Doctor Visit

Today I had a very busy day I stayed up all last night to finish homework for my classes to finish the semester up. I went to my class and then did some cleaning. I layed down for about a half hour and woke up to my alarm clock because I had to get ready to take my mom to her doctor appointment. We had to be there by 1:30.
She had to go to the hospital in Mequon to have more fluid drained from her lungs, an X-ray, and a follow up appointment. The appointments filled up the whole day, so we were there which seemed like forever. She started off with checking herself in and doing some paper work. After she was done with that she went in to get the fluid drained from her lungs and have her X-ray taken. She was very nervous about getting the fluid drained from her lungs again, but she said she felt much better when it was done.
By the time she was done with all that it was still very early and her next appointment wasn't until five. We decided to go to Charcoal Grill about ten minutes down the street in Grafton. We ate some delicious food there and headed back to the hospital for her follow-up appointment. We sat in the waiting room which felt like a lifetime. By the time she went in a half hour had passed. I decided to walk around the hospital while I was waiting. She was in there for about an hour. She was relieved when she was done, so we could go home.
She goes back next week. I just hope that the doctors can find out what keeps causing the problems she has. So far they are not finding any answers. I wish my mom could just be back to her normal self. Although, we were at the hospital most of the day I enjoyed my time I spent with her today.

2011!

It is still so hard to believe that we are already near the end of December and only a week away from Christmas. Where has 2011 gone? It feels like just a short time ago last year that I was finishing up all of my classes and that was already a year ago. It feels like as I get older time is starting to go more and more faster.
With only a week away from Christmas I still have a lot to do and prepare. I have only purchased a few Christmas presents so far for my children, so I really need to get on it. This time of year is always a stressful time of year for me because it is coming to the end of the semester and preparing for the holidays. I have been working a lot of hours at my job, so it has been a struggle trying to balance school, family, and Christmas preparation. I plan to get it all done by Thursday. I have three papers to work on and a few assignments, work, Christmas decorating, Christmas shopping, present wrapping, grocery shopping, and cleaning the house. I am confident that I will succeed and get it all accomplished!
I would have to say that I have had a very successful year in 2011 because I completed my freshman year of college, I got a job, and I finally moved into a nice place to live. As always I got to spend the year with my beautiful family which is my whole world!
I hope that 2012 is just of great as a year and even better!
Happy Holidays & Happy New Years To Everyone!

St. Nick

Ever since I was a little kid I always loved the Christmas holiday season. In the beginning of December I would always have a stocking out for St. Nick to come. My parents referred to St. Nick as Santa's "practice run" to prepare for Christmas Eve. When I was little I actually believed this was true. I am an only child, so to me St. Nick was a mini Christmas. I would get my stocking full of candy and have little gifts all around the stocking. I guess you could say I was a pretty spoiled child. I remember one year I got a pair of brand new iceskates. When I was younger I loved iceskating. I took lessons and actually became pretty good at it. I would always rent my iceskates, so to me getting a brand new pair of iceskates was like the best thing in the world that could happen to me. Since I had my two children I haven't dare tried to go iceskating. I doubt I could even do it anymore. Since I always had good memories as a child for St. Nick I wanted to carry on the tradition for my two children.
I usually only give my children candy and some small little gifts, so I guess I don't go as far as my parents did. They appreciate it and enjoy it a lot. However, this year my oldest Molly decided that she was going to pretend she was sleeping and wait up for St. Nick. It was about one in the morning and I was setting the stockings up and she came out of her room without making a sound and screamed mom on the top of her lungs. I don't think I ever jumped that hard in my life! She demanded to know what I was doing with her stocking in my hand. She saw the open candy bags laying on the floor and insisted that St. Nick would not leave behind open candy bags. She became in tears yelling that there was no Santa Claus or St. Nick. I'm not quite ready for her to find out the truth about Santa and St. Nick, so I told her he wanted me to help him with the stockings because he was so busy and that I was organizing them. Molly being the first grader that she is didn't buy it for one second. She went back to bed very disappointed. My father works third shift and sometimes picks her up in the morning and takes her to school. She would never put together that he would put the stockings out at his house before he went to work. He picked my children up and on the way to school he stopped at his house and had Molly run inside. She found two stockings hanging there for her and her brother. She now believes in St. Nick and Santa again thank goodness. Saved by grandpa.

Update on my mom...

