Is It the Weekend Yet?

It's been a long week.  Which is really pretty sad since it's only Wednesday...and Monday was a holiday...and technically I haven't even started my work "week" which begins Thursday night.  Needless to say, it's been a rough couple of day.

We kicked off the week with a bad progress report.  Which is frustrating enough, but add a little bit of lying to it, and, well, you can just imagine how thrilled that made Don and I.  I'm not sure how teenagers get it in their heads that school is the least important thing on their agendas, especially since it's the ONLY thing on their agendas.

Add to that the discovery last night that our cell phone bill (averaging $105 a month) was suddenly $350, thanks to someone's apparent desire to hold the record for longest phone conversation with a girl.  I damn near had a heart attack opening that bill.  I am now doing some VERY close monitoring of our minutes now.  VERY close.

Today was pretty much the last straw for me.  I've been working on 1099 tax documents all week (I've done somewhere around 120 for the title company) and today was planning on doing the 1099-MISC documents for the few contractors the office hires.  Imagine my displeasure to discover the online version of Quickbooks I use doesn't support 1099 preparation.  It doesn't support 1099 preparation.  WTF?  What kind of ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE doesn't let you do ACCOUNTING on it?  (I use different software for the previous 120 documents and used a desktop version of Quickbooks last year, so I wasn't anticipating this "wrinkle")  After an hour of some pretty creative two-year-old sensitive cursing, I'm fairly confident that I can produce said 1099-MISC forms without the help from my accounting software, but let me just say, I'm pretty damn bitter about it.

So yes, it has been a long, frustrating week.  And it's only Wednesday.  The only real productive/positive thing I can say for this week is that I made a few phone calls and am seriously considering starting at York County Community College next fall on an Associates degree in Accounting.  Since all my core class work will transfer over from my degree at USM, I'm realistically looking at 8-10 classes for my Associates.  While it's not a profession I'm dying to get into, I don't really mind it, I have some experience already, and it's a great work from home profession.  For the amount of time it would take, and the money I would be investing, it seems like a really smart move right now.

Up next for the week:  Planning Ben's Birthday Party.  Hopefully that will be less stressful....hopefully....

How Ben Got His Name

I didn't name my son Benjamin after Tom Brady's son.  Well, not exactly.

I'd suggested the name "Benjamin" several times to my husband and he vetoed it several times.  I read about the birth of Tom Brady's son just a few weeks before Ben was born and told Don again that if "Benjamin" was good enough for Tom Brady, surely it was good enough for us.  But he was still against it.

Flash forward to the evening of Ben's birth, six weeks before we were expecting him, and we sat with our laptop trying to agree on a name while timing contractions and watching his little heartbeat on the monitor.  We needed a name.  ASAP.

Since we hadn't picked anything out, I assumed we would be naming him Alec, after Don's grandfather.  We had agreed it would at least be a middle name, but with time running out it was being seriously considered for a promotion to first name.

But, Don surprised me and said he thought we should name him Benjamin.  We're talking really last minute here, as in he went up to the NICU in an isolette that listed him as Baby Boy MacDougall.  The next morning it was settled and Baby Boy became Benjamin Alec.  I'm fairly certain Tom Brady won't mind.  We weren't really copying him.

I can't say the same about those Travoltas though...I'm fairly certain they copied me when their son Benjamin was named a few months after mine....

He's Lucky He's Cute...

I love that my son is learning to talk.  It's really great, and super amazing to watch him puzzle things out and put things into little sentences.  I just really wish he'd start to say things like "No thanks, mumma, I would prefer this sippy cup."  Or perhaps "Mumma, I think I need a new diaper, please change me."  Or, "Mumma, would you please read me the Elmo book again?"

Instead, I get "NOOOOOO" (sippy cup flies across kitchen) or "No poop!" (while the surroundings smell like dirty diaper) or the Elmo book thrown in my face while I'm reading.  I also hear "MEEEEEEeeeeeeEEEEEEeeeeeee" all day long about anything and everything Ben wants to do, thinks he should be doing, or wants me to stop doing.

I love my kid, and I know it's going to get worse before it gets better, but seriously, is it that hard to say "Mumma, I'm afraid I dislike this chicken, might I have some extra peas and carrots?"  It's not really that hard Ben, I promise....

One Down, Four to Go!

I DID IT!!! 

When I decided this year to read 100 books, I wanted to include a few that would challenge me.  I decided to read five Jane Austen novels this year.  They are not challenging in that they make my brain hurt, but the writing style is definitely something that takes some getting used to and is not something I would usually pick up for a "light" read.  But, I am happy to say that I have finished my first Jane Austen novel of the year, Emma. 

