Jib fought the sauce....

...and the sauce won!

Yes, The Jib had some ravioli for lunch, and I think she ended up wearing more of it than she actually ate. This is the reason why she is shirtless - I knew what I was coming up against. She refuses to wear a bib, so any time we have anything remotely messy, I just take her shirt off. Well, unless we're in a restaurant. Obviously then I just order something "not so messy".

Debt - not just another four letter word...

Debt. Many of us have it. It might be the kind of debt most people have (mortgage, car payments, student loans, etc...) or it could be from credit cards or other unsecured loans. Either way, debt is not really a good thing.

With our economy the way it is, many people are looking for ways to relieve the strain on their checking accounts and reduce the amounts of the payments they have each month. With so much information out there, it's sometimes overwhelming to even TRY to figure out where to start.

At Bills.com, you can find some really useful information that can help you to decide an option that might be right for your situation. You can access the site by clicking here: consolidate debt

Obviously, before you make any decision, you should investigate your choices thoroughly. Say you have a lot of equity in your home, pretty good credit, and a lot of small bills (like credit cards, car loans, etc), you might want to consider a home refinance. In many cases, you can actually end up paying less each month, PLUS having all of your other bills paid off.

Maybe you need to do a large home improvement project. Perhaps a home equity loan would work for you. These are something to be cautious of, since you don't want to end up in a worse financial situation then when you started!!

If you don't own your home, but have a lot of debt that you need to pay off, sometimes debt settlement or credit counseling will help. These options will have a more adverse affect on your credit, so if you have good credit, these may not be a good choice for you. Of course, if your credit is already suffering because of a lot of debt, credit counseling might work for you.

The Bills.com website offers a wealth of information for many credit and debt circumstances, as well as a list of useful terms that will help you understand just what you are reading. In these trying times of higher prices and lower wages, it really can pay to be an educated consumer.

Because of the housing market these days, a home refinance or home equity loan might not be a good choice for everyone. Sometimes credit counseling programs can actually do more harm to your credit report than good, so be wary of those. Debt settlement can be good if you have just a TON of debt and are just looking to make the smallest payments possible.

Of course, the best thing would be to avoid any unecessary debt in the first place, but sometimes you just can't help it. Bills.com appears to be a good place to go when you need a solution. Of course, I am NOT a financial advisor, so please examine any program you are considering VERY CAREFULLY!!

I was ready for some football...

So I went to watch Bubber play yesterday. The weather was ALMOST perfect - not too warm, not too cold...but it kept sprinkling rain off and on. Of course, I left my umbrella in the car, which was parked about a bajillion miles from the field (yeah, I measured it!). I was worried about melting ('cause I'm so sweet...LOL), but I came out of it okay. (Frankly, I would not have been disappointed if some of my butt and thighs had melted away...but alas.)

My mom, stepdad, ex-husband, and his parents were at the game. I know Bubber thought that was pretty cool (although he didn't realize DURING the game that we were all there - he only saw me & my mom). My stepdad didn't speak to me (as usual), but I greeted him (and said goodbye to him) very nicely anyway. It's tough, because our relationship was never what I call "great", but we got along okay. Then he totally stabbed me in the back, and wonders why I called him out on it. There has been a LOT of hurt in our family over stuff that he & my ex did, with my mom and ex-MIL not helping the situation, and I've pretty much been made out to be the "evil one", even to my own children. I've tried to rebuild a relationship with my mom, but it's been pretty hard. I even used to have a pretty good relationship with my ex-MIL, but because of her duplicity in several situations, that relationship is now VERY strained.

I'm so thankful that I have a great mother in law who loves me like I'm her own daughter, because I think it would be pretty depressing to not have someone to share all of the little milestones the kids (or even I myself) have.

As I said before, I'm getting baptized Saturday. I told my mom about it, and she said, "Oh, I have to work." I was disappointed, but not surprised. I hope that she finds a way to be there anyway. (She works for my ex-MIL, so maybe she could arrange to come later??)

Wow - I didn't expect this post to go that route...now I'm sitting here in tears thinking about how a few well-placed words (meant to harm) can really cause devastating damage to so many people. I meant to talk about football, so I guess I'd better get back to that!

Bubber's team lost the game, but they played much better than they did last week. Hopefully they will not be discouraged and will continue to try harder each week. It's fun to watch Bubber get out on the field - he's really excited about playing. Next week, they have a home game, so I won't have to make a long trip to get there...now if they would just lower their ticket prices. Can you believe, $5 EACH?? Needless to say, I'm probably going to be the ONLY one from our household going to most of the games. (Nans went with me last week, though, and that was nice)

Not that this post was meant to have a moral (it was supposed to be about football, for Pete's Sake!), but I'd say that the "moral of this story is..." before you use words or actions to do someone else harm, think of the lasting consequences it will have. Gossip can go a LONG way towards ruining relationships (or even lives).

