"Eat everything on your plate!"

I read this article and while it doesn't really have anything to do with being a wife- I just wanted to respond to its main question... "DO YOU / YOUR FAMILY FINISH EVERYTHING ON YOUR PLATE?"

READ ARTICLE/BLOG HERE: http://www.designmom.com/2012/02/french-kids-eat-everything/#comment-343745

My answer: Yes, I pretty much always finish everything on my plate- but that's because my parents raised us to 'not waste'. Many times I couldn't chose my portions, therefore- this 'finish everyting on my plate thing' has allowed me to gain several unwanted pounds.

As for my kids, it varies. They're only 3 and 4 so if they're hungry and they LOVE it, they'll eat it all and sometimes ask for 2nds. But I don't 'make' them finish it if they're not hungry. I don't want them to develop the same over eating habits I have (and blame on my frugal parents.)

:o)

Cleaning Quest #2: The Kitchen

Again, proud of the results- although, there is still more work that needs to be done.










Aren't you proud of me??? :o)

I sure am!

Cleaning Quest #1: The Master Bedroom

Okay- here are two pictures of my current cleaning quest. (before and after)

and while I'm not really in the mood to talk about it much- I really am proud of the results that I accomplished today.

The goal, is not to necessarily do a 'quest' everyday- but when the urge strikes to clean, I want to take a

picture of it's before and after appearance that way I can hold on to the 'proudness' for as long as possible.

:o)

As you can see in the after photo- there is still lots of work that needs to be done cosmetically (lamp shades, shelving and wall hangings) but compared to it's before pic, this room is looking MUCH better now. Yippee!

Today's Goals

So today's goals were supposed to be something like this:

1. Work for 3 hours
2. Feed Kids breakfast
3. Get something productive done today

4. Return library items
5. Make lunch for the kids

6. Clean up the house

7. Get ready for work

8. Go to work for a couple hours

9. Come home and eat dinner

10. Do some more productive stuff with the kids/husband or just be lazy- my choice.

I am in no mood to do anything and it's not even 2pm.

What do I do?

I'm frustrated- I think I'm expecting too much of myself or maybe I'm just not dedicated enough.

I'm going to just be lazy. I'm at least good at that.

-Crystal

This Mother Hubbard

This Mother Hubbard

Went to her Cubbard

To feed her poor kids some lunch

But When she got there

The Cubbard was bare

It's Grocery Time for this bunch!

Yet This Mother Hubbard

Clips coupons and saves

Shops frugally and still can't afford

The food that we need

With 8 mouths to feed

It's becoming too much of a chore

So this Mother Hubbard

Will find work of some other

At nights when her hubby is home

Then one day Mother Hubbard

Will buy milk, bread and butter

And perhaps buy the doggy a bone!

Queen of my Castle

If I were the queen of my castle

The first order of business would be

That all decisions would be mine to make

Or at least have to pass through me

If I were the queen of my castle

Everyone would do their share

Whether it be taking out trash and recycle

or at least cleaning up their shaved hair

If I were the queen of my castle

they’d ask “anything else before I go?”

I could wave them through if they’re worthy

or I’d ask them to do one more chore

If I were the queen of my castle

The food I buy would never disappear

And if anyone would like to eat something

They’d at least TRY to bring more food here

If I were the queen of my castle

Jim- my king, would support every wish

And everyone would keep a clean kitchen

and not expect ME to clean every dish

If I were the queen of my castle

I’d be greeted each day of some kind

And then maybe the king or the princes

would ask me to speak my own mind

If I were the queen of my castle

I’d never have to yell, scream or shout

But it’s because I’m not even a princess

I just watch kids, clean all day and then pout

If I were the queen of my castle

I’d be lovely and beautifully GREAT

But because I am stuck with just wishing

'Requesting' would just lead to debate

Walgreens -Trip 5

So, I made it through the entire week of not buying 'just because I had the coupon for "IT" ' (as I laugh at myself) - lol

But when I FINALLY scored some extra Peanut Butter coupons this afternoon, I knew I HAD to go to WALGREEN'S today!