It was a slow start.  Very slow.  It took a while to get used to the language, and to be able to sort through all the politeness to find the actual story, but I'm happy to say that once I got into it, I really enjoyed it!  The characters were hilarious and I found myself laughing out loud many times.  But, I also can't tell you how excited I was to finish it so I could move on to something that moves a bit faster.  Since I've got all year to read my five Austens, I think I'll take a little break and read a few "easy" reads before picking up Sense and Sensibility, or Mansfield Park.  A couple of good murder mysteries should clear my head I think...

Ben-casso

My sister bought Ben finger paints for Christmas.  That's right, my sister is pure evil.  Is there anything messier than finger paints??  Ugh!  Today, I decided to let Ben mess around with them.

He's not a big fan of "slimy" things right now, and as a result I can't get him to eat anything with a sauce on it.  Needless to say, dipping his fingers in the finger paint didn't appeal to him.  But gooping giants globs onto his finger painting paint tools was a smashing success.

So smashing, in fact, that I'm fairly confident that his finger paintings probably won't be dry for a good two to three weeks.

Thanks to a very thoughtful Christmas gift from Auntie Rachel, Ben's clothes stayed clean due to his absolutely adorable owl apron.  It's seriously the cutest thing ever and was perfect for finger painting.

He created three original works of art in about fifteen minutes.  We then spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning up finger paint that was all over the dining room.  (Too bad Auntie Rachel didn't think to get mom an art apron too...) When he was finished, we busted out some crayons and stamps for a while and had some more fun. 

 It was a pretty great day!

Not The Day I Planned

Today has been quite a day.  I woke up expecting a nice quiet day at home with Ben to start getting back to a non-holiday schedule, only to discover that, surprise, I'm working tonight.  So, my list of chores that I thought I would have plenty of time to get to had to be rushed through.  Plans for a nice elaborate dinner, after what seems like weeks of leftovers and quick improv meals, had to be scratched as Don will be on his own to cook tonight.  And, while hunting through my purse I discovered an appointment card for a hair appointment TONIGHT.  Oooops!  So with about 1000 apologies I rescheduled my appointment and decided to do the grocery shopping tomorrow.

I hate days like this, when I wake up with plans for one day and find myself thrown into a completely different day.  But, even though this wasn't the day I was planning, I have still managed to get all my chores finished and should be able to squeeze out a few minutes of "Me" time before I head into work.  And better yet, there might even be a few minutes of Mom and Ben art time!

Looks like tomorrow will be our day to get back into our routine.  Thank goodness for tomorrows....

Happy New Year!

There's a few minutes left in 2011 so I thought I would briefly reflect on the past year.

 It was a wonderful year spent with my family, I've been amazed at the changes a year can make in the life of a toddler.  We started the year with a little baby who could stand for three seconds, and ended it with a kiddo with a personality who walks, talks, and (finally) jumps!  Amazing what a difference a year can make for a child.

Jacob graduated high school, which was a big milestone for him and us.  One down, two to go!  With a little luck, 2012 will bring the beginning of Jake's college years and many, many more changes for him.

Marcus was a little overshadowed this year with all the awesome things his little and big brothers achieved this year.  But he is taking drivers ed, and if he's lucky, 2012 will find him with his license and on the road driving.  (Take this as your warning other drivers...)

Don has had a proud year watching his boys grow.  I know he's looking forward to some changes in 2012, and I really hope he can make them all happen.  He's worked hard and it's time for something to change.

As for me, well, I've read a lot, and discovered that I like blogging an awful lot too.  I love being a stay at home mom and watching my son grow.  Everyday (ok almost everyday) I thought about how lucky I am.  I hope 2012 keeps me in such an appreciative state of mind.

As for my resolutions for 2012, I'm making three.

One:  Read more.  My goal is 100 books.  And, more specifically, at least 5 Jane Austen novels (my mini-Austen Challenge) and 5 non-fiction books.  It's not an impossible goal, so I feel pretty confident about reaching them.  And shouldn't resolutions be something you can achieve anyway?

Two:  Write more.  I'm pleased with the amount of blogging I've done the last few months (ok, maybe my Kindle caused a slight disruption, but I'm not going to let that happen again) and I want to keep it up next year as well.  I'm also going to set a goal of writing a few short stories.  I know I can do it, I just need to TRY!

Three:  Well, that one's going to be private.  (Hey, it's my blog, and my resolutions, I don't have to share them all with you!)

Happy New Year!!