Everyone loves having a great host...

More and more internet users today are setting up their own websites, sometimes just for fun, and other times as a business venture. The thing is, you need to have someone "host" your website. There are many different web hosts out there, so how do you choose the right one?

Here's a site that might help you with your decision: website hosting

Web Hosting Rating offers consumers a chance to check out and compare rates and reviews of many different hosts. You can read more about it by clicking here. It's sort of a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section, with a lot of detailed answers, which is great for someone like me who doesn't know a whole lot about web hosting.

If you're thinking about creating your own website, for fun and/or profit (Got great pictures you'd love to sell as art? Want to create a "fan site" for your favorite actor/singer? Perhaps your "very own" website might be a good idea...), I would encourage you to visit Web Hosting Rating to "shop around" a little before you make your decision. It can help you save time AND money - something many of us are short on these days!!

"The sun is up!"

"Get up! And you can make me some toast."

-Puckey, 7:30am

I just love the sweet things that my little Puckey greets me with. Fortunately, she's just about the cutest little girl on the planet, which makes it that much easier to smile even when she's ordering me about.

You know that's why I had kids, right? So I could be their maidservant. HA HA HA HA

So...................................

Anyone have any good suggestions for getting poop out of light beige berber carpet??

I don't even think I need to explain that. And I'll spare you the picture.

You can thank me later.

Directory Site

In the quest to give you, my readers, some great new sites to check out...

I was given the opportunity to write a review of the directory site, ClickSmart. From what I can tell, this is a fairly new site. There aren't tons of listings on it, especially for MI.

However, if you (or someone you love) are looking for realtors in Miami, FL, you might just find what you're looking for. From what I can tell, the companies listed on this site are pre-screened to weed out any potential scammers.

There are several categories of businesses you can choose from, and you can search by zip code or city/state. What I like is that you get to see a photo of the person you will be contacting, and all of their contact information is easy to find. There is also a brief description of the company/individual listed.

I think this could be a beneficial site, both for businesses and individuals to use. So, if you know anyone who is looking to buy real estate in Miami, FL, and doesn't have a realtor, encourage him/her to check out this site: miami realtor and find one today.

So many posts, so little time...

Since you've all missed me SOOOO much over the last few weeks, I've decided to just overload you with posts! ha ha ha

The girls seem like they are growing by leaps and bounds! I can't believe all of the new words The Jib says now. She's SO funny - especially since all of her words that end in an "s" sound she uses a "t" sound, and when she says "yes", she bobs her head up and down and just says "S-s-s-s-s-s-" (I guess it would be better if I had it on film, but my mother in law has the video camera. I should get that back from her)

Puckey is doing well with the potty training. Last night she actually pooped on the potty, and then told me, "I pooped big just like Daddy!" Ande got a laugh out of that one.

Bubber has his second football game on Thursday. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm going to go. I may have to ask my mother in law if she can babysit the girls, so I don't have to wrangle them on the bleachers (not to mention the fact that I'd probably get charged to bring them in...)

Bug is looking forward to starting band. She will be playing clarinet this year. I hope she enjoys it - music is such a fun thing to learn. I actually had a dream that she was in marching band, and I was helping teach the kids how to march. (I was in marching band in high school) It was a little weird.

Nans started at her new school yesterday, and she said she liked it pretty well. I think she'll do fine once she makes a couple of new friends. We still haven't worked out how we are going to make the pick-up on our weekends. I used to pick her up from school on our weekends, but that's not really going to work out anymore.

I'm finally getting baptized on Saturday. I don't know what's taken me so long (I gave my life to Christ over 6 years ago), but I'm excited about it, and am thrilled that Bubber and Bug will get to be there too. It's going to be fun, too, since it's at our Pastor's house, and we're having a picnic/pool party afterwards. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us.

My brother in law interviewed for a job here in MI yesterday, but he's not sure if he's going to take it. It would be a pretty big pay cut for him, so I think he's thinking it over. As much as I'd love for them to move here, I'd hate for him to take the job and then have a hard time financially. (It's not that the pay is really that bad, but they're used to living on a lot more)

Well, I guess that's it for now. I'll probably post at least once or twice more today (aren't you lucky?).

For now, it's back to the grind...LOL

My Dream Job

So, this was a fun post to put together!! The video posted below was created for a contest for the website FutureResume.com. I have a chance to win the opportunity to win my "dream job" for a day, PLUS $1000! Wouldn't that be SWEET??



You can join in the fun, too! Just visit Future Resume by clicking here: dream job

School days

So, school started yesterday, and the kids were (less than) thrilled. I didn't see Bubber after school, so I called him at his dad's last night. Let's just say, this may be a rough school year.

Bug seemed fairly happy with her teachers, and some of her friends are in her classes (which was a big worry to her). I think she'll do fine.

Poor Puckey and The Jib miss their siblings, though!!