Puking, Painting & Parties.....

It's been a while since I've been on here, life has taken me on another roller coaster ride. There's been ups and downs, twists and turns and plenty of excitement. At least I can say there's been no vomit!

It's been a few days since I started this post and now I have to take back the "no vomit" statement. I'll get to an explanation of that in a bit. If you are my facebook friend, I apologize for the repeat vomit updates.

The kids started school on the 24th. Well, Andrew only went for one day and then had to finish up his OSS. He is almost completely finished with his sentence, all he has left to do is his last jury duty on the 21st and then they will rip up the documents and throw them all away leaving him with NO record. He returned to school on Wednesday only to be sent home halfway through the day. (This is due to the vomit that I will get to later). Other than having 2 weeks of homework to catch up on and a couple of honors classes, I think that he is pretty excited to be back in school. This year he plans on playing football, basketball, and track so it looks like I will be spending a lot of time at the middle school.

Amber is absolutely loving school. She's in the VPK program and attends school for 3 hours a day. I totally wish it was longer miss her so much while she is gone. It's quite lonely around here with both of them gone, but I have been able to get much more done around the house without them here.

Keith brought me home a new friend and her name is Freckles. She is so stinkin' cute but is driving me crazy with the whole house training thing. I have no patience... But at least Sasha now has a cuddle buddy!


We've been doing lots of painting on the house and someday soon I hope to have it finished so that we can do another home video tour. Don't worry, I will be here to film this one so it won't be so lame dorky quick.


I Stan got back.

Yes, he came back to me in a package of socks for Amber. Isn't that nice? Thanks MOM! I was able to get rid of him again though when my Sister came over for Labor Day.

We celebrated my brother Patrick's 25th birthday on Saturday. I am really starting to feel old now. He's a half a century and I'm almost 30. EEEEEK!

          Kelly           Me     Patrick          Katelyn
^Just a few of my siblings! I saw my Dad for the first time since the "incident" which was kinda awkward. Not much was said other than some "I Love You's" but, I guess that's a start?

I spent quite a few hours in the ER on Sunday with Amber because the cold that she had developed on Friday had gotten much worse and I was scared that she may have developed pink eye. Her eyes were all red and gunky.

This picture doesn't even begin to explain what her eyes really looked like. Diagnosis = Upper Respiratory Infection + No Pink Eye. Whew! So, Nichole and the twins came to spend the night (as we had previously planned before the ER visit). The next day we had a small get together for Labor Day. Good times!

On to the vomitus.....I told you I would get to it. ***Possibly TMI below***BEWARE***
Tuesday morning, Keith woke up to go to work and found that he was incredibly sick. Whatever it was, it was pouring coming out of his body like water but from both ends.... At lunchtime I got a call telling me to come and pick up Andrew as he had been throwing up in school. He ended up having the same problems as Keith and this lasted all night long. According to my favorite website (facebook) I noticed that Nichole also started having these problems Tuesday night. Then, on Wednesday my sister joined the vomiting crew. At first we thought it might be food poisoning because everyone that was sick had been at my house on Monday. Then, my sister-in-law got it too (and she wasn't at the party). Whatever it was, it was BAD! I made Keith & Andrew take shots of apple cider vinegar which seemed to help calm their stomachs. Andrew was able to return to school yesterday and Keith returned to work today. As far as I know, everyone is back to normal now. I am so happy that I didn't catch this one!

Product Review - Eco Store

I was recently contacted to review my choice of products from Eco Store USA. Yes, I did say "products" meaning they gave me the choice of not 1, but 2 of their products to try out. I decided to go with the Naturally Antibacterial Spray Cleaner & the Soothing Hypoallergenic Shampoo (for pets).

Here is a little information about the products sold by Eco Store USA from their website:

Our eco friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, and our body and baby care ranges are gentle on your skin and are simply beautiful to use. Our pet care products let you spoil your pets with our nourishing, rich blends of ingredients and show them how much you care by reducing their exposure to unhealthy chemicals.

All of our products are made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.

They also offer FREE Shipping for ALL Orders of $25 or more

On to the products.....


Naturally Antibacterial Spray Cleaner

Eco Store USA has the following information about this product:

Ecomommas can go room to room with this product. Simple to use yet high performance, ecostore Lemon Spray Cleaner is the ideal alternative to conventional, toxic products. This citrus based solvent will work wonders on almost any household surface. Have black kitchen appliances?  We've been told via many testimonials that it is just awesome.  And, of course, if it’s an Ecostore product, it contains No nasty chemicals™.  For your health, for your family and for the planet. (17 fluid ounces)

I was so excited when the package came with my new products. I immediately opened the box and was ready to get to cleaning. I pulled out my new products to find that they were sealed with this very stretchy tape of some sort. It took a knife and 2 pairs of scissors before I was able to get enough off to open each bottle for use. At least the liquid had no chance of leaking before it's arrival.

