june

three times of posting in one week is unheard of for me. just so you know.

our memorial day weekend was uneventful. dan had to work, so it was just me and the kiddos. i tried to do some cleaning, but while i was doing some organizing, jake went and dumped all the fish food on the floor and threw a matchbox car on the floor. this was after he broke a jar of green beans on the floor. so i gave up.

lindsey found her recorder. not that i had hid it from her but...well, let's just say that i hadn't gone out of my way to look for it. so she's been walking around the house alternately playing that or strumming on her guitar. i'm happy that she got the musical gene but dear god, i'd love it if she could actually play rather than just make sound.

last night some of my friends from school came over for a barbecue. dan and vanessa's boyfriend kenny braved the rain and went out to use the gas grill by the pool for burgers and dogs. i made my yummy pasta and potato salads and some corn on the cob. vanessa and kenny brought cake, bonnie, jessica and mark brought appetizers, then kristin and christie brought chips. it was great. we ate and played apples to apples until almost midnight. the potato salad was well received. it's so easy that it's pathetic and i always get compliments on it.

beck's potato salad

6-8 potatoes, peeled, cubed, boiled (about 10 minutes-ish)
6 hard boiled eggs, chopped into pieces
1 cup-ish mayonnaise (i kind of eyeball it, enough to coat)
1/4 cup mustard (again, eyeballed just until it begins to turn yellow)
salt and pepper to taste

makes about 12 servings. and 1 serving equals about 209 kcals.

so dan is at work again today and tomorrow, then we have a weekend with him all to ourselves. can't wait!

We're moving.

So Dan got a new job...again. So we're moving...again. This is the second time in six months. The job situation here in South Carolina is not pretty, so we're doing what we can to stay gainfully employed.

After many discussions we've decided to take Dan's parent's offer to stay with them while we get back on our feet. We've decided that this will help with childcare while I'm in classes, help us get rid of our debt and get us back on track. We're not putting a cap on how long we'll be there, we're simply going to see how we do.

We hate to do it, but we're not the first, nor are we the last people to move in with our parents. Life will go on and we will adjust, just like we always do.

Gah, a week-long fail.

It has been a week since I posted. That's an epic failure on my part. In my defense, Lindsey was home sick Friday-Monday, and I had class and work. And I started reading Harry Potter fan fiction. (*sigh*)

HOW 'BOUT THEM COLTS?!?!



I am so stoked. Unfortunately I had to work so I was only able to see the last half, and even then Dan was so superstitious that I couldn't WATCH it, I had to check it covertly online. I died. I was dying the whole time and I couldn't tell him that I was looking at it or he would have beat me. So I silently cried, cheered and ultimately died. I'm desperately in love with Peyton Manning, no matter how many people tell me he is unattractive. They can all shrivel and die. Haters.

Dan and I had a *date* on Friday night. We had gift certificates to the Olive Garden but with Lindsey being sick we didn't want to go out or get a babysitter, so we got takeout. Olive Garden does an awesome takeout. We also got some snickers cheesecake from Publix. It was tasty. And doing it after the kids went to bed assured us of quiet evening. It was awesome. Having time like that lets us focus on us, on our relationship, and what's important to us.

Dan went out with a couple of friends on Saturday night so I stayed home with the kids. I needed to do some cleaning so I went to town. It's hard for me to clean our bedroom because whenever i'm home it seems like dan is sleeping. So I lit some candles, hoping that the bathroom and the bedroom would smell a little nicer when Dan got home. Then I realized that it wasn't doing a good enough job of destinking the house so I used the Lysol room deodorizer. BIG MISTAKE. I set off the smoke detectors. Not exactly sure how it happened, but Lindsey and I ran around the entire house blowing out candles and fanning the detectors. I had this fear that the fire department was gonna come busting into my house while I was cleaning in my little tank top and shorts. Luckily they didn't. Or maybe I would have had some hot firemen carrying me away. DAMMIT!

Classes are kicking my butt. There is soooo much reading and soooo much homework. I'm really fortunate that I read so quickly, but being that i'm one of those people who learn by writing things over and over, my hand is killing me. Not to mention I'm killing trees with my need for nursing.

Good news is that I was finally inspired for my book. I'm back to writing again. WOOT!

Today I'm off from both school and work so I'm doing schoolwork and housework before going to the grocery store. I'm wanting to play with playdough with Lindsey today so I need to get everything done this morning. I figure i'll even take a nap while Jake does, because I'm not sleeping well. Le sigh. There's always something, eh?

