Update from the Past Two Months

I know I haven't posted in almost two months. Things have been really crazy. I’ll try to catch up.

Most recently, we’ve had to deal with a difficult situation. Leon lost his job last week. We knew this would probably happen because his boss had talked about out-sourcing Leon’s job (he was the Information Technology Manager/Admin). I know they say everything happens for a reason – when one door closes, another one opens, etc. – but that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.

We pray that he’s able to find another job quickly, but it’s a really tough market out there. So many people are unemployed and dealing with the exact same thing, which makes the job market extremely competitive. Leon can draw unemployment for a while, but that won’t allow us to maintain our current lifestyle.

That means there’s a very good possibility that we’ll have to move out of our house. I can’t pay the mortgage and utilities on my salary alone. It will be sad to leave our home, but I wouldn’t mind down-sizing. Andrew will be graduating in a couple of years and Beth will be in high school next year. We may be cramped living in a smaller place for a while, but we can make it work. I certainly wouldn’t mind getting out from under our less-than-ideal mortgage which has put a big strain on our finances in recent years.

Leon and I are both sad that we have to take Elena out of her school for now though. It doesn’t make sense to send her to daycare with Leon home, but she really enjoys playing with her friends there and she’s learned so much. We may look into sending her part-time so she still gets some of the benefits her school offers.

I’ve been trying to make the best out of a difficult situation, but we have to make some major changes in the very near future. It’s a lot to think about.

Leon’s brother John has agreed to take Bella. If we have to move, there’s a good chance we couldn’t have a pet in a rental property anyway. But even before Leon lost his job, we were seriously contemplating giving Bella to someone else. Unfortunately we found out the hard way that we just weren’t ready for a puppy. I remember how crazy Goldie was as a puppy, but we didn’t have a toddler back then either. It’s just become too overwhelming to try to train Bella. We can’t get her housebroken – she poops and pees in the house multiple times every day no matter how many times we take her outside. She has shown some aggression too, growling and snapping if she doesn’t want to be bothered. I’m afraid she’ll hurt Elena.

We constantly compare Bella to Goldie. We’re always saying "Goldie did this" or "Goldie didn’t do that." I know that’s not right – no dog will ever be able to replace Goldie. But that makes me realize even more that we weren’t emotionally prepared for another dog right now. Maybe someday when we’re in a better place emotionally, financially, etc., we’ll look into getting an older golden, maybe a rescue dog. Until then, I think we’re going to have a pet-free home for a while.

Since I haven’t blogged in so long, I’ll try to recap what we’ve done since I last wrote.

• September – My sister’s birthday was on September 12 and my mom’s birthday was on September 17. We went to Coshocton to celebrate their birthdays. Elena also had gymnastics classes on Saturday mornings, which she really enjoyed.
• October – The Coshocton County Fair was held the first weekend in October so we went home for that, which is always fun. Elena finished up her gymnastics classes at the end of October. We’ll probably see about enrolling her in another class when she turns 2. Leon, Elena and I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from October 15-20. We met up with a few of the girls from the Miracle Seekers board, and we had a fantastic time visiting them and their families. Andrew and Beth didn’t get to go with us since Andrew was busy with football and Beth was busy with soccer. Beth turned 14 on October 20. Elena dressed up as a ladybug on Halloween, and I took her trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.
• November – My dad’s birthday was on November 2, and we spent time with my parents the weekend before his birthday. My friend Laura got married on November 14, and I helped my other friend Ruthie set up for Laura’s reception. Ruthie is pregnant (due at the end of March), and she just found out last week that she’s having a baby boy! I’m so happy for her. I only have to work three days this week because of the holiday. We’re heading up to Medina on Thursday to spend Thanksgiving with Leon’s family.

Elena continues to talk up a storm! She repeats everything you ask her to say. She is so funny. She is such a bright spot in our lives, even when times are difficult. I love that little girl more than she could ever know!