Here is the pic from a blog post I read earlier this week that sparked this shopping trip.
(from krazycouponlady.com)

So, my trip went a little something like this...

75 cent peanut butters, check- times that by 6- no problem... what a huge savings within it self!
Tomato soup's on sale for 99 cents? Awesome, but Walgreen's has a coupon for 59 cents up to 3 cans. Woot woot, I'll be doing that, thank you! Mandarin oranges, 2 for $1- awesome, kids will LOVE these! Cereal is cheap too (kinda) 5 for $10- but I have coupons, that makes them $1.50 each... oh ya. That's a good buy! Oh wow, buy 4 bags of M&M's and get $5 back at the register. Cha ching!

Thirty something dollars and 3 separate/different Walgreen trips later- I came home as one proud COUPONER! ;o)

Here is a pic of what I scored tonight!

I forgot to tell you the best part!!!
I intended on spending $2.99 for each of the Maxwell House Instant Coffee's (that is WITH the current Walgreen's coupon from last Sunday's paper) but when I got there, I saw a small peely coupon for 55 cents off.

Turns out, when I looked at my receipt- I scored this delicious, most addicting flavored instant coffee for just $1.09 PLUS my 55 cent off coupon!!!! Cha ching Cha ching!

I am going back tomorrow to score some more. :o)
I am one happy camper- thanks to my Frani Freebie Friend- she helped me score all the peanut butter and has given me the skills and confidence to move forward. Woot woot!

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 4

Trip 4 wasn't so 'special' but I couldn't pass up 4 cent Turkey slices, right?

Exactly- so I went.

I only had 1 coupon but imagine what I could've done if I had 10!

I went to Safeway tonight with

the intention to buy only 5 items.
1. 2 packages of lunchmeat 4 cents each

2. 1 package of Glade scented oil refills, 50 cents (is what I thought I read somewhere)

3. 1 big tub of country crock butter, $1.49

4. 1 package of store brand shredded cheese, $1.99

5. 1 bag of kitty cat treats, 75 cents.

Well, Even though my $5 trip multiplied quickly as I arrived, I still managed to get $28 worth of stuff for just $13.

Check it out:

1. Lunch Meat
2. no refills- my brain couldn't rap my head around it, or maybe I just couldn't find it. (so I got Bleach instead)
3. 1 small tub of country crock butter, (damn fine print!)
4. 1 package of store brand shredded cheese
5. 1 bag of kitty cat treats
and then for the add on 'excuses'

I saw the clearance items: Dole juice and Yoplait kids yogurt- 50% off!
The personal sized watermelons, just $1.49 and because I couldn't get my BIG tub of butter- I got the sticks instead. Not on sale, but still under $2. (I plan to do a lot of baking soon so I know these will come in handy)

Here is my total. :o) are you ready?

Yup, only $12.78- saving almost as much as I was spending.

And even tho that's only 50% savings, my goal is to one day see that 50 number climb to 80 or even 90% savings!!!

It's gonna take time, it's gonna be a lot of work. But I think I can do it! :o)

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 3

For Trip 3, I'm gonna give this one to Jim. He surprised me today when he took the kids to K-Mart today (instead of the intended McDonald's.) He wanted to buy Brooklyn a new pair of shoes.

Of course, buying his little girl a pair of shoes DOES come along with some obvious repercussions... such as: "but daddy, that's not tink

-a-bell suez!" and then Matt saying, "I want dis daddy" and "I want dat daddy". Once 2 pairs of shoes were picked out and a toy for the boy, Dad couldn't help but check out the mens clothes for himself- he could see CLEARANCE marked every which way he turned. Couple of outfits later, he found himself in the women's section- hoping to surprise his wife for an outfit as well...

You get the idea.

As I cringe to the sounds of bags approaching me when they arrived home- I found myself asking "how much did you spend?!!"

"Here, let me show you everything 1st."

