Jury Duty

Yep, that's right, jury duty. In case you've been wondering why this poor blog hasn't been updated in a week it's because I've been couped up in a room with 30 other people for four days. We have all been waiting to be questioned to be a possible juror in a very high profile case here in Charlotte and it's been AWFUL! First of all, let's just say that the case involved 8 different charges including first degree murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, and robbery all x2 for each of the teenage girls that were killed. I could go on and on about how miserable the entire experience was and how much the entire jury system needs redoing, but instead I'll just share some things that I've learned this week.

• The legal system is very complex and full of loop holes. Apparently you can commit murder and get a lesser charge because you decided to use drugs or alcohol before hand.
• When thrown together under such circumstances, 30 very diverse people can quickly become friends.
• "Jury duty is just that, a DUTY as a citizen" I can't count how many times I heard this.
• There is no limit to the amount of time for attorneys to select 12 jurors and 2 alternates. I sat for 4 days and was finally released without being asked one question. The process of selecting 14 people for this case took a total of about 8 days.
• When it comes to confidentiality, there really is none in the courtroom. Everyone who was questioned had their dirty laundry aired in front of the entire court. In addition, the man charged with these 8 awful crimes was able to thumb through 11 pages of my personal information at his own convenience during the jury selection.
• I have the best friends in the world! Kristin, Elaine, and Donna pitched in and took care of Savannah the entire time I was in court. They went out of their way by coming to my house to babysit, changing their play dates, watching her several times, and even making a meal for us to have for dinner last night! I love you girls!
• Being a stay at home mom is my calling and is the best job ever. It took me less than 2 days to figure out that I could NEVER be a working mom. Getting up before 6 to run, coming home after an entire day in court, fighting traffic at 5:00, trying to catch up on chores, cleaning, and then trying to find time to spend with Savannah?? No sir. Not for me.

This was an awful experience, but God really revealed to me how special my job is and how much I take it for granted. If you ever get tired of being a stay at home mom, just sign yourself up for some jury duty and I promise it'll change your mind and heart!

The Numbers are in on TRIPLES

Now that our house is completely maxed out with cereal, frozen food, Windex, scrubbing bubbles, and shout spray I have finished my triples for today. Here are the numbers:

5 ~ Trips to Harris Teeter (only 3 different stores)
126 ~ Items purchased (including produce and other regular items)
$46.52 ~ Amount spent
$10.58 ~ Rebates to mail in for cash back

and are you ready . . . .

$329.44 in SAVINGS!!!

And just because I love to crunch numbers, including rebates I saved

90%!!

Let the Savings Begin!

I was so excited about triples at Harris Teeter starting tomorrow that I woke up bright and early at 5:30 this morning ready to grab the sale paper and start adding to my list. Boy was I disappointed to find that our paper came with every sale ad EXCEPT Harris Teeter. Maybe it's a sign to back off as I also didn't get the usual eVic e-mail . . . Oh well, maybe my regular store just requested that I not receive one, but they forgot that the sales are easily accessible online!!! YIPPEE! Anyway, I added a few more items to my ever growing list at HT and made two quick trips to Bi-Lo and Lowe's Foods as they too had some super deals this week.

Including coupons and store sales I've already saved $102.24 with spending only $55.06 today at Lowe's Foods and Bi-Lo, but keep in mind that triples don't start until tomorrow! Watch out HT!

A huge THANK YOU goes out to my grandmaw who mailed me several months of coupons that arrived today just in time for the sale rush tomorrow! Also, a huge THANK YOU to my neighbor Marlene who gave me her 3 gas tokens from Bi-Lo to combine with my 5 for a FREE $25 gas card! I plan to split the gas freebie with her! :)

"Yucky Floor" . . . Among Other Things

I debated for awhile about how much of my morning I wanted to share on this blog, but then I thought it was too funny (and crazy) not to share. So, as long as you promise to come to my house again, read on. Otherwise, just ignore this post!!

