomplished. It was eighty degrees here, which was awesome. After church, we took a family bike ride. Tori rode her bike, Stefan rode in the trailer with me, while Merrick rode in the trailer with Kevin. We ended up riding all through Civano.

Civano very much reminds me of Takoma Park, MD. It seems like a nice little hippie like town. Many of the houses have solar energy, they have a big farmers market in the summer, and the houses are all different beautiful colors. Many homes are the Santa Fe look, but some are not. I enjoy just looking at them and seeing all their different features and decorations. One house had a fence made of wire that was filled with rocks. So therefore, it was a rock fence, but not cemented together. I thought it was a very creative idea of doing this. Another house, had all different kinds of plants. It was almost hard to bike through it because some plants stuck out at various areas. I saw Agave, aloe, and a huge yuca tree. It was just impressive.

I didn't mean to bike through Civano, but Kevin didn't stop me and Tori didn't remind me to turn on Drexel. We were heading to the corner store for doughnuts (Tori's motivation for going bike riding). After a while in Civano, Tori go very whiney, but she did indeed make it all the way to the Corner Store. We sat outside and had our treats. We all shared a bit with the baby and we all shared with each other (awww....).

After we got home, I wasn't hungry for lunch (wonder why) so I decided to tackle a long put off project of trimming the backyard bushes. Because our home was the model home, alot of plants were planted just for show (literally). This week, I've been really looking at how this will work for the long run. I've decided to pull up a few desert rose bushes and some other bushes that just seem like they are being strangled in the mass of bushes they planted. The desert rose bushes were planted I think as a means of building a privacy screen. However, for one, we don't have anyone behind us and never will...and two...the rose bushes grow AWAY from our fence...and it's just not working...One is working but it needs major pruning. I started it, but it's taking a while.

In short, I trimmed alot of bushes today, pulled some, pulled a rose bush that was growing by the air conditioning units (really, who puts one THERE???) and I placed goof plugs where I needed to. Goof plugs help plug up the areas of the irrigation system we don't need, therefore helping conserve water.

I even got to trim a bush up front that Kevin said was out of control. So all in all, it was one productive day. While I miss gardening back east, I have to say gardening and weeding out west is a lot less tedious. For one, weeds grow slower, so I have more time to get them before they get out of control. For another, I'm growing a lot less, therefore, it's easier to keep track.

Maybe I'll get a raised bed going...maybe not. Then again, considering I'm going back east for a month in June, I maybe shouldn't leave Kevin in charge of a garden...nah...I'll take a year off..

What I needed

Kevin and I had a joke we used to tell people if they asked us if we wanted anymore children. We would tell them when Merrick turned three we would decide if we were going to get a ferret or have a baby. And the way things were going, the ferret was winning.

I bring up this little joke because, my third child, second son turned one on Thursday. This was such a bittersweet milestone to hit. No more babies...just toddlers and children from here. Then eventually children and teenagers...and then...you get the idea.

It never ceases to amaze how fast a year can go. To me, it was only yesterday, I came home after spending Father's day with my father with a headache. I thought the travel and studying I was doing was just getting to me. The GRE test was only two weeks away and the stress alone could cause a headache and much worse. Come Thursday after my return from New Jersey though, I had a realization that would change everything...

My period was due...and it didn't come. Maybe it was due within days...but somehow, I just knew. I knew it wasn't coming. That night, I asked Kevin what he would think if I told him my period was due, but it wasn't coming. Kevin answered, "I would say I'm excited because it means we are having another baby." This answered shocked me because Kevin wasn't exactly comfortable with having a third. Having a third meant there was a 50% chance we were going to have another boy. Since Merrick already stressed the heck out of Kevin, I doubted he was really excited over a third.

Then it hit me that Kevin probably thought I was being my normal hypochondriac self and that my period was just late. He was just trying to make me feel better.

Don't get me wrong. I admit, I was worried at the time. I also was thinking to myself..."Oh ..., what am I going to do with a third child? Merrick is a nut, can I handle a third child? I have the GRE in two weeks...how am I going to pass with all this nausea and I need to study, but I can't." So many other emotions were going through me.