I was for certain after I saw the 2 pair of little girl shoes, Lightning McQueen foam puzzle set, a pair of men's shorts, men's pants and a shirt, then add on my 'cute' outfit (pink shirt and blue capri's) and not to mention the licensed character socks for each toddler, and a My Little Pony doll... I KNEW the total was well over $100.

But surprisingly enough, he SAVED more than he spent! Check it out!

Now if only I can convince him to take a coupon with him when he goes, he'll be trained! ;o)

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 2

Next day, went to Fry's-
with $41 in my pocket. Hoping I would 'stay-on-task'. But truth be told, they had a lot of GREAT DEALS, and hey- we haven't b

een able to go grocery shopping in WEEKS. With the fridge being out and the money being tight, it was time to get the essentials again.

Here's how I did on Trip 2.

My total was just a little bit over $60- but I saved $36.72.

Here's a glimpse of my receipt.

I'm not as proud as an EXTREME COUPONER would be, but I'm proud to start. I'm proud to be on the look-out for great deals. My years of practice to 'stick-to-a-budget' have prepared me for this decision to start using coupons and combined with my anal retentive ways, I'm sure I'll be a success!

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 1

Ok, yes- I'm one of those millions of 'suckers' who watched TLC's Extreme Couponing and thought "I can do this too!" But it's taken many months for me to build the confidence and willingness to LEARN. My husband finally gave me the "I think you'd be good at it" support talk that I needed and BAM, I'm off and running.

My budget today, is $100. I know, that's a lot o
f money in the Extreme Couponing world- but I'm not quite there yet. I need to save, gather, stack and collect my coupons for SEVERAL MONTHS before I rush off and get 90% savings on my total grocery bill.

For today, I hope to save at least 50% at Albertson's.

Let's do the math and see how I do...

Wow, not bad!

I could have spent $102.60 but managed to leave the store spending just $54.36. Not the most IMPRESSIVE grocery bill- and something I would LOVE to work on to get better- but that's a 51% savings! Cha-ching! :o)

Struggle

I struggle with finding some happiness

In this 'so-called: LIFE' you provide

I struggle to find some compassion

I've lost all my confidence and pride

I struggle to find my emotion

As I wonder if LOVE is still there

I struggle to find my composure

These feelings I won't longer bare.

I struggle with the loss of my husband

and coming to terms with the 'boss' I now have

I struggle with the loss of my family

I'm still trying to not see you as Dad.

I struggle to find a soft balance

Between what I want and I what I need

I struggle to gain my own strength back

Leaving you is on my mind in deed.

I struggle to resist the temptation

To take drugs or should I learn how to deal

I struggle to not call up a doctor

at lease SHE would understand how I feel

I struggle to put it all in prospective

Should I go, struggle then or just stay?

I struggle with the whole realization

No matter what- my struggles won't go away.

Overwhelmed Opal

As I sit here at my desk at 8:12 in the morning, I am doing my best to get over this migraine of mine. I've had it since yesterday, of course- (when it started to get increasingly worse.) I didn't finally take something for it until an hour ago. I know, I'm not so smart. :o(

Most days, I get migraines when I'm EXTREMELY stressed or when I simply have not had any caffeine. I had 2 or 3 Dr peppers yesterday, so I know it wasn't the lack of soda... that tells you one thing: STRESS.

By chance, I got to meet a VERY chaotic woman yesterday- her name was Overwhelmed Opal. She arrived at the new house we are currently moving into. She was dazed, confused but also - she still had that WIDE eyed "HOLY SHIT" look on her face like she was ready to lose it. I could tell right away she wouldn't be helping much today.

You see, her brother was arriving into town soon and he was not just coming for a visit, he was coming to stay for a few days. She was trying to get husband to grasp the idea (let alone 'okay' it.) He was (to put it nicely) 'annoyingly surprised' but dealing with his attitude of it all seemed to be the most challenging part of her day. She had no problem picking her brother up in Chandler (along with his wife, 2 little kids and 2 dogs) But then you add onto the fact that she had to be at my house to help paint, clean up (what have you) AND watch my 2 little kids was just a recipe for disaster.