Well the morning started off a little rocky with Savannah waking up shortly after I returned from my run, an hour before normal. This means that my Internet time wasn't going to happen before getting the little one out of bed. Trying not to get all uptight, I focused on the fact that we had two exciting events planned for the morning (library story time and a pool play date) and that she would probably be so tired that she'd take a long nap and I could get caught up then. When I got her up and started trying to dress her, which she wanted no part of, I noticed that she had yet another mystery bump on her tummy. After talking to the nurse yesterday and Deborah last night I was a little alarmed that it just might be a mild case of chicken pox, which would totally destroy our pool plans for the morning. However, my friend Chelle didn't think what I was describing sounded like chicken pox but said that if it continued to spread I definitely needed to take her in. I decided to get one final opinion before dragging Savannah to the doctor's office. Just as I was going to change her dirty diaper my neighbor called and wanted to bring over some fresh peaches. I went to meet her and asked for her opinion on the rash. She too thought it might be chicken pox. Great. I came back in and got on the Internet to try to see if I could find some pictures to compare . . . all the while forgetting that there was a dirty diaper to be changed.

"Yucky floor" was the next thing I heard. Trying to do some quick research I ignored the little voice. "Mom, YUCKY FLOOR!!" I heard again. Finally I turned around to find poop spread all over the office rug, all over Savannah's feet, hands, dress, etc. AAHHH!! What was I thinking?! The diaper! After dragging her upstairs and cleaning everything up I decided she was going to the doctor. I made a quick call and they could see her right away. We went in and thankfully it wasn't chicken pox, but some other hair follicle disease (according to the diagnosis code). Apparently there a virus was on her skin and there must have been a way that it got in and infected her hair follicles. The doctor said she wasn't contagious and we could still make the pool play date!

We've had a super fun morning even with all of the excitement and are hoping for a slightly less eventful afternoon!

The Dreaded DMV

I bit the dust today and decided to go and get my license renewed. I still have three weeks before they expire (before I turn the big 3-0), but since my sweet friend Elizabeth volunteered to watch Savannah I took advantage of the free time and headed to the DMV early this morning.

When I got there I couldn't believe that the line was so long. I've always heard horror stories, but before today I had never had to wait over 30 minutes. The room was jammed packed with people sitting in chairs, but I figured they were all waiting to take the road or written test. Anyway, I used the time in line to make a few calls all the while thinking that when I got to the counter they would take me right back for the renewal test . . . WRONG!! Boy was I shocked to have to wait in line 50 minutes just to get a ticket to hold, and then to find out that I had to wait for the number to be called. I have never seen such chaos, other than at the Matthews consignment sale, and it completely stressed me out. To add to the stress, I knew that I had to complete 4 mystery shops between 1 and 3:30 today. AAHH!!

Long story short, there were 4 people running the entire operation today, including the employees out doing road tests. So, between lunch breaks and road tests they called about 1 person every 12 minutes. I waited 2 hours and 40 minutes and left with a picture that looks like a baboon. The funny thing is that by the time I was finally called I didn't care what it cost or what my picture looked like, I just wanted the stupid license! Maybe that's secretly their plan, then again maybe not.

A HUGE thank you to Elizabeth for being willing to watch Savannah for such a long time this morning!! I owe you big time!

Big Girl Bed!!

One last jump in the baby crib!

Crawling right into her new "big girl" bed

I love my new bed!!

After waiting a week for the guard rail to come in Dave and I finally took the plunge and assembled Savannah's toddler bed last night before bedtime. I thought it was a great idea until I saw my little girl all nestled in her big girl bed . . . it really made me want to cry! Anyway, we were prepared for anything and have been pleasantly surprised at how Savannah has handled the transition. I'm sure this is mostly because it's still the same bed, just with a different front.