I don't want to say I didn't want another child. I knew I wanted another child. At the time, I knew a ton of people that were pregnant and expecting their second, even third child. I felt baby fever creeping up on me, but I just figured it wasn't meant to be.

Finally, I took that test. It was a Sunday afternoon (I couldn't wait until the morning to take the test). My period was barely a week late and the line was a bright maroon. I couldn't help but smile. It was then, I knew that this was what I wanted. I left the test on the bathroom sink. Then I went swimming with Kevin and the kids.

After swimming, Kevin changed and I expected after we changed he would see the test. He came into the kitchen and I said "Well?"

And he was like "Well what?"

"Did you see it?" I asked.

"see what?"

"The test."

"You took one?"

"Yes"

"What did it say?"

"Why don't you go look..."

He went back to the bathroom, came back and said "Damn, your fertile."

The rest as they say is history. So the ferret lost the baby vs. ferret debate. No ferrets until Tori is eight. But we gained arguably the sweetest, happiest, cutest baby ever (I'm biased). As a friend said about her third child "I'm crazy in love with this baby." He's still a cue ball...therefore he's still my baby.

Stefan may not have been an expected baby in our life...but I think he was what we needed. He's completed this family more than I can imagine. Tori loves him like crazy. Merrick...well he loves him, but more importantly he's gained a partner in crime for the future. I got to have one last baby and Kevin...well while Stefan wasn't the girl he wanted, he's at least showing that he's a little calmer than Merrick. Therefore, it's been easier for Kevin to deal with Stefan. Besides, Kevin loves kids. He's a wonderful dad and he's loved having a baby in the house as much as me.

So happy birthday my Stefan, aka Bubsey, aka 'The baby'. You'll always be the baby in this house and you truly bring a smile to everyone that comes into contact with you. I love you! xxoo.

Working through homesickness

On Sunday, Tori and Kevin went out for a bit without telling me where they were going. Apparently, they went on a mission. They were successful because when they got back they called me into the garage to see what they got.

It was my Valentine's gift.

They got me two flowers to plant in the front or back yard (I'm going for front cause they are just too pretty to plant in the back). One of the plants was a pink gerber daisy. I planted these in pots in my front yard. I love them because they tend to keep growing throughout the summer and part of fall. The only exception to this is when one of the kids rips off the flowers before they can pollinate. It was so nice to see this flower, but the sight of it made me sad (Sorry Kevin). This is because for a while, I've been dealing with a delayed case of homesickness.

While Kevin, Tori, and Merrick seem to have adjusted with no problems. Kevin, who was usually the anti social one, goes on bike rides with coworkers and has done a few sporting events with groups. I seem to be finding it hard to plant my roots here. It's probably for the best, I'm not in Virginia anymore. And a few things have happened recently to show me what I SHOULD NOT do here. Hopefully, I can take my own advice.

On Valentine's Day, I sent Tori to school without a coat. In Arizona, this shouldn't be such a surprise or big deal. However, in the mornings, it can be very cold. The temperature rises about 30 degrees throughout the day. Still, I usually send Tori to school in her coat because she's always whining how cold she is. This particular day, however, I walked outside and realized it was nearly 50 already. To me, this meant it would possible reach 70 by lunchtime, meaning a coat was not necessary.

When I went to pick up Merrick from school, I saw it was snowing in the mountains. The wind was also making it feel pretty cold. Merrick and I settled in inside for lunch. After lunch, I don't know what drew my attention out the window, but I noticed it was raining. There was something I needed to get from the backyard, so I went out back. Now my eyes are pretty bad nowadays. Three babies and various other issues will do that to you. I thought I saw something strange in the rain, but I chalked it up to bad eyesight. It was when I finally got outside and saw stuff falling on my shirt that I realized maybe my eyesight wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

It was snowing.

And it wasn't just a winter mix kind of snow. It eventually started just coming down in full flakes and all. It wasn't sticking, but it was snowing nonetheless. I thought I would have been like "What the heck?" but instead I found myself giddy and happy to see the snow. It was just what I needed to see during this time. Just a slight reminder of home.

My biggest issue is my Sims social bar is seriously low. I've combated this joining a moms group and I just started clogging again. Just these things take a while. Also add in household illnesses and I don't always get to go out when I want to go out. Luckily, I got to go out today and it made me feel a lot better being around people.

