Life is a funny thing.  There are so many ups and downs... I guess that is the point of it.  I've been a slacker w/ blogging lately.  Not cause I have nothing to write about, but rather, I have no time to sit and get my thoughts together.  I love working part time, but the time away from home means that there is much more clean up when I am done.  Ben tries to help keep the house in order, but unless the something is right in front of his face, doing a dance, he misses it.  So that means Thursday is spent making up for working on Weds and Tues.
We are also in the process of finshing the basement.  Ben is doing the walls and I will do the painting and room design.  I am going to make it look like a jungle by painting a mural on the walls.  I also am going to drape material over the ceiling and make vines and leaves.  It is going to be playroom/guest room.  We also got new carpet put in Baby Kit's room and new flooring in the bath room.  The flooring for the bathroom is sooooo cool.  It is white with paw prints and glows in the dark.  Here is a link...
Bathroom flooring link...

And we also got new cellar door made and installed.  We have an old house and needed new doors where the coal shute used to be.  And then I went out Saturday and got a sofa bed for the basement, a new sofa (sectional, microfiber - love it), ottoman and chair for the living room.  It was time to retire the old sofa that has popsicle stains everywhere and holes from the cat!  My dad does some consulting work for a furniture store in Philly and they let me get what I wanted at cost plus shipping.  So I got a little more than planned, but still spent less than if I just got a sectional at a regular furniture store.  I LOVE the chair.  It is an oversized recliner and it feels like you are sitting in a bed of feathers!  It is a gorgoues chocolate brown.  YUM!

Now incase you are wondering, no we did not win the lottery!  But we recently re-financed our home equity loan and were able to take a little more out for stuff around the house and still have our monthly bills less than before.  We bought an older house and there are just things that need to be done as we go.  When pulling up the carpet in Baby Kit's room, the news paper used as liner was from 1945!  And as the kiddos get bigger, we need another room for them to romp around in as well as another bedroom for parents and inlaws, so the basement makes sense.  And since Ben and I are doing it ourselves, that saves the cash.

It's true, I splurged on the burber carpet in the boys room and the bathroom floor, but what the heck, I am always so good with strectching the dollar - once in awhile I should get to go a little crazy!  LOL!
Saturday after furniture shopping with my parents, we went to Evil Granny's for dinner.  The kids had a good time and Evil Granny even let Sam play with her toys!  LOL!  Sam had all the stuffed animals in her bed, under the covers.  She then told Evil Granny that she was being bad and had to go sit in the bad chair for a time out and that she was not allowed to speak.  VERY FUNNY!

Ben has been stressed with the merger of AT & T Wireless and Cingular.  So far his job seems safe, but there is a lot to learn and it has been slow.  He thinks people are waiting to buy until the merger is in place for a little.  So his commision check this month is going to SUCK!  Luckily it is December and that means LOTS of overtime and my job has been good too, so I told him not to worry.  Believe it or not, I am not worrying and I always worry!  But what can I do?  So I am just going to go with the flow.  And it will pick up again for him.  So I guess I have faith.

Ben has been a royal pain in the butt sometimes though.  I know it is stress, but I swear, one of these days, he may have my footprint implanted permanantly on his ass.  He gave me SUCH a FREAKING hard time the other day cause I took an extra 15 mins in the shower (not causing anyone to be late or anything) cause he wanted to take a long shower when I hadn't gotten to shower by myself all freaking week!  When I had the nerve to call him on it, he copped an attitude and then I went all banchee in him.  Of course as the day went on, he apologized but I wasn't having any of it until I was ready.  I am a wife and a mother, not a slave!  LOL!  And I was PISSED.  But it is over, hardly a divorce court thing and I do love him... but that doesn't mean that I can't get pissed every now and then again.

The kiddos are doing well.  Sam has a bit of a cold and had the runs last night.  So I slept with her and she liked that.  She is doing sooooo well in school.  We have also been working with her learning letters at home and can identify ove half now.  She always saying the funnies things.  And now before bed, she doesn't like me to kiss her mouth, but I have to kiss her eyes, her nose, her forehead, her chin, her legs, her feet, her hands and her arms.  And it has to be in the right order.  Very funny.

Baby Kit has cut another tooth and is as charming as ever.  He loves to play with Sam and loves to be held.  He also took a baby step to me and can stand on his own.  He will be walking very soon, he is just building the confidence.  He also learned his first baby sign for the word MORE and now can tell us when he wants more of something.  Yeay!  So we are now working on HELP and UP.  The baby sign really helped Sam communicate and Baby Kit has picked it up even earlier that Sam did!

I can't believe that my boy is going to be a year.  I am so sad that my baby is no longer a baby anymore.  I already feel the baby ache, but we are not going to do anything proactive about it now.  I am also done my shopping, cards, and lights outside.  Although I haven't planned anything for the boy's brithday and I am not sure if I am going to do a big party or a small one.  He is much shyer than Sam was and I think a big party would freak him out.

I am slowly but surely losing my excess pounds.  I was able to SQUEEZE and ZIP my old cool jeans from way before kids.  So that was exciting!  It is slow and gruling, but I know the weight will stay off this way cause I am changing my eating habits and not dieting.  I know I will never be a size 8 again cause I now eat healthy and am not a obsessive maniac about eating an exercising.  But I will settle and be happy with a 12 or 14.

And finally, Ben had to take Kitcat to the SPCA today.  She tried to attack on of the Sam's friends, so that was it.  Ben told them that Kitcat loves old people and would do really well with a house that wasn't so noisy and filled with kids like ours.  The lady seemed very positive and also said that many of the cats who don't find homes, lives in a colony of cats outside the SPCA.  They are in the woods with no roads near by.  She said some of the cats have been there for 12 years and more!  We told the kids that Kitcat was going on a vacation to visit her aunt at the farm.  So we are now down to 2 rabbits only.

And that is the low down on me, Welee...