Featured Post
Posted by Lizzie on May-28-2008
I have issues with budgeting and planning. I don’t like to do either. However, with the way gas prices are today, I think it’s a good time to start. My husband and I aren’t going to retire any day soon and we’d like to keep our home, so this is something I really need to get a grip on. Right?
Lately I’ve seen a lot of people asking “What are you doing to cope?” That’s a good question. The economy is tanking and people are feeling the pinch. It’s come down to “Do I keep all 5 cell phones? Cut down to basic cable? Eat day old bread?” While I’ve been trying to learn to cut down on our expenses and find extra dollars here and there, I’ve been thinking of what my grandparents had to endure. And somehow managed to survive.
My great-grandmother was born before the Great Depression. They managed to live on $2-5 a week- if that. They didn’t have a car (much less two) and couldn’t afford to buy their children a different pair of shoes for each different outfit. As a matter of fact, my grandmother once told me that they had their “Sunday best”- which was only worn on Sunday - and their everyday clothes. Two outfits. That’s it. How did they do it? And meat was only eaten once a week- or twice if there was a holiday. They convened at the neighbor’s house when there was an interesting radio program playing, otherwise they did without (no TV mind you).
I look around my house and realize that we’ve got it good. I’m typing this on a PC and posting it via the Internet and if we were really that bad off, I would have neither of these luxuries. I wouldn’t have a special shampoo or be able to choose whole grain bread over white bread. I wouldn’t be able to say “Hey! I need new sandals because these are just ugly!” Nope. I would be canning and hoarding and scraping to make sure my kids had a roof over their heads, not worrying about going to basic cable instead of America’s Top 150 on Dish. My children have closets full of clothes and have milk and meat everyday. I’m scrimping and saving to keep these things. So they don’t go without them. Not so they’ll survive. Because I have no worries that our money woes are going to cause our kids to get sick, go homeless or die. We are LUCKY. I don’t think enough people realize just how lucky they are.
I’m still coming up with a budget, though. I like our little luxuries and don’t want to have to give them up. I like having cable and the internet and being able to buy my kids little cheap toys every so often. I like being able to choose between good food and processed. I like that I can take my girls to a decent doctor and not have to worry about them dying from an ear infection (my great-uncle died from an ear infection when he was 1 year old). We have one car (and it runs!), two tvs (we married our households so one of them is 15 years old), and one PC. Our bills are paid on time every month and our refrigerator is always stocked. We’ve got it good. I’m not complaining. I’m counting my blessings.
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Archive for the ‘Parenting a teen parent’ Category
Jul
11
Posted by Lizzie
I’m babysitting again. Pee Wee is off to work (her infection taken care of) and she’s left me with KJ. Normally this would be ok (actually, for work it is ok) but yesterday she almost drove me over the edge. I took KJ with me in the morning for Mags’ dentist appointment. I knew that I wouldn’t be back in time for Pee Wee to go to work and thought that best. Then when she got home from work (around 5 pm) she pronounced herself ill and went to lie down. That’s fine. But then she asked me if I would watch KJ while she went to a friend’s birthday party. Honestly, I was seeing flames.
Um. No. I won’t do that. You’re sick remember? Yes, she did, so she went to lie down again. That was fine. So, I kept him with me all day yesterday. Today she wanted me to keep him in the morning after she got her medication. I explained to her that I had to work before she went to work, but apparently that didn’t register with her. She laid him in his bassinet beside me and went upstairs to do her hair. Lovely, huh? I would so love to walk away and teach her a very strong lesson, but then the only person who suffers there is KJ. Not fair to him. Now I’ve got to spend some time brainstorming and researching ways to make my darling daughter see the light. All the while fighting with Grump and giving Mags the attention she needs. Some days motherhood really sucks.
