HOT STUFF!

So, I don't know if you've noticed lately, but I don't post my blogs in the morning very often anymore. Now that it is summer and my kids are home, I'm not able to just wake up and do it like I was before.  Well today I'm trying to get it done as early as possible because it is crazy hot in my house these days and my damn laptop is a furnace!

This whole summer we noticed the air wasn't working up to par but didn't really have the money to get it fixed.  The more we looked at things the more we thought maybe it was a problem with the thermostat that we could fix ourselves. Well new thermostat is in and it still isn't working right.  The darn thing comes on for less than five minutes and then goes off and then about ten minutes later it comes on for about five minutes...repeat throughout the day.  And our indoor fan only works some of the time.  So, in 90 plus degree weather it really doesn't cool the house much (it takes 2-3 minutes for it to turn cold and then only blows for 2-3 more minutes.)

a/c a/c what is wrong with you???

So, we are making payments to the furnace repair people and they usually won't come out again until you are paid off, but I thought I would try to at least ask.  At first they hemmed and hawed (bet you haven't heard that saying in a while) and I totally understand that, how do they know I will pay them when I already owe them money.

Then I figured I would find out if the parts they replaced while doing the furnace repair would have had any effect on the A/C and he gladly looked for me.  He said he was pretty sure it was a heater only part but that if I could have the total bill payed off in six months they would come on out. Woo Hoo!  I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before (hehe yeah, I have) that I do not take the heat well.  I have been so miserable and the last few days have been especially bad.  It is time to start typing book 3 in my series and I can't sit with the laptop on my lap (and I can't sit at the table with my hips) because the darn thing heats me up so bad I get sick. The last two days I haven't even been able to keep the notepad/lapdesk on me without overheating. So I have taken a small (hopefully) sabbatical from working. Sigh, it better not last long, I have a release date in late August for Stormy Seas and I'm not going to miss it!

So now we sit and wait.  They didn't give us a time or day that they would come out (I know a lot of the companies here in town are a bit behind because of the heat) but I am hoping and praying it will be today. I felt kind of awkward asking when  they were basically doing us a favor.  I want to work and I want to feel cold in my home if only for a brief moment until I turn my thermostat to a reasonable number and get our power bill back down to a reasonable dollar amount!

Until Next Time...So, wish me luck and quick repairs! Oh and did I mention that I hate waiting because a watched pot never boils but I can't keep myself from watching!  And when I'm hot, that is all I can think about so yeah, it is going to be a long wait this time. Try to forget about that pot and it will boil right on over....right? We hope?

UPDATES!!! Just got the call A/C people are on their way!!!!!! :)
Down almost twelve pounds and I had my cover reveal for the next book yesterday...want to see it?  Just look below! And if you want to read my full interview and feature from my cover reveal day go to http://www.judeouvrard.com/meetjj-ellis/#more-281. :)

MY WEEK ROUNDUP

MY KIDS ARE DRIVING ME NUTS FINALLY. WHEN DOES SCHOOL START? Does anybody want a whiny little boy to reprogram after having been influenced by the devil neighbors for two weeks? (They were sent home to NM because everyone refused to babysit them.  I don't think they will be allowed over here next year, they have gotten twice as bad as normal. Thank goodness they are gone, but now we are back to trying to get Mr. Insane outside during the day. It never ends!

We celebrated our anniversary on Tuesday this week with dinner out and a lot of time together just hanging out and doing nothing. They key was that we were together.  We ended up going to Olive garden which was great because we hardly ever get to go there and they have great White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. I rarely eat dessert so that was an extra bonus.  We did a free giveaway of my latest novel that day too and had a great response.  Why not celebrate love with a free Romance book! http://www.writerjjellis.com 

So, about the new products I'm taking to boost my health, well I took two of them on Thursday for the first time and I felt so wonderful all day!  Of course my hips were still messed up so I couldn't do much physically, but I felt like I could move mountains even if I really couldn't. I did get a lot of work done on my next novel because my mind was clear and I didn't get sidetracked as easily.  I can't wait to see what more use of these products does for me!  Today I started the third product and am waiting to see what it does for me.  This is the multi vitamin one and I understand that this will make the biggest difference until the weight starts to come off. Tomorrow I start the weight loss program (I hope, my cough hasn't been allowing me to hold food down for long so we have to wait until that goes away.)