She did her best to not break under the scrutiny of her husband, the pressures from me (to get SOME work done) and the chaos from my loud, tired, hungry, messy, easily stressed kids.

Her brother and his family were rather the LEAST of all her problems. (Distracting, yes- but not stressful at all.)

She did her best to be social, have fun and relax- but with a day like yesterday (coming down from all angles) it's amazing she was able to get at least 1 thing done: Cleaning the fridge.

Today, however- will be a much better day. With Overwhelmed Opal gone, Eva Everything will be to do much more at 9. :o)

Meet "Polly Pack-It"

So today, I knew that I had set up a time for Polly to come over, but I emailed to work so I had her postpone coming until after the kids woke up from nap.

And of course, she wasn't able to do much at all.

Polly is known for her "PROFESSIONAL & SPEEDY PACKING" And because we're moving it seemed like the PERFECT thing we need right now.

She came in, she could see right away that one tall/heavy box was 90% full, she grabbed some bedsheets- stuffed it to the top and taped it up. "NEXT" she said to me, I then pointed to the toy box that is left in Matthew's room.

We decided this last weekend that we could go ahead and put some larger toy items in the toy box and tape it up. She grabbed a giant pooh bear, the wooden rocking horse, a large plastic gun and stiraphome sword. Then Polly went to grab the lid for the toy box. "EWW!" The cats had peed on the lid of the toy box.

Grrr. I take the lid outside with a big tub of vinegar- I drizzle the rest of the vinegar all over that stinkin lid. Grrrrrr (some more) a few minutes later, I hose it off and dry it with a towel.

She tapes the lid onto the toy box and places it on top of our 'moving' pile.

Once that was done, she helped me with some laundry, dishes and cleaned up the front room. She got out the vacuum and was very patient as she waited for Matthew to freak out about every little item on the floor.

Once done, she could see that I was fine with matching socks and she took off.

I asked her if she'd be back tomorrow morning to do Brooklyn's closet and she said she'll let me know.

That was Polly... I liked her. I just want MORE of her. ;o)

What the heck!?!?

So, I find myself being very frustrated... with everything really.

Right now, it's ME. I'm frustrated with me. I have the tendency to transfer blame and with Jim being the only one in my life that I feel who 'controls' me- I transfer a lot of blame to him.

What's wrong with me? Well, for starters- I'm lazy. I'm unmotivated, inconsistent and a slob. There are pockets throughout the day that I try really hard NOT to be, but when I'm not trying- I'm the most disgusting person I know.

I want help. I want to LEARN how to be a good housewife, a better mom and I want to STAY GOOD for awhile.

Today, I came across an ad for a lady who sold new & used baby shoes. Of course, I thought "Hey! I can do that, I've got LOTS of shoes from EACH of my kids." I mention the idea to Jim that I could open up own little 'online thrift store', I could call it "Brooklyn's Closet" and I could sell all the things she's growing out of at really cheap rates. He balked at the idea, (like he does with ALL of my ideas) and the more and more I thought about it, the more I talked myself out of it.

If you could slice my brain open, I could tell you what you'd find. I know all I'm doing is fishing for my 'calling'. I know I won't find it- not right now anyway. Especially with Jim's inapt to support me at ANYTHING I wanna do.

My calling is right around the corner tho, I can feel it. I saw this My Little Pony cartoon earlier today, they were talking about the little pony's 'cutie marks'. Each pony gets his or her cutie mark when they discover what is special about them. Until then, their flank is blank.

That's it! I have a blank flank. I used to think it was to be a mommy- and even though I love being a mommy more than anything in the world, my brain is MUCH more hungry than just that. I need something more- I need something to occupy my mind on a daily basis. I need something challenging, fun and fulfilling.

Uh- I want to know what it is I'm suppose to be doing. I want to know what 'thing' Jim will be okay with me doing. (rolling my eyes) You see that, I don't feel I should have to get his permission before I feel utterly and completely passionate about something. If I'm passionate then hey, I'm passionate- and what ever you do, don't try to stop this Pollard!