My mom had to stay in the hospital in Mequon for two weeks and two days because they found fluid on her lungs and her heart. The nurses and the doctors have been trying to do everything that they can to make her problem go away. Everytime they found something to fix the problem it would only work for a little while. The fluid would keep going back and forth from the right and left side of her body. The hospital told my mom that there is nothing they could do for her because they can't find a cure for the fluid on her lungs.
She came home two days ago this past Friday. She is having a very hard time adjusting to being back at home. The hospital put her on multiple medications. When my mom went to pick up her medications at the pharmacy here in Sheboygan they asked my mom why they have her on all of thse medications. They also informed her that she should be careful because it is very dangerous to be on all of these medications at one time. Now my mom is all worried about taking all the medications. Some people came to hook my mom up on oxygen at her house. She has portable oxygen and oxygen to use when she is sleeping because that is when she has the most trouble breathing when she is laying down.
I went over there to visit her today and she was sleeping when I got there. It was just too much for me to see her sleeping with all of the oxygen tubes coming out of her mouth and her nose. She did not look good at all. She assured me that I shouldn't worry about it and that she would be fine. I just don't know anymore. I don't want nothing to happen to my mother.

Mom..

My mother has been in the hospital for the past two weeks now. It all started when she went to a doctor appointment here in Sheboygan. They found out that she had fluid on her lungs and her heart, so they took her by ambulance to St. Mary's in Mequon. She never thought that she would be in there for that long and at this point they do not know when she is going to be coming home. It seems like everytime they think she's getting better and they tell her that she gets to go home something else happens. She has been getting a lot of tests done to her and the fluid does not seem like it wants to go away. It keeps moving back and forth between the right and left sides of her body. I feel so bad for her because she seems so miserable in there. She is also having a very hard time breathing. If she talks to much she will get short of breath and have to stop and take a break for awhile. She has to sit up all the time because if she lays down she feels like she can't breathe at all. She has been sleeping sitting up in the same chair for the past two weeks now. She either sits in the chair, watches t.v., walks to the door, eats, talks on the phone, visits with family or friends, and sometimes they will take her for a short walk in the hallway. She is becoming very impatient sitting in the same room everyday. I know this because my mother is one of the most impatient people I know. I always tell her how the weather is because she has not even been outside in two weeks. They said a lot of the problem has been caused by smoking throughout her life. My mom really is considering quitting. I hope that this will make her finally quit. It would be so much better for her health if she did. I would be so proud of her! I hope she feels better soon and gets to come home because it is very hard seeing her like this.

My Daughter's Birthday!

Today my daughter Molly turned 7-years-old. I can't believe she is already in the first grade. I feel like it was just yesterday that I gave birth to her. It is amazing how fast time goes. I want her to be little again and never grow up, but then again I cherish each and every year of her life watching her grow into a beautiful young woman.
We had a litle birthday party for her this past Saturday with one of her friends who she has known her whole life because her friend's mother is one of my bestfriends and we grew up together. I had her friend sleep over for the night and we had supper, ate birthday cake, and opened presents. They stayed up until two in the morning and refused to go to sleep for me. The worst part was they were up by six in the morning, so I barely got any sleep. They trashed my entire house, but what matters is they had a good time.
Today on her actual birthday she brought cupcakes to school for her class treat which she ended up dumping all over the place, so she couldn't take them to school. After work I got her a new box of cupcakes and brought them to her school and she was the happiest little girl there. We had a little family party with my dad. He came over, so Molly could open her presents from him and me. We had spaghetti for supper and cake for dessert.
I'm glad I got to spend the day with my daughter on her birthday.
Her dad is not around and I look back at these seven years and feel so accomplished that I am raising this wonderful little girl. Looking at the smart, beautiful, fun-filled little girl that I have I know I am raising her right. She is worth each and everyday and makes me so happy!

Facebook & other social networking...

Everyday millions of people communicate through social net working. It is a great way to get in touch with friends and family, or even reunite with old friends or family. It is becoming more and more popular, and more and more people are starting to join whether its facebook, myspace, twitter, etc. It almost has become apart of our everyday lives. We find ourselves checking to see if we have messages, comments, likes, etc. on our pages. I think for some of us we have even become obsessed. Also how much do we really want others to know about ourpersonal lives? Although, these social networking sites have privacy optuions there is still ways people can hack into your page, or find out through others what is going on in your lives. This is why I don't understand why people write their entire life stories on these sites. What especially gets to me is all the drama and bullying that goes on in these sites. If you don't want drama and people commenting about your personal lives do yourself a favor and don't post it. Its as simple as that keep ito to yourself, but I guess there is always those people who are looking for attention. Also don't say something to somebody over the computer that you would be to scared to say to there face. Facebook and oher social networking sites are open doors for bullying to begin. Also I think parents should monitor what there children are doing on these sites. Some kids make pages and sign up using an older age without parents even noticing or knowing about it which can lead to online predators. I know my children will not be having any social networking until they are old enough and responsible enough to handle it. I am really considering deleting my account, or deleting all the people I don't really talk to. I will admit I got on facebook way to often, and I need to cut down on it, or get rid of it all together!