I won’t post all of the recent pictures in my blog, but I have plenty of Elena pictures in my Picasa web album. Volume 1 has almost 500 pictures from 2008 - 2009! Since I ran out of room on that album, I started Volume 2, although I haven’t added any pictures to this one yet.

I will try not to let two months pass before posting again. Hopefully, I’ll have some good news to report about Leon’s job situation and our housing situation in my next post.

Busy, busy, busy

I apologize for my lack of updates. I find it hard to make time to update my blog. Although my family and friends can always find out what I'm up to by reading my Facebook status updates! I am addicted to Facebook.

Things have been busy as usual. I feel like I have two babies with Bella in the house. She is one crazy puppy. I remember Goldie was a crazy puppy too though – it just takes time for golden retriever pups to calm down. For now though, Bella is constantly chewing and jumping. I can't even walk without her tripping me. We're having trouble getting her housebroken too. She's growing really fast though! She probably weighs more than Elena by now.

Elena "graduated" at school and is now in the toddler class. She seems really happy at school and is doing so well socially. She's not shy at all. I'm so proud of her. She's talking up a storm. She repeats anything and everything, so I need to be very careful about what I say!

I've been teaching Elena to say her name. I figured it might be difficult for her to say her name, so we break it down. It goes something like this:

Me: Elena, say E.
Elena: E!
Me: Lay.
Elena: Lay!
Me: Nuh.
Elena: Nuh!
Me: Now say E-lay-nuh.
Elena: Lay-nuh!

Lately, when I tell her to say "Lay" she'll say "Nuh" – at least she knows what comes next!

Elena got her first "real" haircut at a salon for kids called Cookie Cutters a few weeks ago (it was actually the same day that we got Bella). I had cut her bangs myself a couple times (and butchered them, I might add), but she'd never had her hair cut by a professional. I was concerned she might throw a fit, but she sat still and was perfectly happy to have her hair cut. We got a picture from the salon of her sitting in the chair – I'll have to scan it and get it online soon.

I signed Elena up to be in a gymnastics class for toddlers called "Tumble Bears" (her age group is actually called "Bears-To-Be"). Her first class was on September 5, and she has a 40-minute class every Saturday morning until the end of October. She's having so much fun. She gets to do somersaults and jump on the trampoline and hang from a bar. Andrew and Beth took gymnastics classes when they were little, and I thought it would be a good foundation for Elena if she decides to play a sport (or sports) someday.

Leon and I are now "official" members of our church. We completed our Bible study classes and on September 20 during the church service, we had to stand up front with the pastor and confess our faith (we basically had to answer "I do" and "I will" to a series of questions). I'm so happy to finally be members because now we can take communion when it's offered. I think it's important for Elena to have a foundation in faith too. When she's 3, she'll be able to go to Sunday School.

I did some major cleaning in the house over the weekend. Leon bought a steam cleaner for the carpet years ago when Goldie was a puppy. I used it to clean all the carpet upstairs and downstairs. It really needed a good cleaning since Bella has had so many accidents in the house. The carpet looks really nice – for now.

I took a short video clip of Elena while I was cleaning on Sunday. She was in Beth's room and had turned on her stereo (one of my old Bjork tapes was in there!). I caught her dancing. It was so cute!

Meet Bella!

We have a new addition to the family – a 3-month-old golden retriever named Bella! We got her on Saturday. She was born on June 8, just a few days after Goldie passed away. We felt this was a sign – that Goldie sent us another puppy to take care of our family!

Bella is very adorable. Elena seems to be enjoying her. She has gotten knocked down a few times though since Bella likes to jump. It definitely feels like we now have two babies in the house! Bella needs constant supervision or else she'll get into trouble.

I hope we're able to housebreak her easily. She had quite a few accidents over the weekend. We're keeping her in a crate during the day while we're at work until she's housebroken.

We let Beth name her. She had been asking for a golden puppy for quite a while now, so she was very excited!

Here are a couple pictures of Baby Bella.