I think that's just the way it's gonna have to be, just like naming our 2nd child together. We couldn't agree on anything. I knew I had always wanted at least 2 or 3 girls someday, I HAD NAMES picked out for them too!

But there I was, 7 months pregnant and I was having my one and only girl. I should have been able to name her whatever I wanted... but Jim wanted to at least 'like' her name and we couldn't agree on one we both liked. Our solution, we came up with our own 'LIST' of names we each liked. We then thought, "Okay, once we're done with this list- we can compare lists and see if there is any name(s) that we BOTH had on our list." We then turned our 'cards' over and to our disappointment, we didn't have ANY name in common.

Jim then thought, "ok- I'll pick one name from your list and you pick one name from mine and there you go- we have 2 names." I was fine with that idea, as long our babies 1st name was from my list.

That's when Jim came up with Brooklyn Deelany. He thought the Delany name was cute but to add an extra E for my dad. (It was, and still is- the sweetest thing he has EVER done for me.)

Only problem is, I LOVED the name Brooklyn but HATED the name Delany. But I sat on it, and sat on it and came up with Brooklyn Deelana- with an A at the end. For some reason, it just sounded better to me. I couldn't figure out why.

Then, as I thought about it more- it hit me like a ton of bricks, "Ah-ha! It's your mom's name! Delena! It's the name she wanted to give you if you were a girl!" We were both pretty excited about it. Just adding the extra E and we have ourselves a winner.

So perhaps that's what I'll do for my 'cutie mark' idea. I'll come up with a bunch of career paths that I could go down and then have him pick and choose what he thinks would be a good idea for me. Once we can talk about each idea and agree, I'd love to move forward with it.

Right now, my cutie mark is 'supposed' to be house mom. But I think him and I both see how that's working for us... not very well at all!

Anyhoo, I'll keep you posted - who ever 'you' are. Even though I've shared this blog site with a handful of people, I don't know who is actually reading and I'm not so sure I 'should' care... but I do. All I know is, my husband could care LESS about what I was truly thinking... he has yet to learn more about the real me. :'o(

"Maude" the Mean Mom Maid

I was taking a nap when all of a sudden this MEAN woman stormed through the house. She was cranky, gripping and cleaning all angry like.

She could tell that I was tired, burnt out and needed a break- the kids had trashed the house (again) and she knew that if she didn't clean it up NOBODY ELSE WOULD.

Starting with the front room, she grabbed the watermelon that was smooshed all over the carpet, she picked up the new puzzle pieces that the kids just got from Grandma, she cleaned up the Pony coloring pages and crayons that Brooklyn was just playing with and then she moved to the kitchen with an arm full of dishes, trash and dirty clothes.

She changed over the laundry, asking my husband if he wanted WHITES or JEANS cleaned 1st. When he said whites, that was perfect timing because Brooklyn JUST had another accident- all over her white panties. ugh- I probably would've beaten Brook to death but this Mean Mom Maid just took Brook's hand, walked her up the stairs and stuck her into the shower. She gave Brooklyn a loufa and squirted some body wash on it. She barked "Clean yourself up and DON'T make a mess!" She headed downstairs after delegating to my husband the simple job of getting Brooklyn out of the shower in 3 minutes.

When she headed downstairs with a basket full of dingy whites, I could tell she was on a war path- but instead of destruction- it was a path to production. She tossed the delegates in the washer and made a pitcher of tea and a pitcher of crystal lite.

Then, she grabbed the pots and pans and gave a 'heavy duty' load to the dishwasher. She also grabbed the kids little table and covered it in soap. I thought, ok- she's gonna take it outside and hose it down... but nope- she took it outside and plopped it upside down in the kid's empty swimming pool and barely filled it up with the warm hose water. Ah-ha! She's soaking it, for SIMPLE scrubbing later! haha, I like her already!