CHRISTMAS!

It is finally starting to turn into that time of year which is the Christmas season. I love how all the stores have all the Christmas items out and ready for customers to buy. I know Thanksgiving comes first, but I really don't prepare for that holiday to much. I like Thanksgiving, but it just isn't my favorite. I love decorating the house for Christmas. I am extremely excited because I just moved to a new place, so I can go all out on decorating it. I can't wait for the Christmas shopping and present wrapping. Also I can't wait to bake and cook for Christmas with my kids and watch all the holiday movies. It is the time of year to cherish yur family. Family is one of the most important blessings a person can have. Season greetings! Hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Turkey Day at Work

This afternoon I had to work at my job at Festival Foods. I only had to work four hours today, so I figured it would be a nice and easy short day and I was very wrong! I love my job, so I'm not complaining, but today was absolutely ridiculous! I have never seen the store this busy since we first opened. The store was packed the entire time that I was working. I am a cashier and I work in the front end. My line did not stop once in the whole four hours. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did! Prices were not ringing up correctly, or at all! For some reason I kept double scanning items and then they didn't want to void off. I quickly learned the reason why the store was so crowded. We are having a sale on Turkeys. I never checked out more turkey's in my life than I did today! The turkey's are actually a good deal, so I might just have to go in and buy one. It is the holiday season, so I guess I should get use to the chaos. I love my job, but believe me I have seen better days!

Grandpa Harvey

My grandpa had a stroke a few months back and he wasn't the same ever since. This past month he spent most of his time in a hospital or nursing home. A few weeks ago he was sitting in his chair like he always did visiting with my mom and my uncle. He suddenly became short of breath and wasn't breathing very well. They called the ambulance and they took him to a hospital here in Sheboygan. Sheboygan couldn't do anything to help him, so they moved him to a hospital in Grafton. It turned out the hospital in Sheboygan completely messed up and put a tube in his artery when it was suppose to be put into his vein because of this they had a hard time pulling it out because he was at risk for bleeding to death. Our family is not very happy with what the hospital in Sheboygan did to him. He was in Grafton for a week or so and he would do really good somedays and really bad the others. The hospital told us that there was no more that they could really do for him, so they moved him to Sunny Ridge Nursing Home in Sheboygan. He was there only a few days and he got worse again, so he got moved to a hospice center. They told us there that he would have anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks of life left. I knew he wouldn't make it the 24 hours I could just feel it, so I rushed over there to say my last goodbyes. Less than 12 hours later I got a phone call saying my grandpa had passed away. It has been a horrible week and I still can't stop thinking about him. The funeral was sad and burying him was even worse. It will take me some time to heal, but I know he is in a better place and reunited with my grandma that preceded him in death five years ago. RIP Grandpa We Love You Forever and Always!!!

My Birthday

This past Saturday was my birthday. I turned 22-years-old. I think as I get older my birthday is just another day to me. Its not like when your're a kid and you know you are going to have a ton of presents from all of your family members and a big birthday party waiting for you. Birthdays are a fun day to celebrate, but I think it is more of a kid thing to do. I get more into my children's birthdays than my own which is what it is suppose to be... right?
My dad took my kids shopping for me and they got me some pretty cool gifts. He also bought me a cake that my daughter decorated all pretty for me. She made me a home made card as well. I thought it was really sweet of her. A couple days prior my dad took me and my children to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. He is a great father and grandfather to all of us. My mom and I have plans to go out this coming Saturday because we both have busy schedules.
My fiance and I had plans to go to Appleton on my birthday, but he runined our plans because his family has a store and they really needed his help. I was actually furious that he would break our plans especially on my birthday the one day he is actually not suppose to bail on me. He ended up coming back around nine at night and bought me some balloons and flowers then took me out to eat. My birthday actually turned out pretty alright.

Friendship

Has anyone ever thought you were going to be friends with somebody for ever and then your friendship ended? For most of us this has happened at least once or more than once in our lives. Sometimes friends come and go like seasons and we can't really do anything about it whether we want to or not it is just apart of the seasons of life.
How do we know if we truly have a friend worth keeping or not? Sometimes people can be blind and it is hard to tell somebody's true colors. Nothing is worse than finding out that the person you thought you were so close to is a liar.
Nobody likes a liar, but I guess it is hard to tell somebody is lying especially when you thought they were a trustworthy person. People lie for many different reasons such as wanting to be accepted by other people, wanting to get out of something, or just not wanting someone to find something secret out. In my opinion lying is just a waste of time because the truth always comes out in the end.
I recently had a friend who I found out was lying to me. I thought we were very close and had a honest friendship, but I guess I was to blind to see it. I thought by the time people become adults that the childish games would go away, but some people just don't grow up. Since we are both adults I am not going to cause an argument over it. I guess I am contemplating if I should give her a second chance or walk away? Only time will tell.

