Denver

Now that I'm calmed down and feeling better, I've posted pics of my Denver trip :) I had a blast while I was there and am kind of sad to be home again, even though I missed the kiddos. We stayed at The Grand Hyatt, which was a pretty classy place, except that water was 4.50 a bottle and internet was 10.00/day. That part was bad. Oh and their cable had like 20 ESPN channels and 15 news channels, but hardly anything else. I didn't watch much TV anyway so its all good. Our trainings were rather boring but hanging out and networking after was a blast. We went out every night I was there. I gotta say, it was nice having the freedom to do so. We also went out as a kind of half training group to Maggianos and ate family style. It was super spendy, but soooo tasty and we were stuffed by the time dessert got there. Most the pics below are from that. The pic on the bottom is at the wing joint we went to one night. If anyones on my facebook....this is the venue and the night of the homeless guy ordeal. Ugh haha. Anyway, I loved the trip and I love the new friends that I've met while there. Hats off to all of them and I hope the next training is just as fun!
Because everytime I try to write below the pics it messes up my format...on to last night. The boys wanted to play at the park after dinner so we ran over there and not 10 minutes after we were playing, some people came around with trashbags and were cleaning up. The boys immediately stopped playing and ran home to grab trashbags to help. It was a proud momma moment for sure. We got to know some of our neighbors and they even invited us over for treats afterwards. I am proud of my boys and the good helpers they've grown up to be!

Calming Down

Ok I was having a minor freakout this morning but I'm calming down. I still am VERY frustrated with this job but I think the hiring of a part time girl is going to do the trick. She will take up the majority of the little stuff I do so I can focus on my housing counseling. I can't wait till she is hired. Until then...deep breaths.

Ready to Die...

Can I just say I'm ready to die? Like, literally ready? I came back and was looking forward to jumping into work and instead I come back to a desk FULL of papers and files, mail, faxes, and a hate letter saying all the stuff I had apparently been doing wrong...in the week I was gone. Didn't realize My stuff was going to be ransacked while I was away. This job is sooo flipping stressful. I just have to say. I like it. It's good on its good days, but it SUCKS on its bad days. Anyway...time to get back to work and see how much more trouble I can get into today. UGH.

Housing Counseling Article

So the Housing Authority was featured in The Daily News (The Spectrum) on Sunday and I was kind of proud of it I do got to say. But when I went online and read some of the readers comments I was blown away! I couldn't believe how rude people can be. I don't know. Maybe I'm just sensitive to my work. I'll let you see for yourself here...

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103140330

Anyway...we really do offer a great service to people and we really do try to help as much as we possibly can. It sucks that people are so down on the subject. Thats my bummer for the day.

Monumental Landmark!!

We have officially hit a monumental landmark for the Stubbs Family! As a background to the situation, Ryder absolutely HATES baths. He has never liked them at all since day one. Our bathtime routine usually goes like this:
-Boys get undressed and run around naked for about 15 minutes while I prey the clothes off of a screaming Ryder, cause he knows its bathtime and he hates it
-Boys get into the tub and start playing...if Ryder had the strength he would probably cling to the doorjam to avoid the tub. He comes close
-Boys play some more.....I finally get Ry in the tub and he screams as if the world was ending and refuses to sit down.
-Boys play some more.....I was a now freezing Ry as quick as I can so he doesn't get sick
-Boys play some more.....I do the most evil thing a mom could EVER do to a child, wash Ryders hair. Screaming gets worse but is kind of muffled by him putting his hands over his face to avoid water in the face.
-Boys play some more.....Ry practically leaps out of the tub cause he knows that he's done being washed and wants out....like now.
-Boys play some more.....Ry cuddles up in a towel and stops crying as if nothing ever happened
-I finally wash the boys' hair and make sure they wash themselves properly and Ry....well he sits content on the toilet or finds the froggy toys to play with and waits patiently till I am done.

Yeah. Its a pain. BUT.....

Last night he happily got undressed, happily waited till the water warmed up (Ty had turned the water on for me, it was freeeezing!) and got into the tub. Played with his duckies, helped wash his body, rubbed the shampoo in his hair (and tried to drink it, it smells yummy) and was content to sit there IN THE TUB and play while I got the other two taken care of. HOORAHHH!

Time has flown by

Wow time has flown by. I realized today out of the blue....that in just 2 months almost to the day Grayson would have been 1. Alot has happened in that time. I'm not sure why it's hit me today but it did. I have pushed that whole situation away quite a bit due to my thinking that it was no big deal, it was for the better....I shouldn't be feeling bad about this. Which really, its kinda horrible. It does him a diservice. He came to this world, had an earthly body even though it was only for a short time, and I know without any doubt that he was with me in spirit. He has also prompted alot of change in my life. Even though I'm making baby steps, I do have a much different light at the end of the tunnel than I did before he blessed my life.
I'm sure as the time gets closer I will have more epiphanies (SP?) especially with all the sweet little babies about to be born to my great family, friends, and co-workers, but thats ok. The blessing of having children is like none other and I'm very grateful for my 3 boys. I can't imagine life without them.
Anyway...happy weekend to everyone!

Side Note...

Totally forgot to mention....I am OFFICIALLY moved out of the horrid old apartment. I can't say I did it though. I knew my friend Robert needed some extra money (he was one of the Convergys death toll people who got laid off, only he hasn't found another job yet) so I asked if he would like to. He did an AMAZING job. If anyone ever needs a handyman, or someone to clean up a bit, or just odd jobs...I'll give you his number. He exceeded my expectations by far. He also pointed out that the place was a dump and needed to be condemned in a serious way. But I already knew that part. Anyway...thanks to Robert, I am officially done with the dump woohoo! Last thing I gotta do at my new place...is figure out which mailbox is mine. Hmmmm. They never told me. Hahaha! I'm having my key changed so I know though...so on Friday I can finally check my 15 days worth of mail piled up. I bet my mailman LOVES me right now hah!

Shoes, The Park, a Good Night

We had a pretty uneventful day, but it was lots of fun. Work was boring. There wasn't a whole lot for me to do yesterday so it kind of dragged on. But after work, me and the boys went to get new shoes and that was an experience. I picked out a pair I wanted in maybe 5 minutes. It took them almost an hour to decide. And there really wasn't that big of a selection. I swear...they are really worse than girls when it comes to shopping.

We then went to the park in our subdivision. It was really fun. Well...for Nate and Ty. Ryder insisted on riding his 3 wheeler which he doesn't know how to peddle yet so he watched and scooted it the entire way. By the time we got there, it was dark and we had to turn around and leave. But Nate and Ty had a blast. And I learned that Ry can chew a person out in his own baby language. I got chewed out. Alot. And all I asked was if he wanted to walk the rest of the way and have me carry his bike! It was kind of cute though I do got to say.

After that the boys went inside and ate some pizza and played the wii... and then headed for bed. I decided I must have needed some sleep because I ended up falling alseep right along with them. At 8. But hey...at least I had a good nights sleep AND I woke up way early so I was on time to work today. Anyway...greetings to you all and hope you all have a great day!

This is the front of my house by the way :) I never did post a pic of it. :)