It hadn't even been 30 minutes and she had already done so much. And just as quickly as she came in, she left. But not before giving me her name- Maude. What a terrible name, right? Well, not for her- it suits her. She's the meanest, cleanest QUICKEST mom maid I've ever seen. She'll defiantly be back again.

:o)

"Judy" the floor maid

So yesterday, I briefly told you about Judy. We hired Judy because she is awesome, she's cute and she is REALLY good at cleaning floors. Unfortunately, she hurt her back as she was cleaning today because apparently, she's NEVER had a floor as terrible as OURS before.

Instead of a broom and a mop, she had to get on her hands and knees to scrub and scrub. Our dirt and grime had been there too long I suppose. :o(

Rosa was great, but for a specific job, Judy is good for only the floors- I pick up the house here and there on a daily basis but I LOVE having these 'experts' come in and clean like they know what they're doing. They don't fuss or whine or feel insecure about it, they just get in and get-er-done!

As for me, I LOVE the smell of my clean house. She used a purple cleaning solution from PineSol and only got most of the downstairs floors finished. (Bathroom, kitchen, pantry and laundry room.) Next time she comes back, I'll have her do the upstairs floors and finish downstairs. (Entry way and carpets.)

Jim was home again today, but stayed out of her way. She was dressed down, long stretchy pants with a shirt that covered it all. lol.

I think Jim has someone in mind for tomorrow. Not sure what her specialty is or what her name is even... I'll keep you posted.

Introducing: " Rosa " ... The Marathon Maid

So, perhaps it's my depression medication (or lack thereof) that is giving me these fits of identity crisis. In any case- here's how I'm dealing with it...

Last night, I was exhausted- I had been up since 6am and I let my emotions get the better of me ALL day.

Call it an act of desperation, or another 'Crazy by Crystal'- I feel it was just Crystal being Creative. . . trying something 'new' on for size.

I got consent from Jim to have someone come over tomorrow and clean our house. Her name is Rosa. She's hispanic, fun and energetic... according to Jim, she loves to challenge herself by doing these 'marathons'. Her best ones are Laundry and Dishes. The most she can do in one day is 4 loads of each!

Pretty impressive, I thought- Jim seemed excited to meet her so a decision was made. For just 50cents an hour, she did 3 loads of dishes and 4 loads of laundry from start to finish.

Oh sure, she listened to her latina music station for the first couple hours of the morning, she spoke to my husband and the kids in her spanish accent and walked around the house in her short shorts and her low cut tank top. I could tell my husband was attracted to her but she remained VERY professional. (Only resting to fold laundry as she watched cartoons with the kids.)

I doubt she'll be back tomorrow because her two specialties were all caught up today. But who knows, maybe we'll have Judy come over- I hear she's REALLY good at cleaning floors! ;o)

Organizing Clutter

Organizing Clutter- ha! Sounds like a Oxymoron, doesn't it? LoL

I feel soooo accomplished today! I grabbed about 10 'cluttered' boxes and separated them all out into categories- now, I have 8 organized boxes- packed and ready to to go in the 'uhaul' pile. (ALONG WITH A HUGE 'TRASH-IT' PILE & A BIG DONATION BOX) WOOT WOOT!

How did I do it?

I was intimidated by it at first, TRUST ME! If you have clutter boxes, you know what it feels like to just even THINK about going through them.

What are clutter boxes? You know, when you're in a hurry to clean up and you don't have time to put things 'away'- and if you're even a TAD bit of a hoarder like me, NOTHING goes in the trash until it's absoultey TRASHABLE... ya, that's when you get a box and throw all the clutter in it and stuff it in a corner, in a closet or perhaps- it graduates to the garage...

