Busy weekend

Well, it's Tuesday....we had a busy weekend here at the Palmer Household....well not too busy but just stuff going on. Bonnie (chuck's mom) came down for a visit. She arrived Friday early evening and took off around 11ish today. So we were able to do some catching up and she was able to see how much Allison has grown since we were last home. For as busy as I make it sound, we didn't do too much....just a lot of relaxin'.
Saturday we had our picnic/pool party with Chuck's coworkers....boy was it hot! No breeze at all either! So, we ended up not staying as long as we thought we would...but probably about 3 hours. I ended up not taking snicker salad, we just went the easy way and bought some chips and dip! Was just feeling lazy, even though it's pretty darned easy to make!
We grilled at our place later that night to celebrate Chuck's birthday and his brother's birthday. Had hot dogs and pork burgers...along with sweet corn! YUM!!! That's the first home grown sweet corn we've had this year. Tasted pretty good, but still waiting to get a taste of Uncle Steve's and of course Mom and Dad's corn. Might get the chance to taste mom and dad's this weekend. (more on that).
Sunday was a bumming around day. We all slept in....including Allison...she slept until 9am!!! That was really nice! Monday...Chuck was off to work, so us girls picked up Brett and his girlfriend, Steph and we went up to Nebraska Furniture Mart, and then also to the outdoor shopping center near NFM, called The Legends. Did a bit of shopping...of course...for Allison!!! She's in desperate need of PJ's....as her one piece PJ's are too short for her growing body. So we hunted for some...and found a 2 pc. set of PJ's on sale! Pretty darned cute!
So that is really all that went on!
Mom changed plans for coming on Tuesday, to coming on Friday. This way Dad is able to come down with her and they'll stay until Sunday...maybe until the afternoon? So I'm also excited to see them again, as I'm sure they are just as excited to see all of us. They haven't seen Chuck since.....Easter? Mom saw Chuck the first weekend of May, but not since.

So it sounds like the family, (The Heisterkamps) are on the lookout for jobs or getting new jobs. With mom getting her new job and Katie in search of a job, I too am still searching. I haven't heard yet from the Ambulance/Fire Dept in Pleasant Hill yet, but it sounds like (from the mouth of my BIL(bro in law)) that they have picked their 3 fave, and I'm not one of them. But that's okay, I have actually applied at some really great places. I'm really excited about the app. I sent in to GE for Customer Service. And I've also applied at JCPENNYs...their home office is here, and then we are getting a Walgreens here in Raymore, so I've applied to work there, it's only about a mile away, so that would work out great with not having to travel too far.
We discussed the Nanny job I previously blogged about and decided it wasn't the right route to go...with the distance and plus...after taxes, the hourly rate would be well until minimum wage. Plus...a lot of times....families pay under the table...like my last job...big no no, i believe. But if they paid under table, then that really wouldn't help us as we have been doing some mortgage/house shopping.
So this "Heisterkamp/Palmer" woman is a bit stressed too, and I just really can't imagine not being home with my baby girl during the day, it'll get easier as she gets older I think, it's just that she is about ready to crawl and then it'll be walking and I just really don't want to miss that.

Another thing I have done....Craigslist.com.....I posted an ad...well 2 ads on there...one for childcare in my home (i can care for up to 4 kids, not including Allison) without having to be licensed. So that is an option. And the other ad was just something to do if I can't find a decent job, is dog walking/sitting. Believe it or not, it's a pretty booming market....with all the workaholics in Kansas City and then it getting closer to the beginning of the school year, everyone is taking vacations. So I figured...why not? That would be fun, plus it would get us out of the house and get exercising...which I really could use more of! HEHE!

Okay well, I figure I've written at least 4 chapters of a book...so I let you (whoever is reading this) go. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!!! Can't wait for friday to arrive!!!! More family!!!! Also, I've uploaded some more photos, so check 'em out!!!

Just a few things...I'm bored....

So I'm just waiting for Chuck to get home from work....Allison is sitting in her high chair...finishing up the rest of her dinner....cheerios!!! She wasn't too sure about eating them after eating her mixed veggies, but there is only 1 cheerio left on her "plate" for her to eat. I'm in the process of cooking dinner...or shall I say making??? We are doing a boxed dinner tonight...Hamburger Helper..Stroganoff....Chuck's fave....I spent the day cleaning the whole house...and I mean whole house...so I'm extremely tired, and decided to go the easy way tonight! Plus we'll be cooking up dinner everyday starting tomorrow....Bonnie will arrive in the afternoon and will be here until Tues. morning. We are really looking forward to having her down. Not much planned though. Just relaxation!!!!

We have a picnic/pool party with Chuck's coworkers to go to on Saturday, so that will be fun! I'm planning on taking Snicker Salad! YUM YUM in my tum!!! Funny story....I took it last year...and all of Chuck's coworkers thought that it was something I concocted while I was pregnant....snickers, apples and cool whip!!!! I got a kick out of that, but they seemed to get a bigger kick out of my salad/dessert!