Moving

I have been living in my house for the past two and a half years. It is not the best place in the world to live. The landlord is rude along with the neighbors. Also I feel the other children are not good children for my children to be playing with. The apartment is great just not the area and the people!
This past month I decided I am tired of living here, and decided that I was going to find a better place for my family to live. A place that we can all come home to and be happy together, a place that is close to the kids school, my school, and work, and I place that I can be proud to call my home.
I found the perfect place and it did not take long to get accepted into. The rent is going to be a little higher, but that is fine with me. I just want a nice apartment to live in until I am finacially stable to purchase my own home. I also want to rent while I am still in college.
Happily I am moving in tomorrow morning. I will get the keys at 9:30 when I sign the lease. Tonight I will be packing and getting everything ready to move. I got lots of nice things for my new place.
I couldn't be any more happier than I am right now. Life is finally falling into its place:)

College & Life

All of our lives we all hear about our future and college, and how important it is to go to school and make something of our lives. From pre-school to our senior year of high school we are preparing for college, and to get out in the real world on our own. In high school we write papers that show us and introduce us to college writing, we take math classes to prepare for college math, and we even take ACT & SAT tests that let us know how ready we are to begin college.
I always planned on going to college, but when I had my first child I wasn't so sure if I wanted to go anymore. I had Molly when I was fifteen years old and a freshman in high school which wasn't exactly the right age to have your first child, but life takes us in unexpected turns. I made it through high school in three and a half years, so I did complete it. I had my second child at the age of nineteen from an amazing man that I am still with 3 years later. I wouldn't trade them for the world!
I started college two years after I graduated high school. I didn't think I was actually going to go, but I did. I decided that I wanted to pursue an education degree. I would love to teach young children. I look back to my years as a child and I loved my early elementary school teachers. I am in my second year of college and I won't lie it is tough. Besides school I have my family to take care of and I also have to work. I know its all part of life, but it is a constant struggle. This past week I almost quit college because I felt it was beginning to be to much! I knew in my heart that quitting would not be the right decision, so after I talked to my family they convinced me that I need to keep on going. I thank them for always being at my side to help and guide me through good and bad situations no matter what.
When I look at the long run of my life I know that going to school is my only option. I think college is a wonderful place to learn and to also find yourself and who you really are in this life. I am going to keep on going no matter how hard it gets and never look back!

Grand Opening of Festival Foods

This past Friday we opened the first Festival Foods store in Sheboygan.
 The doors opened at 6 A.M. I was scheduled to work right at the opening, so I got up nice and early. When I pulled into the parking lot at about 5:45 A.M. it was still very dark out but we had a good handful of cars already. A line had been formed in front of the store and it contained around 10-15 people. Personally I think 6 A.M. is very early to go grocery shopping even if it is the grand opening of a new store, but it is nice to know that people were excited and eager to see the store.
My job title is a cashier but on opening day I was scheduled to be a bagger. The first few hours were pretty slow and wasn't to big of a crowd. Around lunchtime the crowd had started to pick up so it became much more busier and a lot more work which was fine because I like to keep busy.
They had asked me if I wanted to be the greeter at the front door and explain to people about the store and hand out things. I really didn't want to because I am more of the shy type of person, but I said I would give it a try and I actually got into it and it wasn't so bad. It was nice having a chance to talk to all the new excited customers.
Although, every store always gets that batch of customers who will go out of their way to complain. In my line we had such a person. I personally did not have to deal with it because I was bagging the groceries, but the cashier had to deal with the unhappy customer. The customer kept yelling at the cashier because she said that the price per pound of peaches was not ringing up right. The cashier seemed to be frustrated because the lines were long and it had become overwhelming, so she called over the manager and he found out the price which turned out to be it was the right price all along. The customer seemed annoyed that she was wrong and the manager was right, so then she decided to say that her icecream was melting because the cashier was to slow and the lines were to long.
We at Festival are friendly people so the manager killed her with kindness and asked if he could get her some new ice cream and just have the cashier ring up the price while he went back and got some. She agreed and then continued to yell at the cashier and say thats what she should have done all along. When the manager came back with the icecream I bagged it and said thank you and sent her on her way.
It really ticked me off because that cashier did not deserve that and she was at no fault at all. Of course we are going to be busy and mistakes are expected to be made on the first day of the store, but what can you do? You're always going to get those lovely customers who will go out of their way to give you a hard time. I think she needs to find better things to do with her time.