Next week I hope to have a report back to you on how I am feeling overall and then in a couple of weeks I will have my report on how my weight loss is coming along.  After my first cycle I will have a before and after picture for you. This ought to be interesting.  If you are interested in learning more about the products I'm taking I will give you the web address and you can read it over. OMNITRITION

We had Gwen at the cardiologists today and he doesn't think there is anything to be worried about but he wants to do one last test - she gets to wear a monitor for 48 hours. If that doesn't find something then she is in the clear.  I guess the things she is experiencing can be normal for girls her age.  I'm just glad they are being thorough!

COMPLAINING ABOUT A BAD DAY, WHY YES, I WILL

I had two kids at the doctor today. And of course the day I have to be out and about a lot, it is supposed to be 95 degrees, which means I will be getting sick. Runs to the doctor, the lab, the store for prescriptions and then to pick Gwen up from work means I will probably NOT be enjoying dinner tonight. Then this evening, we will be babysitting the neighbor kids again so I will have aching hips, an upset and hurting stomach, and a very annoyed temperament.  Oh joy!  The good news - This will be the last night we have to watch the neighbor kids.  It seems my kids overheard us talking about not doing it anymore and they told the neighbor kids who told their grandparents and woo hoo, we are free again!

I was kind of hoping that getting out of babysitting would be a punishment for my older two children who volunteered me, but hey, it's too hot to hold a grudge right now. I'm sure someday, somewhere, somehow I will punish them for their bad deed. hehe. But until then I will be trying to keep cool.

We never should have complained about winter lasting so long, because now summer is here early.  Casper, WY in the mid nineties in early June...yep we are being punished. And rightly so, I will never complain about long winters again...maybe...probably not...ah hell, I'll complain, but then I will suffer. At this point, I really don't care. I'm just trying to get through this day without hurling. So, a note to my kids - if you need to go anywhere or be picked up from anywhere tomorrow, you're on your own.  When it's hot, I stay inside so I can survive. Period. End of Story.

You may be wondering what is wrong with my two who were at the doctor. Well Miss Crazy has developed a sinus infection and sores on her throat (no strep though) thanks to the nasty coughing crud we had.  And Gwen went in for testing to see why she is feeling a bit off. They are testing for diabetes, thyroid, hemoglobin and a few other things.  Hopefully it is just a normal cycle of stuff for the end of her major growth.

Until Next Time...I just felt like complaining today.  I have had some pretty good days here recently with the release of my new book and stuff so I figured if I have a bad day thrown in here and there it's okay to complain.  It's okay for you too. Sometimes bad days are just plain hard to take. Let it all out and be happy again!!!

SUMMERTIME FRIENDS

I was looking forward to having the two elementary school kids out of the house, playing outside for the summer, and then...they won't go outside! They don't want to be outside without anyone to play with. Um, these are the kids who can think up the most amazing games to play together inside - so why not outside? 

The bad news is, their friends don't live here anymore. So I had to resort to making them go outside if they wanted special snacks or computer time. And what do they do? Walk around beside the porch  and sit on the steps. :/  It is like the fresh air dampens their imagination or some stupid thing like that. 

Well now for the good news.  We found out the other day that their friends are coming to visit their dad and grandparents for 2-4 weeks. I have never beens so happy to hear that trouble making kids are coming back to the neighborhood!  WOO HOO  my kids are finally going to play outside all day! Another bit of good news is that the neighbor kids are much better behaved now that they live with just their mom so maybe I won't have to work to undo any damage done this summer.  At this point, I don't care as long as my kids go outside and enjoy their vacation!

Another good bit of news is that we will be babysitting them for about five hours a night a few nights a week and will get a bit of extra money coming in to cover meals and snacks for them. Extra money is always good right?  And did I say I'm happy about my kids going outside to play without having to bribe them and listen to them whine all day?  

Gwen works all day, The Sophomore can take care of herself, the littles will be outside so that leaves me with Little Butt to cuddle while I write my next great masterpiece...umm I mean Romance Novel, erotica short story or blog.  ;)

Until Next Time...Sometimes, in this day and age, it seems you have to force kids to be kids and enjoy their free time. When I was a kid, you practically had to tie me down to get me to stay inside during the summer and I lived in Southern Nevada where the temps often topped 110!  But then again, I didn't have a computer, tablet, mp3, xbox, playstation etc.  

WE ARE HAVING A PARTY! We are celebrating the release of my latest novel - Alaskan Ambush.

Join us at http://www.facebook.com/writerjjellis for giveaways, contests and sneak peeks at future books. We would love to have you stop by

SUMMER BREAK!

The day every mother dreads is here, except I don't dread it. I actually look forward to it.  The last day of school.