So a few have been asking about the job I applied for at the ambulance/fire department in Pleasant Hill...the small town just a short drive from our home.....I haven't received a letter or a phone call yet....still hoping, but have a feeling that I won't get the position. However, we won't know until next week...it sucks waiting, b/c I've really put off on other job searching and such.
But while I've been waiting, I've updated my profile on a Nanny website and got a 'hit'. A family about 25 minutes away from us is looking for a nanny for their 2 children. They said it's okay if I were to bring Allison on days that I needed too, (days that chuck isn't home). So I'm going to meet the family sometime on Tuesday. The pay isn't extremely high, but we don't have to pay for daycare and we think of that as a HUGE plus!!!! Otherwise I probably wouldn't have even considered it.
Plus, one of Chuck's coworkers is having a baby in november, and have "hit" me up to possibly care for their baby starting in February, at least 2 days a week. She works 2-24 hr shifts. So we might be able to work something out as far as caring for 3 children as well as Allison. So, I'm pretty excited about it!!!
Okay well, I need to go finish up dinner. Chuck should be pulling in anytime now!!!

Reaching a milestone...

So I just wanted to blog to everyone...Allison crawled last night...for about 2 feet, then she gave up. LOL. It was so cute. She was going after a lil back massager bug thingy. So when she reached it that's when she sat back up. And we were also downstairs in the garage today and shew as in her walker and she was kinda pushing herself around in her new lil jeep. Not sure that she was really aware of what she was doing....but I thought it was pretty darn cool!!! Anyway, just wanted to share that with everyone!!!

Allison has a Jeep like her mommy now!

Well, Allison has her first vehicle....haha.....we were doing some searching on Craigslist.com and I found someone wanting to sell their baby walker for a cheap cheap price...it's a Jeep Liberty walker, just like what I have for a car....Except hers is pink and purple and mine is blue...hehe.
Anyway, she's still exploring it, she's figured out how to go backwards, but not forward yet. I added all the photos to our Picasa Web Album, but here is a preview picture of Allison in her new toy.

The end of the week is here....

Well it's late Friday night, Chuck and I are still up. He is outside with the dogs right now and I'm just catching up on reading everyone's blogs and listening to some music and downloading some new tunes.

It's been a long week....seemed like it took forever for today to get here. Chuck is working 4 days in a row, today was his 2nd day, only 2 more and then he has a day off. This may seem not bad to everyone else, but he works 12 hour shifts...sometimes even longer than 12 hours depending on when they take their last call for the shift. But then he goes back on tuesday for 3 more days in a row, then his mom Bonnie, is going to come down on Friday to visit us. It's Chuck's brother Brett's birthday this month, so we are really going to combine Chuck and Brett's birthday since we never really celebrated with Chuck for his 24th.

So we are excited about Bonnie coming down, we've missed her the past couple times we've been home. We did get to see her last time, but only for an afternoon as we spent some time in sioux city with Nana and Gramps.

Anyway, I've been feeling tired lately, maybe it's b/c I'm not going to sleep early? HMMM?? Had a couple late nights, Wednesdays we play sand volleyball in Blue Springs which is about a 30-40 minute drive from our house, we had a double header this past wednesday so we didn't get home until after midnight. I sprained my ankle pretty good during our first game of the last volleyball match. However, I did manage to play the other 2 games, but woke up with quite the swollen ankle. Today wasn't as bad, just can't make sharp quick movements, so I'm going to stick it out and not go to the doctor, b/c I know I sprained it and nothing else!

Okay well, Chuck is now back inside and my eyes are drooping! Hope everyone had a good week and I hope you have an even better weekend!!!!

Oh I just had to post these pictures. This is Lucy...our corgi....I guess she likes sleeping in clothes baskets these days??? And here is Kirby, really relaxing on the floor.

Happy 26th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

I'm a day late on getting this anniversary wish up on my blog, but hey better late than never! Yesterday, was my parents 26th anniversary!!! Happy 26 years of marriage mom and dad and many many more to come! Love you guys!!!!

Happy 25th Birthday!

Just wanted to wish my big brother a big HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY!!!! Hope he enjoyed his day! Miss you very much!!!

Allison will be 9 months old!!!

We really can't believe that the 9 month mark is going to be here in just 2 days...on Friday the 13th!!!! So amazing how times flies. A few have asked if she is crawling yet, and no she is not....however she has figured out how to get the other leg out from under her, she is just having a hard time trying to stay up on her knees. But she is really pulling herself up on things. Like the entertainment center...we are going to have to baby proof the doors this weekend so we don't have any accidents.

She is still working on getting more teeth in. At camp she was going for 4 on the top and 2 more on the bottom. Her two front teeth on top are really starting to come in, but not as fast as I thought they would after they first appeared.