Rome wasn't built in a day and me feeling this way isn't going to go away tomorrow. Everything is so new and different here. But at least there will be pink gerber daisies in my yard this summer to remind me that I'm here. And while my garden isn't what it used to be, I can work with it.

I can work through it...

Your Way, Right Away...

At some point in someone's life, they have done their time on the fast food chain of life. I did my time for five years at Burger King. It was another part of my life in a whole other time, but I cannot even begin to tell you the adventures and life's lessons learned there. I have many friends I met through there. I even got some of my friends jobs there. Some of them I still talk to, some of them I don't.

I got the job at Burger King because I went to Toms River High School South...and for no other reason at all. The general manager that worked there at the time was called Cathy G. She saw my resume and said "You go to South? Good, I'm tired of these Central Regional kids." So there, the job I had been so desperately needing for three months my junior year of high school was finally mine.

Cathy G. was an intimidating woman. I worked with her for maybe three weeks...then she got hurt and they took the store right out from under her, sent her back to Manahawkin, then brought in Barry. (years later, Cathy G. was sent to our store as an Assistant manager. We were sitting having breakfast one slow morning. I could tell Cathy thought I was an efficient worker. She turned to me and said "You're good Jess, who hired you?" To which I replied "You. You hired me because I went to South." She laughed her ass off and said "Of course I did." After that, she never let anyone forget that anyone good in the company was hired by her.)

I remember when he first showed up bossing me around. I was like "who's this guy and why is he bossing me around." I knew the Regional manager, Mark. He was there the same day and I knew very early you didn't mess with Mark. My nickname for him was Mark the Shark. Eventually I wormed my way into his heart and he started being nice to me, but for like three years, I was terrified of him. Barry, however, I wasn't terrified of at first...I just gave him funny looks.

Barry must have seen some kind of potential in me because of instead of spending my lazy days at the Burger broiler, jumping to see if the burgers were broiling right (I couldn't see high enough into the broiler...you can stop laughing now...), he instantly moved me around the kitchen until eventually I was up front and in the drive thru. Barry's daughter also started there when he started so she got to learn everything with me...and if his daughter failed...I failed. Eventually this morphed into a thing if anything failed at Burger King in Bayville...even if I wasn't there, it was my fault...somehow...

Barry always kept me up front or in drive-thru...unless I was working mornings. If I worked mornings, Barry would put me in the back and Barry worked the front. Barry had a very specific reason for doing this. If you worked in the back, you had to do prep. Prep was slicing tomatoes, throwing lettuce into containers and prepping the fries for the day, stupid stuff like that. Barry couldn't do two things at once, much less one, so he left me to slice my fingers...I mean the tomatoes, on a slicer that couldn't slice ripe tomatoes, but they sure could slice my fingers...

Only a skeleton crew worked mornings. That's just enough people to get the food out before people got pissed off. Barry usually included himself in this skeleton crew. Then bythe afternoon, he'd have enough people to work all stations. So Barry would go do what he did best...lock himself in the office. Barry always had paperwork to do...he had to 'complete the truck order' or bun order for this week. This required him to sit and 'think' in his office for a long time. One time, he even got so sick of us bothering him in his office, he put up black construction paper over his office windows so we couldn't see in. The only thing that got him out of his office was a phone call or visit from his wife. I, in my very classy style, would say to him "It's your honey." And he'd emerge from his cave.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not hatin' on Barry. He was like a second father to me. We had this strange dynamic that worked. I knew how to keep his business running so he was happy and he gave me the hours to keep my bank account full. And while I didn't see it then, he always pushed me to be the best I could be, to reach that potential he saw. It was just really freakin annoying to be yelled at constantly...

Barry: "Why is drive thru backed up?"

Me: "I need food."

Barry: "Where is the food."

Me: "I'm waiting on it."

Barry: "Did you tell them back there you need to food?"

Me: "yes, and I'm still waiting on it."

Barry: "Well what the heck Jessica?"

Me: "well WTF Barry, what am I supposed to do?"

Barry: "You need to get the food to the customers..."

