Archive for January, 2009

Well, Thank You Very Much!

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

I haven’t blogged about it much, but the real estate market stinks! Chris and I have had our beautiful home on the market since April 2008 and have not had so much as 1 offer! We have now lowered our price over $30K and are probably not going to get much out of the house. At this point we just don’t care anymore and just want to be D-O-N-E and moved! We had a contract on a house in Indiana. The contract expired through no fault of our own, our house didn’t sell, and it was a contingency. No sale, no fault we get our earnest money back…that easy, right?

NOT!

I have been trying to reach our agent for over a month now. Prior to the expiration of the contract, and now that it has expired. He doesn’t answer at the office, he doesn’t answer his cell, and I get these strange one line e-mails from him. I have suspected for at least 2 months that he has taken another job. Today I made Chris call. The call went something like this…

Ring…

Chris: hello? Oh, hi “Agent “X”. How far in Indiana do you sell real estate?

Agent X: Actually, I’ve taken a new job, and I am no longer handling my clients. My brother is in charge of that until my clients are all finished. What do you need?

Chris: We want our earnest money back from the expired contract on “House” and were wondering what we need to do.

Agent X: Oh, you will have to sign a form, the sellers will have to sign a form, then their agency will cut you a check.

Chris: ok, thanks. Get the form to us so we can take care of this quickly.

End of conversation. To use Chris’s favorite saying “That guy is a total douche!” I can’t believe he just left us totally hanging!

Now we’re wondering what if the sellers say “No, we want the $$” are we going to be screwed? It’s not our fault we can’t sell our house, it’s just a really bad time. Legally it looks like we should have no problem, but I’ve said that before about other things that turn out to be total nightmares!  It’s a good thing it wasn’t me on the line. I would have said something like “Thanks a lot for telling us you were no longer going to be our agent! Thanks for leaving us hanging and thinking we were just going to “eat” the $1000 earnest money we gave you! Thanks for being such a moral and upstanding character!” Seriously are there NO HONEST REAL ESTATE AGENTS ANYWHERE? So far the only one I like and trust is the listing agent on our house, THE NEW LISTING AGENT by the way! He was my agent when I bought it, and I like him a lot, I really do, but I am so sick of him telling me to lower the price. Sell the damn thing already! At least get some bodies in here! Ugh! I’m frustrated. Anyway, this guy in Indiana is a lot of what we’re running into, they’d screw you over in a heartbeat if you let them, here’s hoping we get our money back sometime soon!So far we’ve found 3 totally immoral jack-asses in Illinois and 1 in Indiana. The list will continue to grow, I’m sure. I’m sure there are lots of agents standing in line to screw over a nice young-ish couple and their 3 young children. Why don’t I just start calling agencies and asking for the biggest douche-slacker they have!?

I’m frustrated and angry today.

-Sabrina-

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“It’s Like Legos”

Monday, January 26th, 2009
Dirty Legos, Who Knew?

Dirty Legos, Who Knew?

Ok, I have to share this with you all. I am a casual fan of 17 kids and counting. I think their religious beliefs, and the fact that they are dress like they were born is 1881 is s bit disturbing, but I am fascinated by the size of the family. They are now a family of 20 with no end in sight. They are trusting God with how many children they will have-fair enough.

Anyway, their oldest son, Josh got married. They aired the show last night. He “courted” this girl, and they didn’t even kiss until their wedding day “You can kiss the bride” was their very first kiss. I cannot even imagine never dating another boy, and marrying my fiance within 3 months of the proposal, but they did it.

I watched the show mainly because I wanted to see if the parents were going to have “the talk” with their 20 year old son. Since they homeschool, I’m sure that sex ed wasn’t on the menu, and I was wondering how they were going to prepare this “boy” for his wedding night. As I watched them preparing for the time of the wedding, you could tell they were like giddy school children whenever “the deed” was either mentioned or alluded to. They are both such children mentally I cannot imagine. Both have led very sheltered lives, been homschooled and uneducated about things in life.

Anyway, about 10 minutes to the wedding the Dad pulled his son  into the “Youth Church” and gave him a book. “Before The Wedding Night” by Ed Wheat. That’s it!? a stupid 300 something page book?I was really getting disappointed in his words of wisdom, and then he said “It’s like legos-Here’s a book, now you know all Mom and I know-call me if you need anything”. Can you imagine? Can you imagine calling one of your parents and asking “where to stick it”? How embarassing. I hope he didn’t call.  I personally have no recollection of either of my parents having “The Talk” with me, but I know they never said it was like legos…now I can’t look at legos in the same light. Dirty Legos…

Be Glad Your Parents Didn’t Tell You It Was Like Legos…

Sabrina

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“Brace Yourself”

Monday, January 26th, 2009

(See January 17, 2009 post )-Most of you know by now that Ruthie has a fractured collarbone (Clavicle). It’s not too bad according to the x-rays, or the fabulous pediatric orthopedic surgeon we saw last Wednesday. He put her in a “Figure of 8 Brace” for 3 weeks, and we will go back on February 13th for another x-ray to see if it’s healed. He says that there will most likely be a bump on the bone (possibly the size of a walnut!)  and that it will take an extra 3 weeks of being careful with her before she’s totally healed and ready to take more hits from her brother. God help us! Here are some photos of Ruthie sporting her brace. It’s nearly invisible under her shirt, Thank goodness for that! Here are some photos!