I chose this spray because I cannot stand the scent of the product that we are currently using to clean our kitchen. It just plain stinks. According to the website, this is a citrus based solvent, so I was expecting it to have a nice clean citrusy smell. It didn't, but it still smells better than what we were using before.

I have a little bit of OCD when it comes to streaks. I cannot stand them on my appliances, fixtures, or even my counter tops. This spray does not leave streaks at all. Even my stainless steel appliances were streak free after a quick cleaning with this spray. I was happy dancing around my streak free kitchen after using this!

 Pro's

• Green - Good for the environment
• Non Toxic - Safe around my family and pets
• Scent - Does not stink
• Streak free
• Antibacterial - not just a cleaner, but a germ killer too!

Con's

• Price - $9 for 17 oz. seems a little high to me for antibacterial cleaner
  
•  Sealant - I was at war with the bottle just trying to get the tape to come off so that I could use this.

Overall - Besides the price being a little too high for my budget, this product did everything that they claimed it would do and more. If you are thinking about going green, or already have this is a great product! 


Soothing Hypoallergenic Shampoo

Eco Store USA has the following information about this product:

Gentle on itchy, sensitive skin, our Herbal Fresh Shampoo is expertly designed to penetrate safely into the skin where it is most effective.  Mild enough for frequent use.  Safe for dogs, cats, puppies and kittens over 6 weeks of age.

I had the same problem opening this package as I did with the antibacterial cleaner, but after I finally did get it open I was ready to give Sasha a bath.

I had used Hartz some type of flea control product on her a few months earlier and her hair started falling out in clumps, she was dry and itchy all over and had a horrible scent to her body no matter how many times I washed her. I tried a couple of other products that seemed to irritate her itchiness more and did nothing to help the stench.

The first thing that I noticed after opening the bottle was the smell. (Yes, I am kinda OCD about smells too) It smelled soooo good. How do I explain it? Heaven in a bottle. Yes, that's it.

Here I go, ready to pour the sweet smelling goodness onto my dog. I tip the bottle and it just starts pouring out like niagra falls. It has the consistency of water and I was not expecting that at all. So, half a bottle of shampoo later and we are done. The dog smells excellent and is still half bald.

I continue using the shampoo on my dog once a week for a month and I notice that her hair has started to grow back. Yes! I am not going to have some freakazoid half naked labrador. The itchiness and stink have diminished quite a bit too. Almost 2 months after I received this and my dog is completely back to normal. There are no signs of the bald, foul smelling dog that once was. Thank you Eco Store!

Pro's 

• Green - Good for the environment
• Non Toxic - Safe around my family and pets
• Scent - Heaven in a bottle
• Itchiness - Sasha was itch free after using this
• Made all of Sasha's hair grow back
• $13 - Higher than I would normally pay for shampoo, but this stuff did wonders!

Con's

• Sealant - I was at war with the bottle just trying to get the tape to come off so that I could use this.
• Consistency - Too much like water and not enough like Shampoo

Overall - I have never been happier with a product for my animals. This shampoo worked a miracle on Sasha and it is definitely something that I will be purchasing again in the future!

 Head on over to Eco Store USA and get yourself free shipping with a $25 purchase.

My name is Tina and I am a slacker.

***Updated below***
I cannot believe that it has been a month since I have posted anything. I kept telling myself that I needed to sit down and write something, but here I am now apologizing for the last month of nothingness that I have provided you with. (Hey, at least I have been updating my status on Twitter for you) A lot has happened in our lives and I'll do what I can to explain without making it too long........

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Remember me telling you about my BIL and his new GF? Well, there has been a twist to this story. Not only are they still dating, but my son is now dating her daughter. This is a big deal. Andrew has never had a girlfriend before and they are in "L-O-V-E".

I have had a great time hanging out with both of them this last month and look forward to more Beach Trips & Parties!

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Andrew made honor roll for the 3rd time. (Only 1 more quarter to go!)

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Andrew joined the track team. He is more competitive than I had realized and that has caused a couple of tumbles and a few bruises to his ego. No matter what, he makes me proud. Today is the last track meet and then next week is the championship. I'm a little disappointed that the track season is over so soon. I never wanted to be a "soccer mom", but I have really enjoyed going to the meets and watching Andrew compete.