My clutter boxes go CLEAR back to my Tucson days. I STILL had never gone through bills/clutter/photos etc since 2005! With each move I just transfered the boxes to either another box, or another corner-

But I didn't want to start the same bad habit - so here is what I did to organize the chaos, step-by-step:

1. Made a list of all the different 'things' that I had in my 'cluttered' boxes.

* Memorabilia items
* Photos
* Journals
* Magazines/Books
* Office Supplies
* Kids toys
* Computer supplies
* Bathroom / Hair Items
* Wall hangings (shelves/picture frames)

* Craft stuff
* Pens/pencils/crayons & Markers

* Holiday stuff
2. I then printed my list and cut up each 'category' to help remind me of my goal.
3. I then gathered aprox 8 empty boxes and taped their 'name' tag to each box
4. I then Put 6 empty boxes on my bed and the other 6 boxes around the room.
5. I then grabbed individual clutter boxes and worked on one at a time. Separeting items as I pulled them out of the box. (I didn't do it alone, I had the TV going the whole time- it helped me stay distracted JUST ENOUGH to stay busy.)
6. 10 clutter boxes later (as well as about several hours in the last 2 days) I had 8 finished boxes.
7. Now, all I have to do is tape them up /label them and get them ready to go to the new house.

But! Organization doesn't stop there!

8. At the new house, I will have a designated area for each 'catagory' and the overflow will be items to sell/donate.

So proud! What a productful day I've had! :o)

There goes MY sanity this morning...

So,
I was VERY frustrated with my day thus far (until my wonderful friend Theresa helped me out- Thanks so much Tweesa!)

Why was I frustrated? Well, let's start from the beginning. . .

An old co-worker of mine asked me to give her a ride this morning, in exchange- she was going to buy my kids breakfast. As much as I KNOW I don't have the gas money- I had some dumb urge to be 'liked' and couldn't say no. But this would mean having to leave my house at 6:45am. I surely didn't think this 'favor' through- my kids don't even wake up til 7:30 or 8!

But I can't leave them alone at home, and without me- she would stranded and a friendship would've been lost... so, reluctantly- I scooped each kid outta bed, pj's and all- and plopped them into the car.

We drove to pick her up, I didn't say a word. They were both out of it- trying so hard not to fall back asleep.

I arrive at her house at 7am and we proceed to her appointment. However, she didn't know WHERE it was at. She'd never been there before and all she had was an address. I'm now kickin myself for not bringing my GPS.

We continue to drive around looking for this address for about 8 minutes. Finally, she remembered that she was gonna look up the address on her phone using Google Maps.

What?!?! We could've been doing that the whole time rather than WASTING more gas?!?! I look down at my gas level and it's getting closer and closer to the red.
My tolerance level was already increasing. And where were my kids breakfast? I couldn't be mad, right? If I had only had my GPS, we would've had TIME for breakfast and we would've had Gas to get home.

My BIGGEST problem is- I don't use a visa debit card, I don't have any cash on me- all I have is a stupid ATM card. This helps PREVENT me from spending money so easily- but it sure doesn't help me in a GAS emergency.

Ok, (I thought to myself) if I can get to a bank, I can check the account and see if there is at least $20 to pull out of the account. We can go get some gas and then get something to eat while we wait for my friend to get out of her appointment.

I drop her off and tell her to text me when she's done. I head to the bank, (1/2 mile down the street.) This 'joint' account of ours has GOT to have something, right? Especially for emergencies (you would think) but nope, I have $3.23.

I can't withdrawal $3! And if could- it wouldn't even get me a full gallon!

I sit in my car and start texting my husband. Perhaps, if I can convince him to transfer some money, I'll be able to get $5 worth of gas...
but no, I know better. He would be furious if he knew I was in Glendale- giving a friend a ride with zero gallons of gas and zero dollars in the bank account. I've gotta have a better reason to 'need' money- he simply can't know that I've already wasted my gas just to 'be-liked'.

I remember that we still owe the sitter for daycare services from this last week. Over $200. Ahha! I'll ask my hubby to transfer THAT and with the little change left over, I'll get some gas and MAYBE get the kids something to eat. ? ? ? (They won't stop whining, "We hungee mom! We willy hungee!")

After several minutes of texting, he says he'll do it. I go back to the ATM machine and it still only has $3.

Meanwhile, my phone starts to die and my friend gets out of her appointment and texts me to come get her. I pick her up and tell her about my phone, my gas and my kids' bellies.