And you all get the picture...somehow, some way, I was supposed to remedy the situation with a magic wand, I was somehow supposed to have. Barry was one person in my life who really just forced me to, I don't know if it is problem solve or just plain deal with a situation. For lack of a better term, he taught me to "suck it up and do just do it, cause no one else was going to do it for you..."

Another story before I poke fun at Barry some more...I eventually worked my way up to Breakfast manager. Breakfast managers just open up the store and once another manager walks in the door, they are just another employee. Not that Barry treated me that way. But I get ahead of myself...Every Wednesday morning, the truck order came in. That's when all the inventory of burgers, fries and other food stuff is replenished. Barry on this day, really insisted on working up front, cause he really needed someone to prep, run the back, AND put the truck order away.

Now in case some of you reading this don't actually know me face to face: I'm four feet, ten inches tall and pretty tiny all around. I had to stack fries to like two feet beyond my height and throw cases of croissants on shelves two feet above my head. At first, I tried to get Barry to do the high stuff for me, such as shelve said croissants. One day...Barry took me into the freezer and pointed to the shelves in there. "You see this?", he said, "Think of this as your jungle gym." From then on, I didn't get one ounce of help from him. I did learn to climb steel shelves, while holding a big bulky box and somehow while laying on my back, facing the ceiling, place cases on the top shelf...don't ask me how I did it...I just did...

When I first started working at Burger King, they were trying to do table service. It was as if they were trying to make Burger King a legitimate restaurant. The program lasted a whole three months...maybe. I was not involved at all in this process...thank god...

Apparently Burger King just announced it is going to try its hand at delivering. It's stuff that likes this that makes me so glad I don't work there anymore...but I could imagine how it would have gone...

Barry would have INSISTED on delivering the one delivery order we got in because he can't trust us 'young people and our driving'...FIVE HOURS LATER, he would have been back with Chinese food he picked up on the way back (sweet and sour chicken with white rice). The drive thru and dining room would be packed with cars and people by now. Barry would have barked at me for whatever chaos was going on because it's always my fault.

Barry: "What's going on here?"

Me: "We're a little busy right now."

Barry: "Well why can't you get the people out of here?"

Me: "Cause I'm working the front, Lori's working the drive thru, Ross is helping expedite (assemble orders), and everyone else is doing what they can in the back..."

Barry: Have you checked the bathrooms lately? (totally random and he's still not going into the back to help).

Me: Um no...been a little busy...

Barry: Well why didn't you go check the bathrooms? (Mind you this whole conversations is going on while I'm taking orders)...

Me: Why don't you go ask Ross these questions...he's the manager on duty.

Barry: I'm not asking Ross, I'm asking you (cause again, he'd rather blame me, than go after 6'4" Ross...)

By then, I would manage to take my last order...then leaving Ross to fill the orders, I would stomp out to the dining room, clean it, refill the coffee machines, check/clean the bathrooms, and then collect dirty trays. By now, people are lining up up front and Barry would be *gasp* taking orders. So I have to rush back in and take over before he has to work anymore. Barry then would go retire to his office to eat the lunch he brought back with him. Things would eventually calm down. Barry wouldn't emerge for another three hours. He'd of course call me before I need to clock out to lecture me on how I need to run a store...I'd go home...exhausted....

Love ya Barry...wherever you are...but anyone that worked with me at BK knows this is true...

I give the delivery program three months...tops...

What to do, what to do...

One the many perks that came with this move was Kevin's new job offered a job consultant for spouses. This woman is very nice and she even made me an updated resume that really just compliments me way way more than I deserve. There's just this major issue...

I really don't want to teach...not right now. With having three kids, it just doesn't seem like a great idea to me right now.

I did work, right up until we moved. I worked from home for a public health consultant doing logistical stuff. I also worked for two other people doing their bookkeeping. This was great work because I could schedule my hours around the kids. And I even found daycare that wouldn't break my bank in the form of helpful friends and inlaws.

Working from home was great, but it had it downslides too. I don't need to get into it that right now, but suffice to say everything has it downs.

Recently, I asked Kevin "Do you want me to get back to work?" He said he had nothing to do with this consultant and he understands me needing to stay home with the kids. I'd love to do something in education that would allow me to stay home, but the only thing I can think of is curriculum development of some kind...but I don't even know if I could find work doing that.

