It's about that time...

So here I am, at the hotel getting ready for my trip. I am very excited and very nervous at the same time. I can't wait to be on the ship, seeing all the awesome stuff Alaska has to offer...which better include whales, LOL. But I am super nervous for the flight. Mady has never flown before, and this is going to be a super long flight. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

I will try my best to update you all every single day, maybe even a few times a day...which might be easier. I'm typing on my iPod touch, so it's a bit tough to peck the letters with one hand, LOL.

Time for all of us to shower and get some sleep...4am comes early.

One job ends, another begins...

So finally, i woke up and didn't have to go to work. The first time in 2 weeks that i didn't have to set my alarm, wake up way way way too early, fumble around in the dark trying to put together SOMETHING that resembles an outfit and at least get a ponytail into my hair, and then drive to the school and sit there all day long until it was no longer light enough to see a finger in front of my face, and then drive all the way home. Woo Hoo!!
But now that i'm home, i have to start packing for our cruise that we are going on this coming week. I know, i know...pick yourselves up off the floor. It really is true, I haven't packed anything! I'm usually packed the week before the trip, but not this time. I just didn't have the time to pack. And of course, you didn't expect Frank to help me, now did you?! That would be too much like helping, and that's just not him. I've become more like a mommy of 2...i have to pack for the baby AND my hubby. But i'm not bitter, lol.
So i am going to try my best to blog everyday from the ship (they SUPPOSEDLY have lots of WiFi, but i'll believe it when i see it). I won't be able to add pics until i get home, but that will keep you coming back for more.
See you in 10 days!

Last day of work...

Well, it's been an extremely long 2 weeks of camp, but today is finally the last day. I thought it would never get here, but here it is. All i have left is the football scrimmage, and then i am done work for over a week! Then i have to worry about packing for the cruise. Yes, you read that right...i don't have anything packed yet. I know, i was shocked too! I am usually packed the week before we are set to leave. Not this time. Here i sit, at work, typing a blog...and there are empty suitcases at home with my name on them. I pretty much have all the clothes laid out for the 3 of us though, so thats at least one step.

You might be a redneck if...

You might be a redneck if...you bench press telephone poles at football practice

You might be a redneck if...you have tire flipping contests at football practice (and i'm not talking little car tires, i'm talking giant tires)

You might be a redneck if...you lick ice blocks because you are too lazy to fill up your water bottle

You might be a redneck if...you don't want to spit out your chew to eat a granola bar, so you don't

You might be a redneck if...you wear the same sweaty shirt to 3 a days practices for a whole week...and nobody notices

No, this isn't part of a skit from Jeff Foxworthy's latest stand up routine. This is all in one day at Line Mountain. Crazy, i know, but sadly enough i love it. I never thought it would happen, but it has. Now i just have to make sure I don't become one of the rednecks.

I will NOT drive a John Deere tractor

I will NOT wear tan boots

I will NOT go hunting

I will NOT eat deer meat

I will NOT wear the same sweaty clothes over and over again

I will NOT wear camo everything and think it's a fashion statment

I will NOT enjoy the smell of cow poo

I will NOT drive a pick up truck and think i am cool for doing it

I will NOT bench press telephone poles or flip tires...i will use REAL weights

Harder than i thought...

So sunday was my only day off in the past week, so i thought i would use it to my advantage...i started packing for Alaska. I always like to pack exactly one week before we leave to go somewhere, right after i finish the laundry for that week. That way i have all of my clothes clean and ready to be picked through, and i don't have to say "crap, i wish such and such was clean", and then have to try to remember to pack it when i wash it. Doesn't work for me. My brain sometimes crashes hard, and i usually end up remembering when we are at the airport. And lots of good THAT does me, right?!

So i started with Mady's clothes, thinking that would be the easiest thing. Boy, was i wrong! It was very difficult trying to put together enough outfits without over-packing, trying to take as few things as possible. But i'm being smart about packing her clothes. I put each outfit into a gallon ziplock baggie and sucked the air out of it so it is as flat as possible and i can maximize my space in the bags. I also included in the bag, a sticky note list of what is IN the baggie, so i wouldn't have to wonder. At the bottom of each sticky note, i filled in what items that WEREN'T in the bag that would complete the outfit...in case Frank decides to dress her one day, this way he won't make her look like a lost little homeless boy that doesn't match, lol. After i got everything into baggies, it was a much smaller pile, so i was happier. But getting there was quite difficult.