When we first put her in, or should I say when she first crawled in and we left her, last night she cried for about 10 seconds and then went right to sleep. She stayed in all night and even after she woke up this morning. It's funny to see her awake in there as I can almost see her little mind turning trying to figure out if she should get out or not. This morning I gave her ample time after awaking to see what she would do and she never even tried to escape. Wonder how long that will last.

Nap time today was another interesting experience. She didn't even want me to read her normal 3 books, but was chanting "big girl bed, big girl bed" and climbed right in. She played and talked to her friendly stuffed animals for at least 20 minutes before finally falling asleep. However, at one point I heard her crying and turned on the monitor to find that she had dropped B out of the crib. She was leaning over the side rail crying for B . . . until she figured out that she could now get it herself. So, there she sat at the opening. "Mom" she called out a few times. I didn't want to go in so I just waited to see what she would do. After realizing that I wasn't coming she slowly climbed out and again called for me. This made me a little nervous wondering if she would get back in, but she did!!! She scurried around to the end of the crib, grabbed B, and climbed right back in! If only potty training were this easy! :)

"Mom Swim?"

This is the phrase that Savannah used last night as I entered the house from my fourth week of swimming lessons. Let me explain . . .

First of all, yesterday she decided that my new name was "mom"! Not mommy or mama, but just mom. Ouch. For some reason it not only made me feel instantly older (maybe it's God's way of speeding up baby #2), but also really sad. Where in the world did she hear that? It was wild how suddenly it happened too. When I went in to get her from her afternoon nap she said "Hey Mom" and that was the beginning.

Then there's the swimming lessons. Now believe me when I say that if thrown into 10 ft of water I would not drown. I have always known how to doggy paddle and float on my back as well, but I've always just had (have) this horrible fear of putting my head underwater. So, after seeing how much fun Savannah had with her lessons I asked for my own lessons for mother's day. I've struggled for a month with learning how to coordinate the breathing part of swimming with the strokes and underwater part. Well, for the first time ever last night I did a complete lap of the front crawl without stopping!!! Go MOM!! I had already "mastered" the back crawl and elementary back stroke as they don't require your head to be underwater, but last night was the first time I actually got the breathing part of the front crawl!! I'm so excited and can't wait to go back next week to practice so it becomes easier.

Other than that, things are pretty normal around here. Savannah is still working on counting and can finally count up to fourteen. We've been to Charlotte at Play a lot with the hot weather and have several playdates upcoming to keep us busy.

Cow Appreciation Day

Here is a partial group shot with the cows

Here we all are! 16 of us eating FREE chicken!

Today was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick fil A so being the bargain hunter that I am, Savannah and I, along with 7 of my friends and all 8 of our children, dressed for the occasion. We received an e-mail quite some time ago stating that if you dressed like a cow you would get a free entree! It was quite comical seeing us all in our ears and with our spots, but well worth it for a FREE Chick fil A lunch. The big cows did scare poor Savannah and Jack, but after a quick photo with them they made it through lunch okay. We all had to sign release forms for Chick fil A to use our picture, so be on the lookout. HA!

Just a Quick Shower

Yesterday morning Savannah woke up a little earlier than normal. This threw my "schedule" off for the entire morning. I decided to go ahead with the shower and to just lock her in my bedroom with me so I could take a quick one (and I mean quick because who can trust a toddler alone long enough to bathe and wash their hair??). As I was rapidly trying to get clean from my 6am aerobics class, I noticed that I didn't' hear the normal sounds from her . . . no crying, no "mama done", no trying to open the shower door, etc. Very interesting. I knew she was okay because I could hear her trying to sing along to the songs I was belting out from the shower. So after finishing my shower, I got dressed and gave her lots of praise for being a good girl while mommy was taking a bath. Only then did I step into the bedroom and notice that she managed to get the door unlocked. I guess that trick is long gone.

However, it wasn't until late last night as we're getting ready to go to bed that Dave noticed the activity that kept her occupied while I was in the shower . . . wipe unloading! AAAHH!!!! She drives me crazy sometimes! I wanted to go in and tell her how bad that was, but Dave reminded me that we never wake a sleeping baby. I guess she'll hear from me this morning and then wonder what in the world I'm talking about.

