My kids in a nutshell

Annette issued a blogging challenge to describe our kids in five words or phrases. Soooooo mine are:

Katy
Outgoing
Intelligent
Fearless
Independent
Worldly

Shona
Leadership Material
Social Butterfly
Artistic
Quick Learner
Larger than life

I can take a hint

My blog misses me. Sooo funny. I can take a hint! Truth is, I've been kind of hiding from the world. Things are starting to suck here. I've been applying for jobs steadily since I got here three months or so ago and nothing has materialized. I'm not even getting a chance...I've had exactly two, count them, TWO interviews since I've been here. Either competition is fierce or they see my resume, assume I wouldn't work for what they want to pay (which is incorrect), and don't bother to call me. That's even when I send a follow up letter. It has reached the point that I pulled out my cell phone the other day to call my house phone. I was *sure* that I'd been writing the wrong phone number on my applications. Nope, it was right. I'm more than qualified for what I'm applying for, so I don't know what the problem is. Even the factories aren't calling me and all the local job office can do is take my resume over and over again for the jobs that come open through their office. It's crazy and depressing, especially considering my house still isn't sold. Not only isn't it selling, it isn't even being shown because the market apparently died a couple of months ago. I feel completely frustrated and helpless on both ends.

So with all that going on, I've been very down in the dumps. Money is really tight, John is having to work a lot of weekend ball games and things to make some extra cash. I will say the school pays very well for those things....$40/pop for a few hours of taking money. That will probably carry us through, but with Christmas coming on, I'm really starting to feel the pinch. Plus, that means I don't see him much. Katy is always at some activity and that leaves me and Shona to entertain one another. At least she enjoys artsy stuff like her mom.

Lazy Weekend

I love the weekends. I feel more rested and more at peace, probably because everyone is home. This past week has been a little nuts between job hunting, having a sick child at home for a day and trying to get as much scrapping for Scrap Addict's anniversary crop done as possible. I didn't finish nearly as much as I'd hoped to, but I've learned that quality beats quantity any day and I would rather not finish but love what I've got at the end of it all. This wound up being one of my favorites, although I think it didn't wind up being entered into any particular category. I snapped that photo of the girls yesterday and loved it so much I had to scrap it right away. That MME paper is delicious, and I couldn't keep my hands off of it.
Tomorrow John has meetings all day while the girls have the day off. That means another day of entertaining them, but I'm OK with that. It's going to be a girls only day. We need some of those sometimes. Maybe we'll paint our nails and get silly with the camera and I'll have even more scrap material.

Doggie SAT test?

Bailey and I take a walk every day. Sometimes we vary when and where, but mostly we have a tried and true path we take that seems to keep us away from most of the traffic and barking dogs. Since all the dogs we encounter on our walks are safely behind fences, she always feels the need to strut her stuff and make them feel inferior to her "freedom" to roam outside the fences. I roll my eyes at her and yank her leash to remind her that I'm in charge of that freedom, but I normally get snapped at or that regal nose in the air look.
I had a sick one at home all day today, so poor Bailey had to wait for a walk until someone came home to relieve me of sickie duty. It almost killed her to wait that long, so it was a very fast paced, happy trot we were at when we swung around our usual corner and suddenly came face to face with a huge, growling, angry dog in a yard. We froze. My first thought was that my hyper, yappy little dog was going to A. tear that big dog to smithereens like she shreds paper in my house (most recently my phone book) or, more likely, B. become mincemeat at my feet. It took me a second to realize I was hearing silence from the other end of my leash, and when I looked down I saw a dog I didn't even recognize. At my side was the most docile, desperate dog I'd ever seen, hunched down in a gesture that unmistakably said "please don't eat me!" Smart dog.
In the next instant, as I stood frozen, wondering how to get out of the situation, I heard a vehicle stop behind me and someone ask "Ma'am, is that your dog?" I turned around and saw...and I still cannot believe it myself... animal control. How they came to be there at that exact moment I will never know, but I'm not above considering it a minor miracle! Only John has that sort of luck. I never do. I was never happier to see anyone in my life. He took care of the animal and we went on our merry little way. What a close call.
It took a while, but before we even made it back home, Bailey thought she was queen of the road again, barking at rabbits and rumbly trucks. It's good to know her psyche wasn't permanently damaged and I'm impressed that she knows when to terrorize and when to shut her yap. Maybe she's a genius and I just don't appreciate it.

Goodbye, summer

It was chilly enough for a sweater this morning, then I had to turn the heat on for the first time since spring. Finally, it warmed up this evening and when Shona asked to go dig in the dirt that is our yard, I had to let her. It will probably be the last time this year she gets to dig around and really get dirty. Soon the fall rains will set in and they will segue into sleet, snow and all the nastiness that winter involves. I can't believe in a couple of months she'll be trading in her trowel for gloves and earmuffs, huffing and puffing to make a snowman in the front yard. I'm not ready!

Some Bunny Loves You

I love having girls. Enough said!

Fun at the Park

We had to get out of the house today. No, we had to. Really. The walls were closing in on us and even though dark clouds threatened, we decided to risk a trip to the park. In my morning walks with Bailey, I had stumbled across a small park within walking distance of our house, but it just didn't have a lot to offer. I took Shona to it last night and let her play for a while. I even plopped my big butt into a swing and had some fun while we were there. I knew that trip was successful when Shona giggled and said "I LOVE you, MOM!" It does a mom good. Today we went to a local park with a lot more equipment. She met up with one of her classmates and raced around, trying to play on every single piece of equipment in the place. She managed to.


Katy even got in on the action, climbing on the monkey bars and getting on the merry-go-round. That might not have been the smartest thing to do, because dad showed up and offered to push her. He did and didn't stop until Katy was about to toss her cookies. I don't think she'll be doing that again anytime soon.
Tomorrow, if the weather holds, I want to go to the state park and let the kids feed the fish. Now that would be fun and it would be out of the house!