I think the hardest part of packing for this trip is not completely knowing what to pack. I want to pack wintery things so we don't get cold...but how cold will it really be? And what will the wind be like...will it rain? It's so difficult not knowing what weather to expect. The weather channel tells me one thing and people tell me another. I am so confused. I think we'll just pack a few things and then hopefully buy some nice things there. We were going to buy things there anyway, at least this way we will have them and we can get a head start on wearing them, lol.

My newest creation...

Here is my latest creation...for Mady of course.

I decided i wanted her to have a tutu for her first birthday. Why, because she is a princess of course! So i started browsing online stores and regular stores. To my dismay, i couldn't find anything i liked in local stores, and everything online would end up being $30 until i got it. Well, i took matters into my own hands. Typical me, i know. So i went out and bought all the things i needed, and i came home at got right to work. And when everything was all said and done, the product i ended up with was exactly what i wanted. I tried it on her and she looks cuter than i could ever imagine!! Its super puffy, and frilly, and pastelly (if that's even a word). I can't wait until her birthday to put her in it!!

I think i may start this tutu making thing professionally.

Day 5 of work...

Today has been a, surprisingly, fast day so far. Granted, it's only 2:32pm, but i get to leave here at 5pm today! Woo Hoo!! But we are going to meet with the house designer right away, so i don't really get to go home. But whatever time i do finally get home, will undoubtedly be earlier than when i would normally get home.

Today it rained...no, it poured. my morning sports were only outside for about an hour and a half, and then they came in to the dry heat of the gym. Good thing it was just pre-game stuff today.

Have i mentioned yet that i am sick of the rain?! Let's make that water in general, especially today. Not only did it totally downpour on me on my way to work, and then it totally downpoured on me and my morning sports...we also have a pipe burst about 25 feet from my room and start shooting water all over the walls and floor. So then, they had to shut the water off to fix the pipe...but the guy that COULD fix the pipe was off today, and they had to call him to drive here. So that took forever. Having the water turned off is never a good thing for an athletic trainer. I have no water to offer my athletes to drink, and i have no ice (the machines won't fill or stay cold in my oven of a room without water). Then, they turned the hot water on, but not the cold, and all my ice started melting. So i turned off the water to my ice machines all together. Well, that started a leak in my pipe in my room, that would not stop leaking unless the water was turned on at that spout. Well, i thought i could just turn the hose on slowly and put it in the whirlpool and leave it that way until the water was fixed. Nope. The whirlpool is now broken and won't drain, so i almost got flooded out. Needless to say, i had to let the water leak until it was fixed and the cold water came back on. The guy wasn't even going to come fix it today, until i kindly and sweetly (you all know me) talked to the foreman and got him to get that guy in here asap so i would have water and ice for my game tomorrow. Thank goodness. It only took about 2 hours and my water was ok again and i don't have a leak anymore. What a morning. I don't even want to LOOK at water anymore.

On a funny news front...i was reading the paper this morning (before the rain hit), and there was an article in there that blew my mind. A man had died in Philly somewhere, and they had him taken to the funeral home like usual. Well, the family and friends came to the viewing....and it wasn't him! Apparently, they mixed up 2 bodies. Now that isnt' even the bad part. The worst thing is, everyone kept going...praying over the body, kissing his hands, crying, everything. Didn't they notice it wasn't the right person?! What, was it his body double that died too?! And how couldn't the widow have know it was the wrong person?!?! I'd like to think i know what my hubby looks like, even after a long 2 weeks of camp. What the hell people.

Now i'm going to sit in front of this computer and try to get some paperwork done. Why is it that i never seem to get anything done. Could it be that people don't listen and hand things in when i ask, only for me to have to do things over and over and over and over again?!

Day 4 at work...

Today was an eventful day here at Line Mountain. Why, you may ask!? Because our football players have had an outbreak of Staph, our soccer girls have had an outbreak of the flu, our hockey girls all have pulled muscles, and there is a tornado warning in effect for the next half hour! Whew, now that's what i call an action packed day. Whatever will i do with all my free time?! Sit on the computer and blog, you say? Sure i will!