I’ve been considering trading my coffee fix for diet pills, because they apparently give you the energy boost that you may need and help you lose weight. I’ve gone back and forth about this for a while now, but now I’m thinking about it again. It looks like I’ll be getting up bright and early every morning at 6 am (I hate, hate, HATE getting up that early) to get my stuff done. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to accept the Honors College scholarship, because I’ll have to go to school full time to get it. It really doesn’t look like I’ll get much support in that area either. LOVELY! Makes my heart sing with joy.
It’ll be a good day when I lay down the law and two people in this house stop acting like I owe them something. Ya know?
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Jul
10
Posted by Lizzie
Once again our house is full of teenagers. I feel like packing up some Rimowa luggage and getting out of dodge. Right now one of them is begging me to cook, and amazingly the livingroom looks like someone picked up a box of junk and flung it willy-nilly all over the place. Hi, kids? Yeah, can someone PLEASE pick up in there? Thanks.
Since Grump has gone to afternoons it seems like the house always has some kids in it. Usually I don’t mind them, but then they start wanting to get on the computer, playing rough house with Mags and/or commandeering my television. I’d really like it if they found something in the back yard to do. Of course, that would take them away from technology and we can’t have that can we?
Pee Wee is having more problems with her breasts. She’s got another infection and, honestly, I’m a little worried. Her doctor is too because she won’t call in the antibiotics. The doctor said that Pee Wee shouldn’t be getting these repeat infections. Hopefully we can get her into the office tomorrow. If we can’t then we’ll be going to the emergency room for sure. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s nothing more than an infection.
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Jun
27
Posted by Lizzie
I’m back. I’ve decided that limited Internet activity is probably the best medicine for me right now. I was completely surprised that my 5 days without Internet went by so well. I actually had a really nice time away. And the weather held up- mostly. That was a plus. Nice weather, happy kids, and lack of online interaction was amazing. I’m completely up for re-prioritizing right now. It feels good.
I have, unfortunately, gained some weight in the last week. I think it’s because of my medication, because I wasn’t eating more and swimming is supposed to be really good exercise. So I’m going to look at some diet pill reviews to see if I can find anything that won’t cause heart failure or something similar. I realized something was up when I could fit my swimsuit on Sunday, but on Wednesday the damned thing was almost too tight to put on. That alarmed me in a lot of ways. I don’t know what’s going on with that.
As I sit here writing this, my daughter- Pee Wee- is doing everything in her power to irritate me to the point of murder. She really, really wants to check her myspace. I told her “when I’m done!”, but that just makes her more determined to irritate me away from the PC. It might work to the point where I shut down the computer and refuse to let her on.
On a lighter note, I’m off to get myself a replacement cell-phone. For some reason the keypad on mine refuses to work and I’m eligible to have it replaced for free. I love it! I hate this phone with a passion and secretly wished to smash it with a hammer. No, I didn’t smash it. I think it knew it was hated and committed cellphone suicide. Hopefully, they’ll fix the ugly thing and find it a home with someone who loves a phone that turns itself off at the most inopportune times.
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Jun
20
Posted by Lizzie
As you’ve noticed, I haven’t switched blog platforms yet. I plan on it eventually. I’ve just been too busy.
I went to the doctor and they found a 3.3 sonometer multicystic mass on my ovary. What is that, you ask? Well, I don’t know exactly. I don’t even think I care at this point. I’ve got medicine and maybe some treatments of some sort (the ultra-private, feminine sort) and then “we’ll see”. Yay. I’m so confident in my doctors. Bleh.
KJ is doing well, though Pee Wee is having some issues. I want to spill my guts about it, but I know I shouldn’t. She’s having issues and it’s no one’s business really. It’s just that it’s effecting me and my health and I feel like ripping my hair out by the roots. I want to make sure the my teenage daughter is a good mom, but she makes it so difficult. I have never met someone so stubborn in my entire life. And, no, I’m not nearly as difficult as she is. My mother, who has known me since birth, even said that I’ve got nothing on her. Like I said, I’d love to go into specifics, but…
I want to buy a new swimsuit and go away on a long vacation. Just Mags, me and Grump. No one else. I want to leave the world behind and just get away. As it is right now I don’t even have enough time to post once a day for a job and (because of my health) had to resign. That just really, really sucks on so many levels. I still have a couple of gigs where I don’t have to post daily, so I’m not completely unemployed (THANKFULLY), but this one was so me. I liked it. It was just a daily gig and I can’t do daily. Not right now. Isn’t that wonderful?
