Day 5: WHAT??!!

First: Bri and Nate posted today - look below

I don’t watch Good Morning America, but on one of those comedy recap shows (on VH1), GMA interviewed Sarah Palin’s exercise buddies, dubbed the ‘Elite 6’. They all said something nice about her, and something weird about her being scared of cats. How do you HUNT, but you’re scared of a house cat?
Anyway, the reporter asked if they knew who they were voting for, and NONE of them had their minds made up. One of them said she would ‘support Sarah as a friend’, but she wasn’t sure who she was going to vote for in the election. What is Sarah Palin doing in Alaska??
I’m happy they all didn’t just endorse her because she’s their friend, but for ALL of them to say they were undecided is a little freaky. I don’t know what your political views are, but you should look closely at this entire situation. If McCain is elected, this woman could be the next President sooner than we want.

That's out of my system now - back to family stuff.

Today was a lazy day for the kids and I. Renee and Nate were the only ones who were dressed - Renee to walk the dog, and Nate because he stayed overnight at Nicole's. Lawrence had to work today. I did my usual cleaning and cooking, then I just watched tv. Still didn't watch The Producers, but it's not due back until Monday. It'll get watched.

Lawrence, Bri and I played Phase 10 a little after he came home. That's always a good game, although Bri thinks we know some kind of trick, because she hasn't won a game since we started playing. Nate and Renee were being their usual all day.

There wasn't much more going on today, but I did take a few more candid shots. I'll add them here for your enjoyment.

I also added a dessert recipe that we love. Renee even made this one by herself. It's very easy.

Let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to add.

God Bless,

Leslie

A new life

Hi, I'm Nate .
Living down here lets life throw out new experiences, more challenges, and new friends. Though it was not hard, on maybe the fourth day I made my first few friends. Marco, Julian, Jaylin, Devon, and Havier. Though they're not like my friends from home, they're silly and wacky so it was an interesting start. As school started things got better as I gained two new friends Amhad and Arrys. So as you can tell I'm going strong in this life just waiting for what's ahead.

living in new places

hi everybody, it's Bri:


Living in North Carolina is a different experience. I am not close to family an old friends and I miss everybody so much. Although I am missing every body so much I have made new friends.

The second day of school i met Digonay (I don't know if that's the correct spelling) she sat with me at the lunch table because she had just got her schedule and i was sitting at the table all lonely. After that i didn't see her i think she has a different lunch. On the fourth day of school i met three other people and now i sit with them at lunch every day. Pooh (that's her nickname) she is nice and smart an funny. Amber is the tallest of all of us but she is funny an reminds me of someone but i cant get their name out right now. And then there's Janine (I don't know if that's the right spelling either) Shes the smartest of she's in 9th grade an is taking geometry and Spanish 2. They are all in 9th grade. In my Civics & Economics class I have 2 friends Shaquil and Niya. They are nice people and fun to be around. My English class, which is up 70 steps outside, I have a friend named Jared he's a nice boy he's also funny. My Spanish class i talk to Janine, Precious, and Claudia. After Spanish I have lunch. I have the last lunch and I always get pizza. They have Domino's pizza. Almost all of my friends have the same lunch as me. the only person that doesn't have the same lunch as me is my friend Victor. I keep calling him Jarvis by accident because that's his last and he's in my ROTC class so he always answer to Jarvis.

Toothy Trials

Hiho all,

Well, I'm sure you've all heard about my recent stint in the hospital. I want to thank you all for your concern, and most of all your prayers. I want to solicit your continued prayers. As my father has so aptly put it, we are in a strange land and are coming under attack from the enemy. But we know our trials only come to make us strong.
God has been so good to us, and has proved himself over and over, even in the short time we've been down here. He has truly opened doors, and created avenues of perpetual blessing. He's blessed me in my job, my finances, and my health. He's blessed Leslie to find a comfortable niche at home, and at Renee's school. The munchkins are all excelling in their studies. Bri keeps plugging along in her usual stellar fashion. Nate is giving his all, and continues to bring home no less than 100's on all of his work. But what has made me really proud, is the way that Renee has begun to work to her potential, and her teachers are taking notice.
I love and miss you guys alot, but I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. Just stepping out on faith, and trusting that God will be true to his word. Then as the darkness of the glass clears to let you see what He's had waiting for you...There can't possibly be anything more exciting!!!
Well, since this isn't a preaching blog, let me leave you with a very practical piece of advice before I got to bed. If you have a toothache, don't wait, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! a toothache can KILL you. I had emergency surgery, and was in ICU on a ventilator, because I didn't take care of a toothache from an impacted molar and it stopped hurting, so, I forgot about it. Also, big moves are scary, but when it's in God's time somehow the Red Sea becomes dry land and your enemies drown in your wake as you cross over in God's providence.