A Visit From Granny

This weekend my mom, or Granny to Savannah, came for a visit. She and Savannah had tons of fun and spent lots of time playing outside on Saturday. They "planted" some new purple flowers around Savannah's house, did lots of sweeping, watched TV together, and read tons of books.

Mom was craving ice cream on Saturday afternoon so when Savannah woke up from her nap we headed out to our favorite Coldstone Creamery for a yummy treat. (Sorry diet!) Savannah loves going there because she enjoys watching the water in the fountain. We finally gave in and let her put her feet in too. Even though it's not very clear, can you see the excitement on our little girl's face?!

A Happy 4th For All!

What a great day yesterday turned out to be! It was so wonderful having Dave home the entire day and not having to rush around running a million errands. I kept thinking it was Saturday and Dave would remind me that it was Friday. SUPER. Now we have another two whole days with daddy home! :) Anyway, being that he had worked so hard this week, Dave hadn't had any time to work on our stupid computer. Well, after calling the Geek Squad and making an appointment for Sunday afternoon, my super duper husband managed to find just the right button to click and now our e-mail is working!!! Happy day for me! As a side note, the Geek Squad was only going to charge $120 for driving to our house and fixing this computer monster . . . it would have been well worth that money.

It was also a happy day for Dave as he finally got to catch up on some much needed sleep. Savannah had a great day because she had her friend Jack over to play for a few hours and because I managed to find the last of the strawberries for the season at the local produce stand. After searching two different grocery stores for some decent berries, I had given up finding any more. However, yesterday afternoon on my run I noticed that the Providence Produce stand had a few cartons left so we stopped by later to buy some nice juicy berries.

We had planned to eat at Chick fil A for dinner, but when we arrived at 6:06 pm we found a sign saying that they closed at 6 pm for the holiday. This wasn't going to ruin our happy day so we headed straight over to Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream sundaes for dinner! YUM-O. The Weight Watchers diet will have to wait.

Now that sounds like a great day, right?! Well, here's possibly the best part ~ we got Savannah to eat some CORN!!!!!! I about fell out in the floor, but she kept requesting corn and so we heated up a small ear of corn and she ate it! She wanted to take a "big bite" so I would cut it off the cob and gently place it back on top so she could "bite" it off! Oh, happy day!

HELP!!!!

Right now NOTHING seems to be going my way . . . I have so many unresolved issues that it is making me insane! The biggest problem is this stupid, and I mean stupid, computer. After another 4.5 hours on the phone with HP yesterday, our computer still doesn't work and worse than that is the fact that our Internet keeps jamming up so we have to restart it again and again. In addition the "expert" technician managed to erase ALL of my e-mails, inbox and important ones. So, if I haven't responded to your message it's because it was deleted by these HP morons. Our computer is under warranty for only about 15 more days and this is what we have to deal with ~ people who keep pushing the blame from one person to another and no one who wants to actually fix this machine. AAHH!!! They all say it's a conflict of software that suddenly happened after 11 months due to daily automatic updates. What?? Anyway, anyone who has any suggestions is welcome to comment.

Visit with Weningers

The two cute girls!

On Saturday Dave's sister, Susan, and her family came up to visit us. They weren't able to come to Savannah's party so decided to pick another weekend to come say Happy Birthday to Savannah. We had told Savannah that Alyssa was coming and she was SO excited when they arrived. We had lunch, Savannah napped while we played some games, then we all headed to Sports Connection for some bouncing and arcade games. Savannah was too scared to do the bouncing, but definitely enjoyed her first mini carousel ride! After the fun and games we headed to dinner. We were sad to see Brian, Susan, and Alyssa leave, but are excited that we'll see them again soon in Atlanta for a Clemson football game.

First carousel ride!