Life Changes

So much has been going on lately. As of Monday, I became the newest Assistant Manager at the Coventry store. This is the first time I've been in a store that has more than one AM. I am working anywhere between 36-40 hours per week, with the goal being 38. The drive is a lot longer than I am used to, but as my friend Laura suggested, it can be quite enjoyable also. I am alone in the car and can choose to sing along with the radio, or just turn it off and be still in the moment. My first day at the new store I used that time to pray for my safety in driving, the well-being of my children, my nerves, and the reception from the new staff I would encounter. This week I've had to find people to watch the kids a few times, but for next weeks schedule I really only need about 4 hours of help, because I am working all evenings.

I have been working hard to win over the staff. I think some of them are a little suspicious about having a "new" person around. They don't realize that I've been with the company longer than anyone at their store! I think a lot of that is because they would rather have someone promoted from within their own store, rather than someone driving out from another store. So far I feel like everything is going to be fine. My biggest goal now is to try to get to know the other assistant manager, and hopefully she will accept me. The first day I met her, she seemed nice and said she was happy I was there, yet the second day I saw her, in my opinion she completely closed herself off and was "unavailable" to talk. I had even stayed an extra hour than I was scheduled, just so I would have the opportunity to work/connect with her. Oh well. I am really trying hard not to come on too strong, because that is easy for me to do. I'm also trying to remind myself that there are some definite maturity issues in that situation. They have a lot of training issues in that staff, and so far I've trained 3 people to do different tasks that they really should have known how to do in their first month or two on the job. It helps me to understand why my District Manager placed me there. He really has a knack for getting the right people into the right stores, so I'm trying to trust his judgment. All of the hours I am working this week are classified as training hours, even though I'm not actually training. The beauty of that is that my hours do not count against their payroll, so it gives me the opportunity to work morning and evening hours to get to know both my manager and the part-timers.

Another big thing that has happened this week is the purchase of our first minivan! Chris and I have been talking about getting a larger vehicle since we found out we were pregnant with Ian. Our original plan was to buy one before he was born, but then the stinker showed up so early (and expensively), so that was put on the back burner. We knew we needed to get a larger vehicle before our August trip to Florida to visit Chris' grandparents, so I started looking the past couple of weeks at several dealerships. Chris went with me this past weekend, and we found one that met all of my must-haves and was a price he could be happy with. All I really cared about were power locks, power doors, stow and go, and power lift-gate. We found a blue 2007 Chrysler Town & Country touring edition. It is older than I was originally considering, but I actually preferred the drive to any others I had test-driven. It had some nicks, scratches and a front bumper that needed replaced, so we bought it Monday evening, but will actually drive away with it tonight. (Well, Chris will - I'll be at work.) We are trading in our blue Saturn in just the nick of time, because the registration needed to be renewed next month. :) I was very impressed with Chris' ability to talk the salesman down over and over again, and his power of silence. He would just not say anything, and the salesman would automatically start going lower!

So now I am running around the house, doing laundry and dishes and keeping as caught up as I can. We have friends from Iowa coming to visit for a long weekend, so I have my work cut out for me, but so far, I am enjoying everything, even if I'm a bit busier than I'm used to. :)

Thank You For Bacon

Chris: Cameron, it's time to pray.

Cameron: I don't wanna.

Chris: Well, if you want bacon...

Cameron: Dear God, Thank you for food, thank you for pancakes, thank you for bacon. Amen!

On My Mind

guilt
work
child-care
potty training
date night
finances
loyalty
cleaning
new vehicle
laundry
reading
love
compassion
patience

Trash Enthusiast?

All week I have been looking forward to Friday morning. Why, you ask? Because the trash will be picked up!

Yay!
The people rejoice!

...

Wait, what?

Yeah, I have been waiting ALL week for the trash and recycling to be picked up. You see, we had a yard sale last week, which helped us to clear out all of the old clutter in our storage area and garage. There was some pretty gross stuff lurking in our garage.