Weekend Update and Recipe

So Lindsey spent the weekend with her grandparents this weekend. She had Friday off from school and so we went up to Greenville and had dinner with Dan's dad befor eleaving Linds there for the weekend. Saturday morning I had to work but then I got out at 5:30, leaving Dan and I with an entire evening of...sitting on the couch and playing on the computer. Sunday I had to work from 7a-3p, so Dan got a lot of qaulity time with the boy. I came home and Dan went to sleep, leaving me with my kids. We had dinner and bathtime before Jake went to bed and Lindsey and I made a bed on the living room so we could have movie night and a sleepover. I also kept an eye on the Golden Globes so I could see this:



Anywho, I'm still taking medicine from the discomfort of sleeping on the floor. We went to a playdate today with my friends Kim, Mandy and Jen along with their kids. It was crazy and insane but so much fun. I've missed my friends a lot since we've moved to Anderson.

For dinner tonight, I made a Taco Pie. It was really good, but Lindsey was being picky because i added salsa to it and she didn't want the tomatoes. GRRRR.

Taco Pie:

Ingredients

• 1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 jar of salsa, any temperature
  
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 1 container sour cream
• 1 cupshredded Mexican-style cheese blend
• 1 package crushed tortilla chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Lay crescent dough flat on the bottom of a square cake pan and bake according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the taco seasoning and stir together well. When dough is done, remove from oven and place meat mixture on top, then layer with salsa sour cream and cheese, and then top off with the crushed nacho chips.
4. Return to oven and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

YUMMY. It was so good. I topped it with lettuce for Lindsey and Dan, then added tomatoes and black olives for Jakers and I. Jakers ate way more than his share and was all Buddha-bellied when he was done. I'll have to take a picture of the belly, it's hilarious.

So now Dan is off to work and I'm off to bed, because my glasses broke and my neck is starting to hurt from having to hover 6 inches from the laptop screen just so I can see this post. That's dedication right there.

Birthday time!

Happy 28th Birthday to the love of my life!



You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I'm so lucky that you asked me to marry you. You're an amazing father, a hard worker, and a fantastic husband. You put up with me and my crazy, and just roll your eyes at my random Twilight rants. You're supportive of everything I do and you try your hardest to give me and the kids everything that we could ever want and need. You are the sunshine to my clouds, the best part of my day. I love you more than words could ever say.

I'm sorry that you'll have to be taking care of me and the kids today on your special day, but realize that every day that you are in my life is special to me :)

January 5th

Tuesday, January 5th

I had the monster of all headaches today. The head pounding, vomit inducing, light sensitive migraine was the mother of all headaches. I took Excedrin, took Aleve, Tylenol, Diet Mountain Dew and a Milky Way. When all else fails, caffeine and meds are the way to go.

I wanted to get stuff done today, but for real, I could not do anything. Bend over, throw up. Spin too fast, pass out. I took a nap with Dan while Jake napped...for two hours. Still didn't help. Finally I took some DayQuil and it knocked the headache out for the most part. Can still feel it lurking, but I think that can be attributed to having two children rather than just the headache itself.

We went and spent some money at the stores with the gift certificates we got for Christmas. The kids got new shoes, Dan got the Jeff Dunham Christmas special, and now I'm off to play some Band Hero :)

Happy New Year!

The Young family made our resolutions this year!

Dan:
work out four times a week. (wow. he's really straining himself)

Beckie:
Lose 30 pounds by June 1st
Go to gym five times a week
Do something special with the kids once a week
Finish my book
Blog so I can remember everything I did with the kids this year.

Lindsey:
Clean room when Mom and Dad ask
Work on listening
Learn to tie shoes
Work on math and reading.

Jake:
learn to talk.

The Young Family:
eat healthier
get outside at least twice a week
be more active
have a family fun night once a week.

*******

So this is my first day of blogging. Again. Yay.

2009 was a really rough year for us. Dan had been laid off and while he was fortunate enough to find another job, he took a really big paycut. Money problems ensued, which happen to everyone at some point I suppose. In August, he was offered a better paying job in the company, and we moved to Anderson to be closer to his work...and then the job fell through. Such is our life, we supposed.



I found a job working at Publix, a chain of grocery stores. I really like my job, it's very easy and I enjoy the people that I work with. It doesn't get in the way of school and that's what matters most to me. I work about 20 hours a week, and the money definitely helps out. I was accepted into nursing school in November, and classes start next Monday. I'm very excited to begin the part of my schooling that will get me to where I need to be in my career!



Lindsey started Kindergarten this year. We started in Greenville before moving to Anderson. She loves her school, loves her teachers, but still wishes she was homeschooling with Mommy. She's been tested and reads at a third grade level and does math at a second grade level. It's so impressive to very humbling when we meet with her teachers and they tell us how amazing our daughter is.




Jake is just...Jake. He's balls-to-the-walls extreme baby. To date, he has tried to tear the Christmas tree down fourteen times. He started walking at 10 months and hasn't stopped since. He's beginning to talk and it is so funny to listen to him. He's a very structured baby. He knows when he's supposed to nap and when he's supposed to eat. Mess with his schedule and all hell breaks loose.



I'm hoping that blogging will help to remind me what has happened in my life. I feel like so much time passes by me! Before I know it, my children will be grown and I'll be left here wondering what the hell happened.