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Amber went on a road trip to Kentucky with my Mom & Eddie to my Uncle Scott's farm. She had a great time learning about all of the farm animals and let me know that she wants to be a farmer when she grows up. I don't have the photo's of their trip yet, but I will share them as soon as I get them.

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Sasha broke my nose. How does a dog break your nose you ask? It was my own stupid fault. It was Sasha's sheer determination to achieve her goal. What was her goal? To retrieve the largest tennis ball ever made and bring it to her favorite person (me) as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, somewhere in her plan she forgot to include stopping and ran right into my face. This left me with 2 miniature shiners and a slightly crooked nose.

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Sasha became a woman-dog.

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Well, this was not much of a celebration for my 100th post, but it's almost time for American Idol and I am pooped. I will continue with the rest of my catch-up soon. Goodnight.......

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***Updated 4/23***

I have been on the job hunt for 2 months now and have yet to even get an interview. Unemployment is still coming in, but it does not pay all of the bills, so we are slowly sinking financially. I am a bit embarassed to admit that we were approved for foodstamps. Being a teenage mother, I have worked very hard to stay off of public assistance and now here I am..... But, that's life. Gotta feed the kids!

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The contract that Keith's company got with Sam's Club has kicked off, but there has been minimal work. Working with family is always hard, but it seems much harder when there isn't any money coming in. This has caused some major drama within the family and Keith has now decided to find a job elsewhere. There are some insurances that we have to get together and he should start working in about 2 weeks. I'm not going to hold my breath.

Soonor or later.......

……..they will all be gator bait!

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score Florida 0 7 7 10 24 Oklahoma 0 7 0 7 14

Yes, that’s right. The Florida Gators are the 2009 National Champions. Can life get any better than that? Now, I do have to admit that I did not watch the whole game. I wanted to, believe me, I REALLY wanted to. I wanted to watch the Gators win and then call my Dad and rub it in. However, as soon as I hit the bed, (beginning of 3rd quarter) I was out. I jumped out of bed in a panic (at 2am) this morning wondering if we won, then woke Keith because I guess my half-asleep happy dance was a little loud (Sorry honey!) I cannot wait to leave work and give my good old Daddy a call.

Sasha was even sporting her Gator-Gear for the big game!

Reflecting on 2008

The year is coming to an end and now is the time to look back at the good and bad of the last year before starting anew in 2009. I cannot say that 2008 was the greatest year, but there were some good parts too…..

2008 started off with me having to find a job because the job that I had worked at for the past 5 years was given to a family member. («<Enough about that, I still get angry when I think about it.) Luckily, I was able to find a job and start in the end of January. However, to get to work I would need to drive, I never wanted a driver’s license and was terrified of driving (watch out world - Teenie is on the road!). Getting my license was a BIG hurdle that I had to cross, and I did it!

Another big moment was sending Amber to daycare for the first time. With my last job I was able to work from home so this was a new to all of us. Amber had always been at home with me, and it was hard leaving her behind. Luckily, Amber jumped right into the swing of things (as did Mommy & Daddy) and loved going to “school”!

I was at my new job for about 2 weeks when I pulled up to the house and there was a man in the driveway. He was there to inform us that the house we were living in was going into foreclosure and that we had 2 weeks to get out. Now, we were supposed to be buying this house after our year lease was up. We had been paying an extra $300 a month towards a down payment. With 2 weeks to find a place, and no money for a down payment, things were not looking good. We managed to find a mobile home on 1 1/4 acres that was in the same school district.

We had a huge Memorial Day party at our house because our friend Corey was coming from out of town. Alcohol & dirtbikes don’t mix. Keith wrecked our son’s dirtbike and almost killed himself. Literally. He spent 3 days in the hospital with internal injuries. Luck was on his side and he has since recovered.

Andrew did very well in school this year, making the honor roll in every quarter. Then he got caught skipping school….. What else is there to say about that?

We got a puppy - Jake(Catahoula bulldog/Boxer mix). Someone stole him. :(
We got a new puppy - Sasha. (Black Lab/Pitbull mix). She is sweet.

The best part of the year was in November when Keith and I bought our house. We have been trying to buy a house for 4 years, and it finally happened. Whoo-hoo. Go us!

On to next year…….

Oh Yeah, Jenny is a dork.

SPT - Love

Little Miss Taylor was terrified of Sasha the first time that she saw her, and to top it all off her Mommy wasn’t around to comfort her. It took some time for her to get used to being around our puppy, but as you can see there was nothing but love between the two of them by the end of the day.

See the other SPT’s HERE