I did manage to get on the computer here for a while and surf around the net. I, of course, found things i want to buy. And buy for who, you may ask...Madylinn of course. I found the cutest cake making kit that i would love to buy, so i could make her her first birthday cake...but to only use it that one time, i think i might just wing it on my own. I found a whole bunch of cute decorations too, but something inside my head said that i could make some and find some cheaper if i just looked around. When did i become so thrifty? Does this make me cheap?

I also heard on the news this morning that Brett Favre (pronounced Farve...douche bag) has decided to UN-retire from professional football for the 20 millionth time, and is now signed on for a 1 year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Don't the Packers HATE the Vikings? This should work out well for everyone. Tell the trainers down there in Minnesota to get the walker ready, cuz grampa's comin to town. GO AWAY ALREADY!!!! Who do you think you are, retiring an umpteen million times and coming back, Michael Jordan?! And we all know what a douche he is.

And what about that woman from south africa who broke the 800 meter world record the other day. Now they are questiong her gender. HER GENDER! What's next people. Haven't we gone too far this time? Since when is having womanly parts not enough to be considered a woman. Just because she runs fast, has muscles and talks deeply doesn't make her a man. Look at those women bodybuilders, we don't call them men. Look at women professional wrestlers, we don't call them men. Just because the south africans and the jamaicans and the ethiopians are all faster than us, doesn't mean we have to turn in to the big bully and push them around. What's next, taking their milk money?!

So now i'm off to practice again. The tornado didn't strike the school and sweep me away like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz. Oh well. Maybe i should bring Dakota to work with me tomorrow...that's what i was missing...ToTo!

Day 3 of work...

Here i am again..i know, yay for me, right?! But you keep coming back for more!!

Today is a pretty hot day. I thought it was supposed to be cooler than the previous days, but alas i was surprisingly mistaken. Yesterday we had a storm out here. And it wasn't just ANY storm, it was just shy of a twister type storm. It lifted port-a-potties off the ground, tossed benches...it was crazy! And now they say it should happen again early this evening. Oh brother. That's really what i need, to be stuck inside with 57 football players, 28 field hockey girls and 13 soccer boys. That will be one crowded gym, let me tell you.

So today was a bonus day for me. Why, you ask!? I got another ice machine. No, not a new one like i had been hoping and praying for...but it's the other small one from the far room. They put it in my room next to my old one. Now i don't have to drag a cooler to the other side of the building when i need more ice. The only bad side to this is, now, my room is more of an oven than it was before. 2 ice machines pumping away, you have to be kidding me!! Oh well, i guess you take the good with the bad.

I decorated my door today. I had to rip the old decorations down because they were mostly all pictures of kids that had graduated last year, and who wants to see that?! I replaced them with pictures of kids that are still here. I just have to add some "inspirational" quotes and i'll be all set. I do this like i actually think anyone gives a crap about my door. I am in the far hallway in the back of the school, and only the athletes and the occasional gym student see my door. Oh well, i guess it's more for me, which is fine in my book :)

Well, i'm finished with my lunch/dinner..whatever you want to call it...off to check the weather channel and weather.com to see if we will be getting soaked tonight. And i think i'll stop by and butter up the construction foreman on my way back to my room. If i get in good with him, i can get a phone, tv, ac and whatever else i want in my room. Looks like he's my new best buddy out here :)

Day 2 of work...

Well, i made it to day 2. I wasn't sure i was going to, there for a minute. The heat yesterday was borderline unbearable, and it takes a lot for me to say that, because i love love love the heat. I think what was the worst was the humidity. Now today, it isn't as bad. Still hot, still humid, but not nearly what it was yesterday. And, knock on wood, no major injuries yet. Quite a few bee stings though. We always get lots of those out here. I'm not sure where they hide, since the school is basically in the middle of a bunch of farmers fields, but they are out there...and they do NOT like my athletes. Thank god there is the EMT home base and a doctors office litterally 100feet away, just in case.