Really, do I want to work? No...no I don't. With the kids right now, I'm fine with taking care of them. There is that part of me that feels bad for wanting to just stay home. That part of me that feels I need to contribute...but I've done that contribute thing, and it caused so much stress in this house it wasn't funny. Yes, right now I feel lost, but I want to take this year to really, really look at where I want to go in life. Teacher? Not really sure. In an emergency, it's a great thing...but I have my doubts. Public health? Been there, done that, not sure if they have a job that allows me to do what I really want to do in that. Writing? I wish...I really do...and that would take a ton of discipline on my part...which i have, but haven't tapped into for years...

So we shall see...

Suggestion to American Girl Dolls...

Ok...so I'm thrilled American girl added a new "girl of color" to their historical line up with the two girls from 1850's New Orleans. However, she is sharing the limelight with another white girl doll AND I just feel there are some other ethnicities that really could use some recognition. American Girl dolls I would LOVE to see:

A Chinese girl born in American and living during the 1840s...(wonder if they would do the golden lily thing)

A Japanese girl living in American during the 1950s

An Irish girl in American during whatever period in the 1800s

An Italian girl coming to American in the 1920s

Those are some of my ideas...of course I would LOVE to see a Puerto Rican girl in American during the turn of the century (they need to fill in this time period gap left by Samantha) or in the 1950s...but that's a pipe dream...

Our First New Year's

Luckily, we knew SOME people before we moved here...Correction, luckily KEVIN knew some people before we moved here. Otherwise, it would have been a pretty lonely, quiet holiday for us. Not that quiet is bad...but when you're not used to quiet...it could leave you...lost.

Kevin's known his boss since his last job (hence why we are here), and said boss is friends with another former coworker. Former coworker came to visit boss and we got to see everyone over the holidays. First, they came here and then we went to visit there (on New Year's). You know what this means...our first dinner party...china and all...

I love entertaining. I love my china set. I've never used it enough, so when the opportunity arouse to use it, I was happy to oblige. I'm grateful to Kevin's old coworker (and friend) for helping set up times, date, ect. After that, we just had to figure out what to serve.

The best thing about having company over, is your house is clean...because like a mad person you're cleaning it right up until the company arrives. Plus, since everyone coming hadn't seen our house before, we both wanted to make sure it was at it's best. Plus, bonus...don't have to clean now for like...two weeks...yeah...

The dinner party was great. We were in great company. Everyone is a good friend and I'm glad to know such great people. The kids got along, which is always a good thing.

During the party, it was discussed about getting together at the other friend's house for New years. We agreed and were pretty excited about it. My friend, Debbie, asked me to bring a soup. This was a cool request because I had a recipe I had been wanting to try out, so it was a good of time as any to try. Kevin even made a bread for the occasion.

The dinner menu: Cheese straws & cucumber cups for appetizer...along with my carrot soup, plus salmon and guacamole mousses served on endives. Then a prickly pear sorbet as a pallet cleanser. Main dish: pistachio crusted lamb on Rutabaga Rosti. Finally, chestnut ice cream with cocoa crepes for dessert. (stick in my husband's sour cream & herb bread)

Dinner was awesome...I don't think I need to explain that any further. Dinner was broken out over the evening and buffered with some nice champagne and wine. After dinner, we sat outside and checked out the stars. They are so beautiful out here. I just can't explain it. But now, more than ever, I want to get a star map and start finding constellations other than the big dipper and Orion. There was even a telescope there so we could look at planets. Kevin thinks Juipter was out that night.

Around midnight, we started seeing fireworks being let off. That's when I really noticed the view. The house we were at was in the Catalina Foothills. The view included a panoramic view of the city of Tucson. The twinkling lights of the city were breathtaking to say the least. Then on top of it, to be able to see every fireworks display in the city...just awesome. Granted the fireworks were so small from where we were...but still very neat.

It was such a great first New years in Tucson. I couldn't think of any other way that would help me appreciate where I live. I saw the city in it's entirety and I got to sit outside in a shawl and not freeze my butt off...

Can't get more awesome than that...