Good night,
Rev Run...lol

Three things...

...before I go on about my day.
1. We changed the title. After speaking to the family, we all decided that since they aren't "mommateers", then it's not fair to name the blog mommateer if they're going to contribute. There.

2. Do hurricanes eat gas? Why is the gas so high, and why are the people in North and South Carolina going nuts?? This is crazy. Yesterday, gas was $3.69 at the high priced stations. Today, people were lining up for hours at gas stations that were running empty. These are the ones that weren't changing their prices. They were $3.60 - $3.65. I went to a station and topped off at $4.29. I was able to get in and out of the station without issue, while others waited and waited, running out of gas, and still didn't get cheap gas because they were in line at a station that ran out. I feel bad for them. That just means they had to pay more and get more gas.

Anyway, about my day. I had to get Lawrence to the bus stop by 5:59am. I think I need to explain this:
We live in the city, however, we live very close to a rural area. Can't even call them suburbs. The developments we live in used to be farm land. There's still farm land around, there's cows and horses up the road! So anyway, the closest bus route is 3 miles away. With limited streetlights. And very limited sidewalks. Don't think Lawrence wants to walk to the bus in the dark morning. He'll either get hit, mauled, or shot because someone will think he's a burglar! He catches the bus on the days I need the car, and today was one of those days.
I then wait for Bri to leave at 6:10, make sure Nate eats and leaves at 6:30, then make sure Renee gets up to get ready for school. She doesn't have to leave until 7:30am, which is good, because she doesn't like to get up in the morning.
I cleaned (close your mouths), started my chili (see the recipe on the left), walked the dog, then went to pick up Nicole from work. This is when we first saw the gas prices. Went to the market, and then we had to go in that DREADED DIRECTION...
Near the racetrack! The race wasn't to start until about 7:00pm, however, there were people clamoring to get into the stadium. I don't get the excitement about watching cars for hours go around and around and around...
It wasn't a horrible drive, but it was annoying. I had to take the interstate just to get home. I HATE the interstate. But today it wasn't so bad. I came home and walked the dog again, just in time to start my outside running again. Pick up Lawrence and Bri; Bri went on a trip, so she missed the school bus to get home. I wanted her to take pictures so she could share them, but she said they actually had to do work on the trip.

The chili was good, and Nate baked his first cake. Maybe I'll have Bri share a cake recipe (not the chocolate one - that's a secret!!), and we watched Horton Hears a Who. Funny. I still didn't watch The Producers. I'll see it tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, one or all of the children will add to the blog. You have to read!

Let me know what you think about the new name.

God Bless,
Leslie

Day 3: Just another day

I finally watched Little Miss Sunshine, and it was so funny!! If you've never watched it, I suggest you rent it. I actually borrowed it from the library, so it was free to rent. When you don't have any money, the library's the best way to go. Tomorrow I'm watching The Producers.

Today I also went cheap food shopping. There are several great markets here, Bloom, Harris Teeter, Lowes, and Food Lion. There's also Bi-Lo, Save-A-Lot, and Aldi's here. My favorites are Lowes and Bloom. At Lowes, they unpack your cart for you, and you get "greenpoints" to use later. You can get free food with the points - that's the main reason I go there. Bloom is just a nice market, and they have good sales. I just came from Bloom, had to get bread, as well as lunch stuff for Lawrence. Spent more than what I wanted, but I did get some good sales, and was able to use lots of coupons. Coupons are my friend, because we have no money right now.


What else happened today? Well, not much, I didn't get to go to the school, which I feel bad about, because I only went once this week. Fridays are a no go for me. Next week will be better. Bri and Nate were exercising today, and I took a picture of Nate "lifting weights". Lawrence was trying to help him, but as you can see, he has NO CLUE of what he's doing!

Renee just sat around today. She gets home so late, so she doesn't have time to do much. She was just laying around and texting - her favorite pastime now. I'm glad we have free texting, because we'd be broke!

I realized before that I didn't add a picture of Charlie the dog, although I did mention him. Here's one I took today:







Not sure of why he looks so angry in this picture, because he was pretty happy. I don't think he likes the flash.

This weekend, I'll have the kids post their thoughts. They're pretty excited about it, and hopefully they have something good to share.