At the conclusion of the sale, my very well-meaning husband chose to dispose of these items.
In went the moldy baby bath.
In went the old computer tower (that I argued should be donated for parts, but it was his computer and therefore his choice).
In went other various odds and ends.
In went the trash... wait. No, there was no room for the trash! The trash can, which is the only one acceptable for pick-up in our city, was filled within minutes.
On Saturday.
Not to be picked up until Friday morning.

We have diapers.
Dirty, stinky, poopy diapers.
With nowhere to go.
Sitting in a bag.
On our front porch.
In the heat.

We had out-of-town visitors, which equals more trash. We have had the same trash bag in our kitchen trash since last week and it is 100% full. All morning I have been listening for the trash truck, which will signal my opportunity to fill it back up and put in a new trash liner in the kitchen. Oh, it's the little things. ;)

Busy Update

Busy busy times. We celebrated Cameron's 3rd birthday with a trip to the "big" zoo - the Cleveland Zoo - last week. He had fun, but I really think I'd like to go back sometime withOUT the kids, because I like to take my time and read about the animals and NOT push a double stroller. (Thank goodness for Chris pushing up the hills!) I did get to ride a camel, so that was fun. :) We also spent a LONG time at Toys 'r' Us this weekend, letting Cameron pick out a toy for his birthday. Well, we ended up picking out toys FOR him because he just wanted to play with the display toys that were WAY out of our price range! (Train table, anyone?) I had a coupon and we found a medium sized train mat and a small Lego set for him. I think he had a good weekend. :)

On the laundry front, things seem to be going well. I have not felt stressed about laundry at all, and I *think* we have less of it. The one hurdle I did run into was m-o-l-d. SO disgusting. So now I am keeping a better eye on what goes into the boys' laundry (bibs matted with food, wet washcloths, etc.) and washing it as needed.

This week I am trying to get control over my house (again), and this weekend we are hopefully focusing on improving the outside/front of our home, and the basement. We are planning a yard sale for the end of the month, so we have a lot to go through! This will be our first one since we were engaged, and even that one was held elsewhere. We're looking forward to selling our junk, I mean, treasures, and getting some money to go towards a new vehicle and vacation. :)

Fun stuff! And now it's time to clean the kitchen cabinets.

Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT)

And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Memorial Weekend Through Cameron's Eyes

Friday - Extra playtime with Daddy because Mommy was at work.

Saturday - Early nap and then Surprise! Pop Pop took me to see Thomas! Thomas scared me when he made his choo-choo sounds, so I hid between Pop Pop's legs. I colored a picture of Thomas and got my picture taken. Then, when I got home, surprise! Mimio and Mimi-Mimi were there for a short visit! Fun evening at home with Daddy while Mommy visited with a friend from out of state.

Sunday - Church! Mommy stayed in Baby Blvd. with me because my teacher hurt her back. I played so well and Mommy was so proud. I learned about how God created man, so I colored a picture of a man and glued him to a Popsicle stick. I got to help tear everything down and sat at the teacher's desk like a big man. I didn't want to leave church! After a short nap, Mommy and Daddy took me to meet Baby Bambi! He wasn't scared of me at all and I played and snuggled with him (Mommy and Daddy said I'd have to take a bath when I got home). I also got to play with Ms. Nancy and a big dollhouse with all sorts of fun stuff - a grill, tv, animals, baby, etc. We had to leave early so Mommy could go to work, but when we got home people brought over a play set for our backyard! I got to play with some big boys and it was so much fun!

Monday - I woke up early and went to a parade with Mimio and Uncle Zac. It was hot, but Mimio sprayed me with lots of water and made sure I had plenty of sunscreen. When I got home we packed up to spend the day with Kandice and Kip! They have a huge bucket of toys for me to play with, and I love it. I also played with their cat toys. :) I ate so much watermelon - I was in heaven! They also let me watch Finding Nemo so they could play some game about Apples.

This was a fun weekend and I am so excited for my birthday and summer!