For those who don’t know, about a week and a half ago Charlie ran into, then fell on top of Ruthie here at home. My Mother In Law, Debbie, and I were both sitting right there with the kids when it happened. Ruthie cried for about 5 minutes and then went back to playing. Hours later, after her nap, she was favoring the arm, and when I felt the area there was an odd lump and she screamed. I took her to the ER immediately. Here are the X-Rays.

First X-Ray in the ER clearly shows a fracture

First X-Ray in the ER clearly shows a fracture

2nd x-ray in the ER shows fractured clavicle, but not shoulder or arm.

2nd x-ray in the ER shows fractured clavicle, but not shoulder or arm.

Another look at the clavicle.

Another look at the clavicle.

Yep, her arm is still not injured.

Yep, her arm is still not injured.

This is what they did for her in the ER. They told me to keep her in the sling, and ace bandage for 6 weeks and then to see the orthopedic surgeon that saw her in the ER. I’m glad I did not take that advice. Anyway, here she is after the ER visit…

"Ouch!"

"Ouch!"

"That Lousy Brother Of Mine"

"That Lousy Brother Of Mine"

Still Smilin'

Still Smilin'

Tuesday morning (They were closed Monday for MLK day) our pediatrician called. He said he had gotten the report from the Er that Ruth had been seen, and he wanted to check up on her. I told him what had happened, and what they did for her in the ER, and his exact words were “I want her to be seen immediately by a pediatric orthopedic surgeron.” I called around all day and could not find anyone that had an appointment prior to the next Tuesday. There was no way we could wait. Ruthie was wriggling out of the bandage and was just miserable not being able to use her hand. She fell down the stairs-twice. She has no balance without her right hand, and is so independent you just can’t help her do anything. I called the pediatrician back and told him I couldn’t find anyone. He did! He is so wonderful, he called someone up at the Children’s hospital and got us an appointment for Wednesday morning. We were there at 9AM on the dot!

The pediatric Ortho took one look at her and said “Yep, figure 8 should do nicely”. They took an x-ray to ensure the ER “treatment” hadn’t further damaged her then put her in the brace…then they took 2 more x-rays to ensure it was in the right place and sent us home until friday the 13th. I told Ruthie when she was all better she could have a party, once they got the brace on she said “Party” she really felt that much better! Here she is in the brace, or what chris calls “her backpack”.

Helping With Laundry

Helping With Laundry

From The back

From The back

Yep, she's still smiling!

Yep, she's still smiling!

Nothing will keep her from carrying her baby!

Nothing will keep her from carrying her baby!

The only drawback to this brace is that it’s rubbing the back of her neck and causing a bit of a problem…I’ve tried putting a sock in there, a gauze pad, and some fleece, but it just moves around too much. I wish my sewing machine worked, I’d just use it to stitch the fleece on…oh well. Anyway, here’s a photo of the neck rash.

Nasty Rash from the brace

Nasty Rash from the brace

All in all she seems to be feeling much better than before! Thank God for that! She’s gotten lots of get well cards from family and friends and has been carrying them all over the house and delivering them to her babies. :o )

Hugs, Sabrina

Posted in Family, Kids, Ruthie | 1 Comment »

Obama’s Letter To His Girls

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Next Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn in as our 44th President. On this historic occasion, PARADE asked the President-elect, who is also a devoted family man, to get personal and tell us what he wants for his children. Here, he shares his letter to them.

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you’ve both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn’t have let you have. But I also know that it hasn’t always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn’t make up for all the time we’ve been apart. I know how much I’ve missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It’s a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you’ve had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad

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Visit The ER To Ring In The New Year? – “Yes We Can”

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

Ruthie and Charlie were playing with their cousins Daniel and Anthony today. They had so much fun, but Charlie got a little carried away. He ran into Ruthie and fractured her right clavicle. She will be in a sling for 6-8 week until it heals. Say a prayer I can keep her in it that long! She’s doing well, was smiling and charming everyone at the ER. Have I mentioned that I HATE the hospital? Since I stopped doing the Paramedic thing I’ve only seen the inside of 3 ER’s. 1- when I had the D&C. 2- When Charlie got his stitches. and 3- Today with Ruthie. It was horrendous. Not the staff, they were GREAT, just the whole being there thing. Here’s some pictures of my super champ who broke her clavicle and didn’t even flinch. She didn’t even cry at the hospital, nothing! Good grief that girl has a high pain tolerance! My worst fear was realized tonight, Ruthie is so small, and petite next to Charlie, and I’ve always been afraid that someday he was going to really hurt her-well, today is that day. *Tear* *Tear* My poor little baby!