Yes, I could be more dedicated and stronger and work harder. Except that I can’t right now. I really have to focus on getting well and then I can be strong and dedicated and whatever else I’m expected to do as superwoman. Yes, I have goals and dreams and know that it’s important for me to work hard to realize them. I’m just really frustrated right now. Overly frustrated. On the brink of out-of-my-mind insane, really.
So, I wasn’t really going to whine. I was going to focus on something positive. There’s a silver lining in every situation and my full intent was to find it. That didn’t work so well, did it? Well, maybe next time.
P.S.
I just noticed that some of my categories have doubled themselves since I moved hosts. How funny is that?
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May
29
Posted by Lizzie
We’ve been getting a lot of baby gifts lately: via mail, walk-in, etc. The main theme of these gifts, though, is clothing. And all the same size. Pee Wee’s friends are getting KJ all kinds of cute little outfits and so are our relatives. The problem is that we’re running out of diapers.
I breastfed Mags exclusively so I knew that breastfed kids go through a little bit more diapers than bottle fed (Pee Wee was bottle fed). I forgot that part though. Every time KJ has a meal, he fills up his pants. We’ve already gone through the two mega packs we bought before he was born as well as the ones the hospital had in his isolette. Pee Wee, unfortunately, has since run out of funds and isn’t going back to work until the second week of June. Uh-oh. Now I wish I would have told everyone to just buy diapers.
Steve’s a little irritated because of the diaper buying. Afterall, we just convinced Mags to use the potty for her BMs (last month). No more diapers! At least that’s what we were singing for a little while. We’re over that now. 
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May
22
Posted by Lizzie
I have been trying to lose some pounds for a while now. I’ve been doing yoga, dancercise and even considered top diet pills. All to no avail (of course, just considering the diet pills doesn’t help, buy you get my gist). I have been steadily gaining the pounds. I was having a difficult time understanding it, but then realized something.
My medication for the FM is probably making this happen.
One of the methods of treating Fibromyalgia is anti-depressants. I can’t take the usual kind- such as Lexapro - because I’m allergic to SSRIs. So I’m taking Elavil in small doses. Still, one of the side effects is, sadly, weight gain. And it’s working a little too well in that area, I think. Yikes!
Another thing that could be working against my efforts to slim down is my reproductive ills. I have a 3.3 cm (1.15… inch) cystic mass on my left ovary. My Gyn says that it’s nothing to be worried about, but that it could be messing with my hormones. That can cause a whole range of issues, most of which I’m certain affect me right now. The solution? Medication, of course. Birth control pills. I think we all know what one of the side effects of those is. That’s right, folks. Weight gain.
I should be thinking about my self in a more positive manner, but I am absolutely convinced that some of my medical issues are stemming from my weight. For instance, my lack of energy. Were I a few pounds lighter I would no doubt have more energy. Also, my hip and ankle issues. Hello? I’m 5 foot 1 inch tall and my poor ankles and hips aren’t designed to carry this much weight. I think if I dropped down to a more healthy weight these issues would resolve themselves. Ya know?
Of course, it doesn’t help that my beautiful daughter weighed in at 161 lbs when she gave birth and almost two weeks later is a svelt 120 lbs. She’s lost 40 pounds and that makes me green, green, GREEN with envy. Seriously, I want to do that. LOL! I would like to mention, though, that I’m happy for her because she’s gotten past the danger of the pre-eclampsia and my jealously is purely selfish wishing. She still looks much better than that cheeky friend of hers that I can’t stand.
Today we go for a long walk and HOPEFULLY I’ll be able to manage my pain afterward.
Keep your fingers crossed.
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