We have also started giving Allison one bottle a day of formula, just to help supplement and also b/c she just keeps getting more and more hungry these days. She is also continuing to eat her solids. I've actually been reading up on doing it myself at home, instead of buying the stuff already at the store. I know what we did wrong with the peas mom....we didn't put any water in the bowl to help them "Steam." Oh well I guess. But yea, did you know that you could puree all the veggies and then pour them into ice cube trays and let them freeze, then keep them in a ziploc bag....pretty easy when fixin up some dinner for her. I had no idea I could do this. Now I just need to find some good veggies and fruits. I don't know if there are any farmers markets around here, but I think I may do some looking.

Oh and if Jeremy and Lorena read this....I tried Tofu again....it's a no go for Allison...maybe we'll try it in another month or so.

So anyway...not too much else going on in the Palmer household today. I got to sleep in a bit after feeding Allison, Chuck woke up and played with her this morning. Then we headed out to go to my interview! Which by the way, I think went very well. However, I am only the 2nd one to be interviewed out of 12 others, so I won't know if I get the job until the end of the month...which sucks!!! pretty excited about it!

Okay well, I need to fix up some dinner, we head out around 7:30 to go play sand volleyball with chuck's co-workers. I got asked to play, not sure if it's a good idea with my shoulder and back acting up again!!! I might need the Tylenol tomorrow ! YIKES!!

Flowers finally appearing!!!!

So about a month or so ago, I decided to transplant....a few flowers to the lil flower bed thingy in the front of our home. I ended up moving 3 sunflowers....and finally some flowers came through that we put in the bed in like...May...the butterfly garden flowers I think is what they are from. I noticed yellow ones just yesterday, but noticed pink ones today! I'm not sure exactly what type of flower this is, but it's really pretty. So here is a picture of the pink flower and then my gorgeous Sunflower....only one sunflower actually has a flower on it, maybe the other 2 will appear later??

I really need to move the other plants out of the pots and into the ground!! Maybe I'll do that this week! It's suppose to be decent out!

Oh and exciting news for me...I finally got an interview for a job. It's for a towns Ambulance district....Pleasant Hill is the name of the town. That's tomorrow....pretty darn excited about it, it's a part time job, so it'd be perfect for me, especially since I really enjoy being home with Allison. But it would only be 4 or 5 hours a day and it's great pay! Oh yea....it's like a clerical job. Filing reports and sending them off to the insurance companies...billing...etc...etc. SO yea, I'm just a bit excited about that!! Wish me luck!!!

Okay enough with the fireworks already!!!

So Happy 4th of July....it's now July 7th, time to move on. I can understand how much fun it is to light off fireworks on the 4th, but now that we live in city and for the fact that fireworks are legal in Missouri, we don't have to go blow a bunch of money on fireworks b/c everyone else around us is shooting theirs off, plus Raymore has some pretty nice fireworks. But my complaint tonight is for the fact that it is July 7th and the City of Raymore says it is illegal to shoot any type of firework off past midnight on the 4th. We've put up with the extra fireworks on thursday night and friday, then I heard more tonight around 8:30/9ish.....right when I'm trying to put Allison down for bed. She finally went down about 20 minutes ago.
However, after I put her down, I made a phone call....to the police department...their non-emergency number of course and made a noise complaint. So an officer came to our house and pretty much asked me what I wanted him to do about it....well duh!!! Enforce your law is what I want you to do. Go tell the hicks down the street that they can't, meaning it's illegal, shoot off anymore fireworks until July 1, 2008!!!!
The fireworks really aren't bugging me anymore, it's the officer that came to the house. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" What a fricken jerk!!!! I could use other names, but I won't. Maybe if I buy him a dozen doughnuts he'll be nice to me and go tell the people to quit their fireworks. I wish I would have gotten the officers name, Chuck's upset about it too, b/c of the way the officer spoke to me!!!
I tell ya...these big city cops.......anyway, that's my venting for the night.
Hope everyone had a decent Saturday.

There's No Place Like Home.

So we are now back in Raymore. Allison and I had a great time in Iowa, especially at Camp Okoboji. I really enjoyed seeing everyone and I think Allison really enjoyed playing with MacKenzie. It's really quiet around here, I'm not really sure what to do, b/c last week, we did something everyday....plus we don't have the bean bag game down here! LOL.
Anyway, we are glad to be home and Chuck is glad to have us back here. He sure was starting to miss us, as we were missing him also!
We are pretty much done traveling for the summer. Going to try to get our families down here for a weekend in August or maybe the end of this month.
We'll be back in September for a wedding and I think we are going to try to do Allison's 1st Birthday Party around that time.
So not too much going on. Uploaded our pictures from Camp and also from my cousin's wedding and some other photos of just being back in Iowa!!! Take a peek!!! Hope everyone made it home alright. Missing everyone already!!! Hope to see most of you soon!!!