Austin's 3rd b-day

The INCREDIBLE HULK was the theme....Austin was in heaven! He has been running around with these crazy HUGE HULK gloves that he received for days now. Wesley is a bit jealous of all his new toys, but that is what big brothers do!

We had a pinata (a green frog was the closest I could come to being green), cake, BBQ, and presents of course. It was a bit rainy, but thankfully the mud came off easily on my floors. We didn't get off of work until 6pm, so it was a bit later than I am used to...but all the kids had a great time despite that "past bedtime" hours.

Happy birthday sweet pea!

My boys

Here are a few fun pictures of my crazy boys....church time, dress up time, silly time and soccer time!

Insomnia

There are several things that keep playing in my mind OVER and OVER again, like a broken record at night when I am exhausted and trying to fall asleep. If I do fall asleep, one of the kids may wake up with a bad dream, and then I am back to square one...trying to relax enough to fall back asleep. What are these little thoughts that creep into my mind?

1. Work: thinking of all the trainings I need to do each day, my employees work ethic, hiring new employees, phone calls to make, reminders to give, etc. I get very annoyed when I find myself doing this b/c work is the LAST thing I want to think about when Jared and I are both pulling in 50+ hour work weeks. ugh!

SO....I try to quickly change my mind as soon as I feel myself wandering into the DirectBuy world...

2. My baby: thoughts and concerns as to whether or not he is healthy, if he is moving enough, if he is growing, if I will be able to be his mother here on earth, etc. I think about the nursery that I have YET to set up (or buy any of our crib/dressers because we left it all in El Paso). I think about how I will juggle being a new mama again, plus a working mama and it worries me. I think about hypnobirthing (can I really go all natural again and enjoy it?), breast feeding, I think about entertaining my toddlers at the same time, I think about how I won't be getting a baby shower with this one b/c I feel so lonely with so few friends here in Maryland....

Which leads me to another thought....

3. My friends: My closest friends are in AZ and I rarely get to talk to any of them. With three hours of a time difference, we are always on opposite schedules. When I wake up, they are sleeping, when I go to work, they are barely getting kids ready for school, when I get home, they are at sports afterschool, when I go to bed, they are making dinner....and by the time it's even 11pm for me...it's only 8pm for them and they may barely be getting their own kids to bed! I miss them SO much. I get scared that we may be losing our close connection that we have shared for years and I feel jealous knowing that I am the one missing out here since I am the one that left and now feels so alone and isolated. I don't have any time to branch out with new friends here, working 10 am-9pm really leaves NO time for anything.....

which leads me to think...

4. Just another thing to add to my "poor me" self is the fact that I am also no longer working out! I am still getting set up to teach aerobic classes at the gym, but the reality is that I haven't been to the gym for a month now, and with a growing plump body, you can imagine the roller coaster of emotions that I am feeling with my soft, round body. I embrace being pregnant, but I am NOT okay when I am NOT working out. It's part of who I am and I need it.

So....I close my eyes once again, I try to focus in on a beach with crashing waves as I think of dream land, and I do my best to wake up with a positive attitude. I will admit, I am excited for this "stage" in my life to be done and over with. I know there are brighter days ahead and I just hope I can get enough shut eye to enjoy them.

Oprah

I am here in downtown Chicago with Jared for a DirectBuy "owner's meeting." Hard to believe that I am ever home to enjoy my home or my boys, isn't it? Anyway....we'll be here until tomorrow morning.

I came here two years ago with my BF Arianne Pearce...a crazy 24 hour trip here and back. I haven't had enough! I want to see more of Oprah!

I have one goal: Oprah's ticket lines open TODAY and I am going to get on that phone until I can HOPEFULLY reserve a ticket for her show! Maybe I could even get it for tomorrow??? Before we leave back for DC??? That would be ideal, wouldn't it?

If not...anyone want to come with me if I do get a ticket or two??
Start calling now! 1-312-591-92222

***** Update....after three hours of calling on/off, I never got past the busy signal! Can you believe it! Are there THAT many people trying to get to the show across the country? Better luck next time....sigh....

A typical work day

When I am back to being a full time homemaker, remind me of days like TODAY when I feel bored, uneducated, frustrated, impatient or anxious about being home with my kids all day.

I pulled in a 14 hour day, on my pregnant feet, didn't have time to even eat dinner (what the heck!), and so here I am at 10pm at night...finally getting some nourishment (is pizza healthy?) and venting my feelings.

It's hard to work so hard when you get paid by salary...after all, who really cares if you stay past your allotted hour when it all comes back in the same check? I voluntarily want to give myself a day off next week to make up for this one!

Being the "owner" of a business sure can be tough. I am dealing with irate members on a daily basis. Fortunately, I don't take many of their problems on a personal note...but, it would be easy to feel so overwhelmed by their rude remarks, cussing words, and angry voices.