To me, the last day of school means not having to get the little one dressed (wrestling match) to get into the car (wrestling match, have to carry her on bad weather days, sprains my hips pulling her chest clip up to her chest) anymore. It means the possibility of being able to let my hips heal a bit. It means not having to interrupt naptime (when she actually naps) to go get the kids from school. And best of all, it means less pain overall.

I am weird, I look forward to summer break! I can't wait to have my kids home. But then again, by the end of summer I will probably pay you to send them back to school for a day or two because they have started to irritate each other beyond belief and I spend my day as a referee, but then I remember that I have to drive them to and from Every Day and I almost want to put up with their fighting again.

I once had someone tell me that the only reason I loved having the kids home for summer was so I could sleep in.  haha Have you ever met my kids?  The teenagers would definitely sleep all day, as would the toddler. The elementary schoolers on the other hand...not so much.  They will wake up every day between 7 and 8 a.m. I can pretty much guarantee it. During the school year, I wake up between 7 and 7:30.  Yeah, so probably no sleeping in for me.  They won't be quiet even if I pay them with ice cream and candy. I don't think they know how. I will give you one thing though, I am a night owl and will love staying up late.  I might have to wake up early still, but I don't have to be anywhere so I can enjoy my night owlness. ;)

We don't have any fun plans this summer like we did last - Alaskan Cruise :'( - so I don't have that to look forward to, but I do love having my kids home and not having to get the little one in and out of the car a million (or 2) times a day. If I want to run to the store, I just leave the littles with the bigs and my hips rejoice!

When August 19th rolls around I will definitely be crying in my soup. I will have two littles to take to two different schools every day and that is going to kill me.  I guess I should prepare now to be in even more pain next school year, but damn it I want to enjoy a summer with my kids first! (Can use some good vibes that the boy will be transferred off the waiting list to his sister's school or vice versa).

Until Next Time...Don't dread the summer, enjoy every moment with your kids even if most of it is spent playing referee and being irritated beyond belief!

KINDERGARTEN - MY KIDS ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES ;)

Today I am happy. Today I am sad. Today I signed my son, my one and only boy, up for Kindergarten. :'( 

We usually do online enrollment here in this open district but I forgot. Then I had them send me the paperwork, then  it got lost, then I called and asked them to send it again, then they never returned my call. So, we trudged across town and filled out the paperwork.  The good news?  It's an easy thing to do. The bad news? The school we wanted him to go to is full so he will be going alone, without his sister. This is the one thing that I was afraid of, he is a shy boy and doesn't like people very much and now he won't have his sister there to back him up...yet.

We signed him up for a different school relatively close to our house and put him on the waiting list for the one his sister goes to. 

We thought about transferring his sister to the school he is going to, but their second grade is full.  Not only is this a pain in the ass because they will be receiving two totally different educations, but now I have to drive to two different schools and I HATE DRIVING KIDS TO SCHOOL DAMN IT!!!!!. I love school busses. ;)

He can be bussed, but I would have to drive him to the nearest bus hub which is about as far away as his school is.  So there goes that idea.

So here is what we know:

 Mr. Insane will be going to school A but is on the waiting list for school B

Miss Crazy will be going to school B but is on the waiting list for school A

One way or the other the kids will be going to the same school eventually!!!! 

And this is important not only because I want older sister to help younger brother to acclimate  but because both schools start at and end at the exact same time so one will always be left waiting.  So annoying! 

I need to put all of this aside and focus on the fact that my baby boy is GOING TO SCHOOL FOR THE FIRST TIME SOON!!! Oh my, it is one of those mommy moments that brings tears to the eyes, especially since he is my only boy. I will stop the proud tears from The Senior's graduation just in time for the proud tears for Mr. Insane going to Kindergarten to start.  My head is going to be stuffy a lot this year. :/

We have so much to do. Make sure he knows his ABC's properly and his first 15 numbers and make sure he can write his name and know his address and phone number.  Dang!  This will be a busy but fun summer I think.  Come August I will only have one child still at home, it will be bittersweet. I will get to have alone time with my last baby, which will be great, but I'm going to miss my son. We've had some great times together the last five years!

Until Next Time...Do not take things for granted when it comes to your kids..  Children  hit milestone after milestone so quickly that we blink and they are grown up, married and have kids of their own. (It seems like just yesterday The senior was starting Kindergarten and now she's graduating!) 

Also, if your kids go to an open school district, if you can't run away screaming, do not ever miss the open registration days or you may be spending your whole life driving your kids to different schools, which when they are involved in activities, is such a pain in the butt.  And bussing will be a nightmare too. On second thought....JUST RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!! ;)