I need coffee!! I had one cup today, and I haven't had any coffee in about a week! I was told to lay low from caffeine, dairy, tomatoes, citrus, air...


Next week, the blog is going to center around different topics - party planning, recipes, volunteering; just different stuff I know something about. If there is a SPECIFIC topic you want to know about, PLEASE let me know!

Thanks!

Day 2: Well, that was a bust...

I went to the school today to volunteer at the media center, but when I got there, the parking lot was completely full. I forgot that there was going to be the only African-American NHRA stock car racer at the school today. He was choosing students to be honoray pit-crew members for the race here on Friday night. That reminds me to not go near the mall this weekend. The traffic in that direction will be a mess....

Anyway, this NHRA driver, Tom Hammonds was also an NBA player, so there are many excited people here - especially parents. The 7th graders at the school were to write an essay on why they should serve as a pit crew member. Renee didn't want to do it. I thought it wold be a cool experience for her, but I can't force her, and I didn't want to write it for her, because she wouldn't lie for me if I did. She'd probably be upset with me for pulling her away from the t.v.. There's more than likely some high-schoolish movie on, or the Jonas brothers, or something like that on. Why watch cars when you can watch some girls try to hide the fact that they are really mermaids, no matter how many times you've seen it?

I think I'm going to try to go to the school tomorrow. I just found out that the district cut Media Assistants from the budget. I think it's dumb, because there's alot to do. I guess if there are people willing to volunteer, why should they waste the money? They might as well close down the school libraries, because the librarian will not be able to take care of evey duty.

Well, it's raining, and I have to pick up Lawrence from the bus stop. He won't be too happy with cold, wet clothes on.

As I said before, let me know what you think. What else do you want to know? You can post your comments at the end of each blog entry.

Talk to you soon!

Mommateer on the go!

Hello,

It's about 10:15pm, and I'm getting ready for bed. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to the school to do my Mommateer duties. The Media Specialist (librarian) really likes me, and I like what I'm doing. It's everything I've wanted in a job. Who knew that my calling was to be a librarian?!
I started at this by fussing at the school because Renee's bus was 2:15 hours late on the first day of school. I called the school and was brushed off, so I emailed the superintendent. He, in turn, sent it down the line, and the principal called me to allow me to vent. I explained to her that I didn't want to be a problem parent, and if they needed any help to let me know. She took that moment to ask me to come in and help with the first picture day at the school. I said sure, it sounded simple enough...
Little did I know that I was going to start this new, great, non-paying position. It's funny, because there may be a position available, but I'm afraid that I'll screw it up. Not to say that I wouldn't try, I would love it. I don't have to sit in one place, answering phones, or be micromanaged. I also don't have to stand all day and get fussed at just because I want to go 'pee'. Some jobs make me feel like I'm in jail, but here I have more freedom to roam.
Nicole may go with me tomorrow as well. It's funny because we're going to be in the library, but when we're together, we make everyone laugh out loud, including each other! I wonder how the librarian will like that.

Man, Lawrence snores loudly. I snore, too, or at least that's what he tells me. He's very loud. I wish I had a microphone, I'd record it on here.

Well, I'm going to go to bed. I have to get up early and take Lawrence to the bus stop so I can start my day. Oh, I can't wait until God blesses us with a second car...

Make sure you follow!

So I've noticed there were a few people who looked at my site, thank you. Make sure you click on "follow", and add your name to the site.

So, what's been going on?

Well, lately we've been relaxing at home since Lawrence had his emergency surgery. Yes, not even here 2 months, and he had to stay in the hospital overnight.

It started one night, while we were getting ready for bed, Lawrence went into the bathroom. I asked him what was wrong.
"Pieces of my tooth just broke off."
"Well, you need to get to a dentist", I told him.
"I will. But it doesn't hurt, so hopefully I can wait until my insurance kicks in." He started his new job on 7/7, but his insurance wasn't to start until 9/1.