All This And Still Smiling!

All This And Still Smiling!

"Where's Your Owie Ruthie!?"

"Where's Your Owie Ruthie!?"

Hi Daddy! See my sling, isn't it neat?

Hi Daddy! See my sling, isn't it neat?

Stop Taking My Picture!

Stop Taking My Picture!

Hugs,

Sabrina

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Has It Really Been This Long?

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

I can’t believe it’s been over a week since I last posted. So far, I’m down 2lbs. Not bad. I went to the gym Mon-Tues, and took today off because I shoveled the driveway for longer than I do cardio at the gym, and my legs, back, and arms were exhausted! So far I can say that I feel like I have more energy. It’s a great feeling. I wish I had a workout partner though, that would really help motivate me. Anyway, I’m looking into another gym nearby because it has childcare during the hours Charlie is in school. My biggest gripe right now is that I get the kids up, fed, changed, dressed, and have to scoot over to the Y no later than 10. I have to check them into the childcare by 10. I then race over to the fitness building and warm up, do my cardio, and right after my cardio I get a call that Lily needs a diaper change. So I have to change my shoes, run over, change her, run back, change shoes, get warmed up, and finish my routine. It’s a total pain, and the interrumption totally kills my motivation. I just want to say hell with it and go back home. The other gym is more expensive for a family, but cheaper for just me, AND I would still get free childcare. So, I could just join, save $$ and still get the girls watched while Charlie is at school. I’m really considering it, except it’s 3 x’s further away. UGH! There’s always a catch, right? On the upside, IF I join as a family the kids would get Karate, Swimming, Ballet, Gymnastics, all for free included. That’s a total plus for me. I’m going to check the place out and see what I think. The biggest plus is that whether or not the childcare changes diapers, I would be in the same building, so I wouldn’t have to change shoes, rush out into the cold, etc…I’m weighing options. Either way, tomorrow AM I’m back at the Y for my workout!

-Sabrina-

Posted in Exercise, Weight Loss | Comments Off

New Years Resolutions?

Monday, January 5th, 2009

Happy 2009! I can’t believe that it is already a brand new year! Have you made any resolutions? I have made a big one this year, and I am determined to succeed.

This year I have made a resolution to lose 100lbs, and to live a healthier and more productive life.  My body has been out of control since I was probably about 8 years old. I remember the first day I realized I was “fat” and how upset it made me. High School was HELL! I tried as a kid to increase activity, but if you don’t change your diet, adding more exercise really doesn’t do any good.  A few weeks ago, at my son’s Christmas program I looked around me at the other Moms. I see them just about every day, but I never REALLY looked at them. That day, I looked at them, and I realized I am the biggest Mom there. I caught myself actually glaring at some of them, though I’m certain they work very hard to maintain their figures. I am very jealous of those who don’t have to, because I know that I will always have to work very hard on my diet, as well as my exercise program.

Here is my plan so far…

-I am going on a low processed carb diet, as well as low fat. I will no longer be indulging in pizza, cookies,candy, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Arby’s. I am going to be eating every meal at home, and without sugar, butter, and anything else that does not fit into my new diet.

-I have joined the Discovery health 2009 body challenge to help with my diet and also food choices.

-I will no longer eat anything after 7:00PM. I will only drink water.

-I will no longer drink pop, not even diet pop-ever.

-I am joining a gym. I am going to be visiting said gym at least 3 x’s per week. I have already signed up for a free 1 week pass at a local gym near my house. I will try them, and see how it goes, there is another nearby, so I’m not sure which will be a better fit for me. The other is a Curves which is a strictly women’s gym, and has personal trainers there to “motivate” you…I may need that, because I am certain my first few months are going to be full of pain and “I can’t do it anymore”. However, I HAVE to!

-I have made a promise to myself to lose 100lbs. I need to be healthy not only for myself, but for my husband and kids. I NEED to feel good about myself, I NEED to be healthy, and the healthier I am, the healthier the children will also be. I’m keeping this promise. I am not going to be pregnant this year, nor next year, I’m not even going to think about another child until I get my body weight down, and some sort of tone in my muscles. I am determined this time.I may not lose ALL the weight I want off in 365 days, but I will make it my goal to lose as much as I can the healthy way. No pills, no surgery, just a healthy diet and exercise.

I have realized that it is not so much “How Much” I eat, but it’s much more “When” and “What” I eat. I’m jealous that I have so much to lose, and I have been trying to watch what I eat the last few months as opposed to my husband who eats pretty much whatever he wants, whenever he wants, but I will put my mind to it this time, and hopefully I will be able to salvage my body and improve my life, and the lives of my family.

Today is officially Day 1. I have 100 lbs to lose. Wish me luck!

-Sabrina-

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