And here is a picture of Elena playing in the new dog crate – which is apparently the best toy ever!

My first update in a month!

I have been a terrible blogger lately, averaging about one post a month! Life is always so busy, it's hard to find time to do much blogging anymore.

Elena is 18 months now, and she keeps me busier than ever. I think she's entering her Terrible Two's early. She is so ornery at times! It's not a good idea to take her anywhere in public where she would be expected to behave – whether it's church, a restaurant, a store, etc.

Elena and I went to Coshocton this past weekend to visit my family. My parents took us out to dinner at an Amish restaurant on Saturday night. Elena refused to sit in her high chair, but she didn't want to be held either. She wanted to be down, running around, which is obviously not an option in a restaurant! She spent most of the time crying because I wouldn't let her down. At one point, I tried to put her back in her high chair. She stood up before I had the chance to strap her in, picked up her hamburger and threw it, knocked over a glass of water and dumped my dad's bowl of stuffing – all in a matter of about 30 seconds!

I spent most of the time at my parents' house tackling Elena because she kept going for their knick knacks, which are all breakable. She also enjoyed climbing up on their glass-top coffee table. But Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Julie and Uncle Jamie all enjoyed seeing Elena. She gets so spoiled by everyone!

Leon didn't go with us because he returned Bailey to Becky over the weekend. Bailey is such a nice dog, but he seemed very sad. We thought about keeping him indefinitely, but it was obvious he missed his mommy. I'm sure he's glad to be back at home with Becky. It seems very strange not having a dog in the house at all now.

We have decided to get another golden retriever sometime in the next few months. We miss Goldie very much, so we would like to get another female golden. We thought about getting an older golden, but Leon wants to get a puppy so she can grow up with Elena. I know the puppy stage can be challenging though. Goldie was very destructive as a puppy. It will be like having another baby in the house!

Elena had her 18-month check-up last week on Monday. She weighs almost 23 pounds and is 31.5 inches tall. She had to get a shot (I think it was one for hepatitis), but now she's done with her immunizations until kindergarten.

She has had such a language boom in the past month or so! She basically repeats any word I ask her to say. She says everyone's name – she calls Andrew "Adrew" and she can say "Beth." It makes it easier on me because she is able to communicate what she wants now. She'll ask for "milk" when she's thirsty or say "eat" when she's hungry (she also signs "eat" and "more" as she says them!).

Elena hates baths! She used to like them – she would play with her bath toys and splash around in the tub. I'm not sure what happened to change her attitude toward baths, but she screams the whole time she's in the tub now. She refuses to sit down – she stands there holding onto the side of the tub crying the entire time. It makes it difficult to wash her. If I ask her if she wants a bath, she says "No. No bath."

She loves to say "no" to just about everything! If I ask her if she wants to go to bed, she says "No." I'm not sure if she's capable of saying "yes" to anything that I ask!

She's doing really well in school. She has so much fun playing with the kids in her class, and she gets to participate in a lot of activities. We're really pleased with her daycare. It's helped her socially so much, which I'm very thankful for. I was always shy as a child (and still am to some extent), so I'm glad to see that Elena is not afraid of people.

Elena was supposed to move to the Toddler Room at daycare when she turned 18 months, but they don't have enough room for her in that class yet. She's scheduled to go to the Toddler Room in October.

She is non-stop at home. She loves to climb and jump. She gets up on the coffee table and leaps from there onto the couch. She climbs on me too! I have bruises on my arms and legs from her jumping on me.

Speaking of bruises, when Elena throws tantrums she hits and kicks. I'm not sure how to get her to stop doing this. I usually just say "No" and grab her hands or feet to stop the hitting/kicking. It seems easiest to just put her down on the floor and let her have her melt-down and get it out of her system.