About a week later, on a Wednesday, he started having pain, but he also started having what he thought was an ear infection. We got ear drops, as well as toothache medicine. By Friday morning, he had to go to the dentist that day. We saw a nice dentist who gave him some antibiotics and pain medication. Later that day, Lawrence was in severe pain, so much that I had to take him to the emergency room. The doctor checked him, said he had an abscess, but there was nothing they could do, and sent him home. We only found out the next day that the nurse that saw us the night before advised the doctor that he should call the oral surgeon. When they called the surgeon on Saturday, the surgeon said if he would have been called Friday, they would have operated then. He also said if we would have waited until Monday, as the er doctor suggested, Lawrence would have suffocated to death. The abscess was that big.
He was in the hospital's ICU until Tuesday, when they took out the breathing tube. He was home Wednesday, and was back to work next Wednesday. He's healed very well.
Anyhow, of course our finances took a tumble. We did get greatly appreciated help, and we're getting back on track. We weren't able to celebrate Bri's birthday, it was 9/4, and we probably wont be able to celebrate Lawrence's birthday, on 9/18. But we're just happy that Lawrence is feeling much better.
So now, we're looking forward to the holidays, trying to figure out if we're spending them in PA or NC, and which holiday we may possibly come there for. My birthday is right after Thanksgiving, so we'll see.
In the meantime, I'm going to go watch Little Miss Sunshine. I'm told it's a good movie....

Day 1: Hi Everybody!

Good Morning! (or whatever time it is when you're reading this)



The past couple of months have been very strange. There have been so many changes in my life, and I decided it's time to start a blog about it. Everyone has a blog about something, right? Am I the only one in the world without one? This new 'diary' type writing is new for me, so bear with me while I work out the kinks.









First, for those who don't know me, I would like to fill you in. My name is Leslie, and I am a 33 year old married mother of 3 children and a dog- 'Bri', who's 15; 'Renee', she's 12; 'Lil' Nate', my video game warrior, who's 11, and Charlie, who was given to us last year, is 4. My husband, Lawrence, and I have been together for 14 years now. We both grew up in Philadelphia, and we have seen the city (at least the area we were in) go from bad to worse. Lawrence was going nowhere fast at his job, and our kids needed better schooling. I can't seem to hold a job. Let's see - I'll start the list with my first job - I may miss a couple:

summer office assistant
camp counselor
McDonald's (several times)
Roy Roger's (for about a week)
Pine Factory
Thing's Remembered
Stride Rite
Webster Menswear (also for about a week)
Friendly's
Kinderfoto (Lifetouch)
JC Penny Portrait studio (also Lifetouch)
Pitney Bowes Management Services
Independence Blue Cross
Sears Portrait Studio
ADP
Iydide's Daycare (my own child care service)
Gap
CIGNA Tel-Drug
Comcast
Urban Outfitters
PhillyCarShare
and American Red Cross

Whew! Didn't think I had it in me. I think I left out two, a bar and an employment agency, but that's okay, you get the point. There was always something keeping me back from these jobs. I was sick alot, still not sure if I have an actual health issue or if it's in my head, because doctors can't find a definite problem. Anyway, between taking care of family and looking for and holding jobs, I'm not the best homemaker in the world - not even in my 5 mile radius. I've let my house go to pieces many times, and it's been difficult to get motivated to clean when you're burried in a house full of trash.

I'm also not the best hairdresser, either. That's why 6 years ago, I decided to get dreadlocs. It was the best decision for me. I didn't have to do anything but wash it and twist it when I wanted to. It grew longer than my hair has ever grown in my life, and I could style it many ways. This year, however, my hair seemed to get in the way. Since I was changing so much in my life, I decided to change my hair, too.








Speaking of changes, let me tell you about our biggest change. I said in the beginning that we are from Philadelphia, PA. That's the city I knew most of my life. We did have a small stint in Dansville, NY., but we moved back to Philadelphia for better jobs. Our life in Philly was going from bad to just crazy, and I felt like my family was in trouble. Lawrence and I were having issues, my teen daughter was starting to act out, and my other two children were failing in school. In fact, my son is now repeating. I've been wanting to move since we came back to Philadelphia, but we kept trying to make things work.

After moving in different neighborhoods in Philly several times, I had enough. Nothing was getting better, so with the help of my friend, Lawrence found a job in North Carolina, and my friend Nicole helped us find a house. We packed up and moved here July 1st.

The move has been great for all of us. Lawrence loves his job, although he had a huge scare with an emergency medical issue. Bri is in driver's ed., and she's picked up JROTC right where she left off in Philadelphia. Renee and Nate has made lots of friends, and they love the extra freedom they have outside.

As for me, I've started working - in my home. I've become a little more of a domestic princess (not a diva yet), and I've stumbled upon a volunteer opportunity at Renee's school. I've been helping in the media center (library to the older crowd), and I'm really enjoying it. I may start working soon, it depends on if we get a second car (much needed), and if I start school or not.

I will update you on many of these topics as the days go on. If there's anything you want to hear about that's not listed, or you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

Thanks, and welcome to my blog!