I didn't die from missing Mady either, in case you wanted to know. She is what gets me through the day. Thinking about seeing her smiling face, seeing her walk towards me when i get home, and then watching her fall because she got too excited and have to speed crawl the rest of the way. I know it's only 2 weeks of long days, but i don't know how people can do this everyday! I miss her way too much. At least i can call her from practice (well, i actually call my hubby, but i really want to talk to Mady much more, lol)

Today, in case you were wondering, i am having chinese for lunch instead of my ham and cheese sandwich. The chinese was supposed to be my dinner, but when i went to get the sandwich, i was being call..."oooohhh, stacey-son, eat-a the cheekan and bwacalli now, oooohhh". And who am i to turn down the weird chinese voice in my head, lol. So here i sit, eating chicken and broccoli and an eggroll (my absolute favorite)...staring at my walkie talkie, hoping it doesn't go off

I'm not sure if i mentioned it yesterday or not, but this is not my ACTUAL lunch break...of course not people, it's 230pm!! I should be working right now. There is a practice going on. But shhhhhh, don't tell them where i am! I have been using my ACTUAL lunch break to go for a run. But wait, i know what you're thinking. It's ridiculously hot outside, practically unbearable if i remember quoting myself correctly, and you're outside running?! WHAT A NUT JOB!! But for those of you that know me, you know i can't stop myself sometimes. Plus i'm out here surrounded by athletes all day long, sweating, competing, practicing, having fun...i wanna do it too! And since i can't go back to high school again, this is what i'm reduced to. But don't sweat it(pun intended here people)...i haven't been running as far as usual. Only 2 or 3 miles around the dirt covered oval they call a track. And then, my ultimate prize/punishment...an ice cold shower. I hate cold showers, even on blisteringly hot days. I guess that's one way to get me in and out quickly though.

Oh well, i guess i should go out and watch practice for a few hours. Maybe i'll call home to talk to Frank and Mady, see how they are doing.

Day 1 of work...

Well, here i am...day 1 of my intense camp weeks at work. I'm only halfway through the day and i'm ready to go home already. I miss my daughter, i miss my house, at this point i even miss my husband (just kidding dear, you know i love you). It is a blistering 95 degrees outside right now, but it feels more like 100 if you ask me. Now don't get me wrong, i love the heat, but when i have to work in it i don't think i like it as much. For this weather i should be lying on a beach, sipping fruity drinks from a coconut and frolicking in the ocean. Instead, i sit here at a computer, eating my lunch, logged in to my blog illegally from the school's computer (they block everything from the kids), with a ham and cheese sandwich in one hand and my walkie talkie in the other, hoping and praying nobody gets hurt while i'm eating...a 20 minute break would be so nice. Well, i guess it's time to finish my sandwich and get back to work. If i'm lucky, it will be a nice easy afternoon and i can just sit and relax in the sun. Yea right, lol.

And so it begins again...

That's right folks, it's that time of year again. The time when it gets hotter than a tanning bed in hell, the time when football starts, and ultimately, the time when school starts back up again and i have to go back to work. Now, i've been at this point before...but it's never been as hard as it is now. Now i have Mady. I have been totally spoiled all summer long. I got to spend every single day with her, doing whatever i wanted. Now i have to go back to work. And the worst part is, for the first two weeks i have to work 15 hour days! So basically i leave before Mady wakes up, and i will get home in time to spend about 1 hour with her. I guess i have to make the best of that hour, but i'm sure it's going to kill me to not see her all day long. On the bright side, Frank is not working right now, so he can stay home with her all day long instead of me having to ship her off to daycare for the whole day. Not that there is anything wrong with MY daycare, i totally love them. And not that there is anything wrong with people who have to take their kids to daycare for an average 8 hour day, because that is the average work day...but i have been spoiled, or should i say Mady has been. My job starts at 215 and usually ends around 545, depending on the day. And Frank is usually home from work by around 430, so Mady only has to stay at daycare for about 2-3 hours, and she gets maximum parent time.
At least this will give her a chance to bond with Frank. He thinks she doesn't love him. Silly, i know, but that's what he thinks. He doesn't understand that i spend every single day with her, so OF COURSE she is going to cling to me and want me more. I'm sure by the end of these 2 weeks, she is going to "love him" more than she loves me, lol. So be prepared for some possible emotional blogs about how much i miss Mady, and her laugh, and her stinky diapers, and her constant need to play games, and her absolute refusal to nap AT ALL during the day. On the bright side, Frank did promise that he would bring her out to visit me at LEAST once a week, so that will make me feel a bit better...i hope.
Well, i'm off to pack my breakfast/lunch/snack/dinner for tomorrow. I'm also going to lay out Mady's clothes so Frank doesn't dress her like a homeless orphan. Wish me luck!

What do you think?