I took her to Wal-mart with me last night after I picked her up from school. I knew she was tired since she only took a one-hour nap yesterday. As soon as we got in the store, she started crying because she didn't want to sit in the cart. I let her sit in the main part of the cart, but she kept standing up – which, of course, is dangerous since she would fall over every time I moved the cart. She kept throwing items out of my cart and was crying non-stop by the time I checked out. She was a hysterical mess by the time we got home, and she wouldn't even eat dinner since she was in such an awful state. I put her to bed around 7:30.

Leon and I try to go to church every Sunday, but one of us usually spends the majority of the service in the narthex with Elena. We're still taking classes on Thursday evenings in order to become members of the church. They're supposed to be finished within the next month, and then we can officially join this church.

Sometimes I can't believe that Elena is a toddler! Where have these past 18 months gone?! It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant with her. The time goes by so fast, which makes me sad. I don't want my baby to grow up!

Speaking of time flying, where has this summer gone? Andrew and Beth start back to school next week – this is their last week with us full-time and then they go back to their mom's. They have a busy fall schedule with football and soccer.

Leon got free tickets through work to see a Cirque du Soleil show called Saltimbanco last Wednesday. My friend Ruthie watched Elena for us. It was the first time Leon and I had been on a date (meaning just the two of us) in a year! The show was really good.

I also wanted to give you an update about earning money online. Since July, I have earned $44.15 from Fusion Cash, $18.47 from Inbox Dollars and $8.27 from Send Earnings – so a total of $70.89! Which I don't think is too shabby, considering I've only been doing this for a month. Click on the ads for these sites in the sidebar if you're interested in making some extra money! You obviously won't get rich doing this, but it will give you some extra spending money which is always nice.

Well, this blog entry is long enough. Until next time (which will probably be next month!)... ;)

My Total Money Makeover

My friend Stephanie recently introduced me to Dave Ramsey and gave me a copy of his book "The Total Money Makeover." I would highly recommend this book! Dave's concept of getting out of debt is so simple – although that doesn't mean it's easy. Anyone who has debt knows that getting out of it is often very difficult. But I am determined to get out of debt!

These are Dave's 7 Baby Steps to becoming debt-free and building your personal wealth:

1. $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3. 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5. College funding for children
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth and give

Leon and I are currently working on Baby Step 1, saving up money for our $1,000 emergency fund. The point of having this fund is so that we'll have money when an emergency occurs – something like car trouble or unexpected medical expenses – and we won't have to rely on a credit card. My personal belief is that credit cards are evil, and Leon and I have already gotten rid of all of ours.

I'm also excited to start Baby Step 2 and get our Debt Snowball rolling! Last Saturday, we met with a Dave Ramsey certified financial counselor, Bryan Cooper. He gave us great input on how to set up a budget and get our finances in order.

So long story short, I'm looking for ways to make some extra money. I plan to have a garage sale before the end of the summer. I also plan to sell some things that we have but never use – like collectibles, extra TV's, etc.

I also came across a website today called FusionCash. If you take the time to complete surveys, they will deposit money in your account. You won't get rich doing this – most surveys pay in the $0.50 - $1.00 range. When your account reaches $25 (and at least $15 of your balance must come from completed offers), you can "cash out" and FusionCash will mail you a check (or you can do PayPal or direct deposit). You can read more about all of this HERE.

If you decide to try this, I would suggest you create another e-mail account or use a secondary e-mail address when you sign up for the offers. You will receive a lot of spam as a result. I'm anxious to see if it works! I made $15 so far today. I'll let you know if I earn enough money to be able to receive a check from FusionCash.

They have a referral system in place. So if you decide to give this a try, click on the banner below. I get bonus money for people who sign up under me! :)

Some new pictures and videos

It's been a couple weeks since I last blogged. I can't believe it's mid-July and the summer is already half over. Where does the time go?

Things have been stressful lately. The usual financial woes. But I don't really want to get into all of that, so I won't.

Andrew and Beth are with us for the second half of the summer. They are very busy with extracurricular activities though. Beth has been at Adventure Camp all week, and she'll be back home tomorrow. Andrew leaves for New Orleans next week with his church youth group. In August, both kids have sports training. Before you know it, it will be back to school time!