I'm thinkin that if she were 1. kind and 2. paying attention- she would put my kids and I (you know, her free taxi ride) as TOP priority. My thinkin was wrong. I head to HomeLovers to drop her off at work.

She seemed to have this 'ah-ha' moment where she just realized that I had no reason to come all the way out to Glendale. She either felt bad or caught my hint and she offered that I take her debit card to go get some gas.

At this point, I'm done- I'm done with her, I'm grateful she offered but I don't feel right takin her card. If she had a 5, or if she wouldn't mind being late- we could go get some gas and I'd drop her back off. But I wasn't gonna take her card. I wasn't gonna try to figure out a way to get it back to her. I just wanted to go home and forget about the whole thing. I told her 'thanks but not thank you.: She said ok, and went to work.

Kickin myself as I looked at my gas gage I drove slowly towards Theresa's house. I knew I owed her money and the whole idea of getting $200+ to pay her would be my only 'ticket' to getting home. My 2nd option (was not an option) I did not, would not, I refuse to go to Jim's work and ask for gas money.

I go back to the bank, by now- surely, Jim has had the chance to transfer funds. Sure enough- I'm home free. (At least I thought) I hear the ATM makin it's money noise as it's collecting the 20's and then all of a sudden it's telling me I have 40 seconds to retrieve my cash.

Like a bomber, trying to disable the red and blue wires- I'm freakin out. KNOWING that if this ATM THINKS there's money here- there will NOT be money in my account if I try this again. 22, 21, 20... the clock still ticks on the ATM machine. I'm trying to pry the slot open, hoping that it's just stuck and all I have to do is wiggle the door a little bit. 11, 10, 9, - I start waiving my hands at the drive up window but there's nobody there. I can see the don't open until 9.

4, 3, 2, 1. there goes my money.

If I had a video camera on me to capture the look on my face at that moment- you would've thought that I just found out someone died. I was in pure shock, disbelief, disappointment and anger.

WTF do I do now!?!?! I said to myself. I proceeded west- knowing that the best thing to do is just try to get home.

I kept driving down Bell rd and eventually I saw another bank. I pull in and see that they're already open. I drive to the teller window and let the gentleman know about my ATM problem at the other bank. Surprised, but sympathetic- he helped me out. Agreeing that I really couldn't come into the bank as I filled out a claim for my money because of the two small cranky kids he could see in the back of my car.

As I waited for him to call the claim in, I was texting Theresa's husband letting him know that I can't bring the money all they back to them. I was soooo very low on gas and I just need to head home.

He begged me to get the money to them by today- even offering to bring me some gas. I started texting back my exact location (99th and Bell) 'cause at this point, I was SOOO very willing to receive help.

But then, my phone DIES in the middle of my text. AHHHHH!

No Gas, no money, no cell phone, no food- stuck in sun city (now) and I don't know what the heck to do!

After 20 minutes of sitting in the hot car with the windows down, the nice teller agrees to get me my money as a 'credit'. Once the claim goes through- the money I take right now will be automatically paid back to the bank.

Thank goodness... I can do this. AND, I think if I put in enough gas, I can drive Theresa's money to her. She'll be happy, I'll be happy and we can all go home and take a nap!

The kids and I stop and get $6.15 cents in gas. I also picked up a small package of powered donuts for $1.69 (3 for each of them). This made them sooo much less cranky.

I get all the way back to 55th and cactus and take her some money. I frown as I tell her that I had to borrow $5 and she wanted to know what happened.

After telling her the full story (above) she smiles and hands me some cash. She wanted us to get something to EAT. It was 10am already and the kids would be so much better for me if we did have something better to eat.

The kids and I stopped at Burger King for drinks. Matthew got french toast sticks, Brooklyn got chicken nuggets and I got a sandwich. We are very much happier as we drove all the way home. (130th and Cactus.)

Here it is almost 11 and I'm soooo tired of my day already. Let's hope it gets better as we go. :o)