The NFL announced yesterday that Michael Vick, aka the Dog Fighter, has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. He will be making 1.6mil this year. And to do what, i might ask!? Play 3rd string to McNabb and Kole? Oh brother. At least i can say he didn't sign with my team. But how low are the Eagles going to go? Who are they going to sign next, Plaxico Burress? But many people say Michael Vick deserves a second chance, that what he did wasn't SO wrong, that he would have just gotten probation if he were a regular person. Is that true? What do you all think?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/08/14/vick.eagles.ap/index.html?eref=si_topstories

Hey, the Eagles need all the help they can get. Good luck with that.

I just don't get it...

Why is it that men/husbands are all siding with Jon Gosselin, and all the women/wives are siding with Kate Gosselin? Why can't we all just get along? Why can't we all just agree that Jon is a sleeze bag, and a dead beat dad, and get on with our lives? Sure, Kate can be a bitch. We all know that. But she has 8 kids for god's sake! I have 1 child and i can be a bitch, i can't imagine life with 8. And it's not like Jon was ever any help. He was more like one of the kids than he was like a parent. So she had every reason to be the way she was, as least i think so. Frank and I disagree on this point very much. He thinks Jon isn't that bad and that Kate is to blame, where as i think the total opposite, that Kate isn't that bad and that Jon is to blame. I guess it's just a mom thing. You just have to feel for her. You can sympathize with her pain. No, she wasn't perfect, but who is?! She is on a reality tv show for god's sake. They can edit that all they want and we'd never know the truth. Maybe that's the character they wanted her to be, the bitchy stay at home mom. But it looks like they wanted Jon to be the 9th child, the one that cheats on his wife and turns into a douche bad loser. Ugh.

OMG!!

We are all in trouble now! LOL
Watch out world, here she comes :)

For as happy as i am about all of this, i think i'm going to sit and cry right now. Where has the time gone?! Where is my little girl?! At least she's walking TOO me and not AWAY from me....but i'm sure that won't take long. All it will take is one person dressed like Elmo, and mommy will be old news.

Mady's 10 month birthday

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A double post today...aren't you all the lucky ones

Yes, my baby is mobile...kinda

She can walk while holding on to her new toy. It makes me very happy and very sad, all at the same time. Where is the time going so fast?!

Our beach vacation...

We spent 2 days at the beach, and let me tell you, it was wonderful. It was nice to get away from home and just relax. It was nice to sit in the sand and play in the water. It wasn't nice how Mady was whiny and didn't want to take a nap at all while we were gone, but i can live with it.

Mady wasn't a big fan of the water, which surprised me. She absolutely loves the pool, and she loves the river and the boat, but she wasn't a big fan of the ocean. I think it was because it was so loud. The waves were actually pretty big, and they were crashing on the beach pretty hard, so i guess i can see how she would be scared. As long as we were holding her, she was fine. She did, however, let us put her in the water for a bit, but we had to be right there.

My two sleepy heads

Checking out the water

Giving kisses to her mommy

Giving kisses to her daddy

Mommy and Mady, always together forever

Playing in the sand

Loving the sand in her feet

With mommy

Our newly gated community...

So now that Mady is a speed demon when it comes to crawling, we've finally put up the baby gates. Now our house is a gated community, lol. It's much better for all of us, as we don't have to chase Mady towards the dog food, and we don't have to chase her up the stairs either. What we didn't account for, was the dogs. Putting up the gates has severly hindered the dogs around the house. Dakota is too small to get over the gates, and Ecko is still a bit afraid to jump them. So it's still a bit of a pain, but i'm sure we'll get all the kinks worked out somehow.

I've also come to the conclusion that i'm totally obsessed with taking pictures of Madylinn. I think, more so, than the average parent. I have my camera with me no matter where i go, just in case she does something super cute or new, so i don't miss it. I really hope i'm this bad when we have more kids. Due to my obsessiveness with pictures, we've decided to buy a new camera. Frank isn't totally happy with this decision though. He wants a new camera and all, don't get me wrong, but he wants a professional camera. Maybe he thinks he'll be a part time photographer or something, who knows. You all know him, when he gets an idea in his head, he has to do it and he has to have the best of everything, even if he only does it for a week or two. He's just going to have to deal with whatever camera i get, because we most definately don't need a professional camera that is 10 times the size of the one we have now. You all know who would end up carrying THAT around everywhere...that's right, me! He doesn't even like to carry his wallet around with him, i have to put it in my purse.