I was playing with my camera earlier in the week and I got some new pictures and videos of Elena. Enjoy!





Here's a clip of Elena playing with her stuffed puppy and being silly!


Leon bought Elena a whistle. Here is a short clip of her blowing the whistle, marching and trying to get Daddy to watch her (he was in the bathroom of course!).


Elena loves her Dora the Explorer!


Here's a goofy clip of me asking Elena and Leon if Rosie Perez is the voice of the Camera on the Diego cartoon (neither of them knew the answer to my question).


By the way, disregard our messy bedroom in these clips (it's hard to keep a clean house with a 17-month-old who's into everything). And pay no attention to my shrill voice and my less-than-desirable singing voice. Needless to say, American Idol is not beating down my door to have me audition for the show.

The Latest in Lively-Land

I haven't really posted an update since June 18 – so here's the latest.

Today is my grandma's birthday. She would have been 88. Happy Birthday Grandma! I love you and I miss you.

Speaking of missing loved ones, our family is doing pretty well dealing with Goldie's death. It's almost been a month already. Those first few days were so heart-wrenching, but it's helped tremendously having Bailey around. I know you can't replace a lost pet, but I do believe it's helpful to have a distraction.

Since Bailey knew Goldie, we like to say that he is carrying on her ways! He has been acting very Goldie-like lately – shredding papers, pulling the stuffing out of Elena's animals, begging for food, etc. If Becky doesn't mind, we would love for Bailey to live with us. I have determined that we are just a dog family! We feel much happier if we have a dog in the house.

Elena and I went to see the Dora the Explorer Live show at the Palace Theatre on Father's Day. It was so much fun! The show lasted about an hour and a half, but there was a 10-15 minute intermission. We were in the 5th row on the far right hand side of the stage, so we had a really good view. Elena was intrigued by the show – she sat on my lap and watched the whole thing! I figured she'd get antsy and want to get down and run around, but she proved me wrong. I think she really enjoyed herself. I would highly recommend this show if your kids like Dora!

Elena loves Dora. She has Dora's Backpack and when you press its mouth, it sings the "Backpack! Backpack!" song. Elena bobs her head from side to side and sings "Ba-pa! Ba-pa!" It's so cute.

She has been doing so well saying new words lately. If we ask her to say something, she will do her best to repeat it. She loves to say "hi" to everyone – she'll say "Hi Daddy" - "Hi Mommy" - "Hi Doggie" - "Hi Baby." She also loves to whisper the word "hi." This started a while back when we were at the doctor's office for her 15-month check-up. She was being loud, and I told her she had to be quiet. She started whispering "hi" in the exam room.

I've been trying to get her to say "Mamaw" and "Papaw" too, although they sound more like "Mama" and "Papa" when she says them. Last week at dinnertime, I told Elena that her food was hot and I blew on it for her. Now every time I feed her, she says "hot" (with emphasis on the "T" - like "haw-TUH"). It's so funny. I have to tell her that her food is not hot so she will eat it.

Meal time is usually an adventure. Elena has become very picky. She didn't start out that way, but she won't eat certain things now. Last week, I mixed some broccoli and carrots in with her macaroni and cheese. She ate the mac and cheese, but spit out the vegetables! She also tends to become very fussy at dinner time since she usually only gets a one-hour nap at daycare now. When she's grumpy at dinner, she prefers to throw her food instead of eat it.

She'll be in the toddler room at school in another month when she's 18 months. I truly can't believe how fast she's growing up! It's unbelievable how the time flies.

I only have to work three days this week. I'm taking Thursday off, and we have Friday off for the Fourth. My parents are planning on coming over on Thursday and spending the day. John and Karen plan to come over on Friday and spend the weekend with us. So it will be a nice long weekend visiting family.

Happy Fourth of July if I don't write before then!