It does NO ONE any good to be yelled at...and so whenever I hear, "let me talk to the owner," I always embrace myself for the worst. Today was by far the worst one I have had yet, to date. Granted, I understand why the member was upset with the situation...but, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO YELL TO RESOLVE YOUR PROBLEM??? Cussing takes you nowhere! It just causes you embarrassment later down the road when the situation is resolved and YOU look like a jerk. I find that I am so flustered by all their hashing that I can't even spit out remarks that can calm them down...tonight I put the guy on hold twice to calm him down...

No matter what unruly situation happens to me in my lifetime, I promise to never blow my lid with a poor customer service rep on the other phone line. Sometimes there are other things that off set the member to be so upset, but that still doesn't justify treating a person like that. Maybe they just got in a fight with their kids, maybe they got in a car accident that afternoon, maybe they have a zit on their face....whatever it may be...people ought to learn to cool down.

I am learning a lot in this managerial position. How to delegate and train my own employees. I think some things are so "obvious" to my employees, for example....how to talk to someone when they are upset about being transferred from one extension to another (on the phone). Things that I might say naturally to make that person feel better, "I will personally make sure this is taken care of tonight" vs. "they are out of town...do you want to leave another message" really does require training for some people! Where is the natural customer service?

I also am in charge of hiring and firing people. I always thought interviews were such a luxury to give...vs. participate in as a prospective employee. I do admit that I would rather be on the other end (the employer), but it sure is hard finding "qualified" people. We are SO UNDER staffed right now that I am almost desperate to hire anyone, and settle for their mediocre levels of standards. I must hold tight though to what I WANT b/c the last two people I have hired have been total disasters! One of them had such bad Body Odor that I had to let her go for grooming issues! How embarrassing is that to address with someone....and uncomfortable. It is fun feeling like I have an important position, that I have big decisions to make that affect people everyday, and that (hopefully) there is a level of respect for me that I have not had before. In addition to that responsibility comes a huge level of accountability.

Another thing....my employees ask for their dinner break b/c they have been working long hours. Of course they are granted one, and since we are short staffed, it's hard to get coverage. But, who ever worries about MY dinner break? Huh? Right...the owner just is expected to give above and beyond expectations to "set the standard" for the rest of the staff. Well...this mama definitely should've taken a dinner break tonight.

I am now off to get into my PJ's, to give kisses to my boys whom I miss and love, to hopefully read some scriptures, and say a quick prayer.

Until more adventures at DirectBuy of Washington North...

We went to Mount Vernon (George Washington's house) on Labor Day. It was hot and muggy!!!!

This house was amazing though, still standing and in great condition back from the 1700's. He had bright greens, blues and yellows for paint color....a "kitchen" that was a fire with dutch oven pans, his own office that you needed permission to enter into, and after he died...his Martha never went back into their shared bedroom, but died two years later as well.

Austin of course tried to sneak back into one of the rooms (unintentionally), and we almost had security guards after us!

It was a very reverent and peaceful place...alongside the Potomac River.

Museums. I keep thinking that when my kids are over the 6 + age range, they will be more properly prepared for museum experiences. Today was filled with chasing them from one display to the next, security guards getting after Wesley for touching the props, Austin throwing himself on the ground b/c he was too tired to walk, screaming and jumping all over the escalators, going potty every few hours in public restrooms, and of course the fun Metro ride over.

All in all, it was a great day. I went with my mom and good friend Michelle (with her boy Damon) to hit up the Air/Space museum, as well as the Natural History. Let me explain just one thing: WE DID NOT LEARN ONE THING! We were so busy chasing our toddlers that all educational experiences were out the door. Not a big deal, but it was eventful to say the least. I did snap some pictures in between time outs and meltdowns.

My belly sure is feeling it tonight. I am going to go lay down just as soon as I post this. I went to work for several more hours upon returning, and that about does it for me today!

It's fun to live in the DC area, to have access to such fun places to go to...but boy does it take a lot of prep and discipline to actually make it happen. The fact that this big ol' pregnant girl was sweating away in 94 degree heat and high humidity really did make me grin:)

6th Anniversary

Happy 6 years!!! Here we are four years ago 2004....do we look the same?
Jared and I made it! 6 years of being married:)

We were in Chicago, IL for a 2 week training (veerrrry loooonnnggg and I missed my boys so much) for DirectBuy....

So, we took advantage of going to a Chicago Cubs baseball game to celebrate our big day. Ironically they were playing our "home" team, the Washington Nationals. The cubs spanked them! 6-1


We also looked at the sweet LDS Chicago IL temple while we were in the area.



I love you Jared. So happy to be living life with you by my side.