Check ya later!

On Thursday morning, I'll be headed out of town for my annual Girl's Trip. It was my year to plan, and I'm hoping we have a great time. We're headed to Sullivan, MO, and will be doing some rafting, floating, drinking and hanging out! I'm sure I'll have some pictures and stories to post later. I hope you all have a great end to your week, and a great weekend! I'll be back Sunday night! See ya!

So much to say...

So, I always think that I have nothing important to blog about, but as I made a list of things I need to blog about...well, it's a pretty long list! Thus far this summer, I've spent a lot of time with friends. Though my to-do list keeps getting longer, I think I'll keep spending time with friends. It's been a wonderful summer! My cousins have a boat, and I've spent many a Sunday on the lake with them. It might possibly be my favorite place to be. I love our lake!

In early June, I went to Milwaukee to see "my kids." I missed them terribly! The foster babies have gotten so big, and we played a lot! E. turned 5...wow! It seems like she was just born yesterday. My girly-girl wanted a makeover, and this is what she got:

Who cares that it took twice as long to take off as it did to put on? We know how to have fun!

I guess the most influential thing that has happened recently is that we had to lay off 6 people on July 1st. Add these 6 to the 3 who have left over the last year, we are down 9 staff members. Over this past winter, our numbers were so low that this change probably would have been somewhat unnoticed. However, starting about June 28th, we filled up. Nothing like having 2 open beds AND being down 9 staff. Needless to say, I have been BUSY. The paperwork and research I used to do during short breaks at work is now done at home in my free time, and in my 8 hour shifts I have to do about 12 hours of work. All of this, paired with the fact that I now also run transportation (3 of the layoffs were our transportation officers.) This means that even if I'm in the middle of doing 3 things, if a county calls to detain a kid, I (or someone else on the floor) has to leave to go get them. I'm not going to say it's been horrible, but it is hard having to say goodbye to friends. We are one big dysfunctional family, and it's hard when someone leaves (by choice or otherwise.) And I am truly exhausted at the end of every day. This is somewhat of a double-edged sword: I'm doing tons of extra running around, but my days are usually jam-packed and being exhausted all the time is really cutting into my productivity. I'm hoping my body gets used to it, because I don't foresee many changes in the near future.

Hmm...what else? Oh, my brother's fiancee and her two kids from a previous marriage moved from Florida to Illinois around the 4th of July. It's exciting to have them here, and I'm hoping that this area is good to them. I feel bad, though, that they don't really know anyone here, and that my brother is gone for about 2 weeks at a time. I've been trying to fill their days, but the exhaustion is really kicking my butt! They've been keeping my mom busy...they love her baked goods :). You know she loves to feel needed, so this is right up her alley!

One of my oldest friends just returned from her tour in Afghanistan, and a bunch of our high school group were able to get together for a cookout. We haven't remained extremely close, but we always seem to have a good time when we're together. It's funny to see where life has taken all of us, yet none of our values have changed much. We're still the same girls, but we've all had much different experiences now.

In a random addition, I have a Droid phone (which I love more than cheese...that's a lot!) I love all the apps that can be downloaded, but my current favorite is FXCamera. It allows me to take pictures with different effects, such as turning a pic into an Andy Warhol-type colorblock print. It's so much fun! My favorite effect is fisheye, and here is a sneak peak at my "FishEyeAlbum":

This is my friend Kylie...and I'm so glad she doesn't read my blog!!! I laughed at this picture until I fell asleep that night, then woke up the next morning still laughing! Yeah, it doesn't take much to entertain me!

Today, I took two of my kids from work to go help set up for Relay for Life. My cousin is the local chairperson, and I always try to help her out. I think it's important for my kids to understand the impact of service to others. And I'm never disappointed! For juvenile delinquents, they sure do like to please people! I think that most of my kids haven't been praised or thanked for much, and that was definitely apparent today. They were soaking it up! They work hard, work fast, and then thank me for taking them! Really helps lighten a bad mood!

Phew! I guess that's it for me. So sorry I've been out of touch...I've been blog-stalking all of you, just haven't had the time to comment. I know, I suck. I promise to try to get better! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Oh, and...

I can't freaking believe that Big Mike got voted off Idol before Casey....Casey can't sing that well! I enjoy his music, but if he wins this season, I'll never watch it again! Can't people hear his voice breaking when he tries to hold notes? Reality TV...a popularity contest!

May

Wow, that last post was pretty dark...I'm done with my pity-party now! It really didn't last that long, I promise! Family stuff is still, well, still crazy, but everything else is over. May has already been a crazy month, and it's not even half over! Unfortunately, we've said goodbye to many special people, some sudden and some expected. But I've also been able to welcome a lot of new babies! 2010 is apparently the year of the baby! I've been making baby gifts left and right!

A very special young lady I know received her First Communion at the beginning of the month. I turned her headpiece into a veil, and got to be the hairstylist, too! She's so sweet! I, of course, didnt' take any pictures, but will try to get one to post. She looked so pretty! And she was so excited! I'm glad she asked me to be a part of her special day!

My dear friend, Jenn, recently decided to follow her dream of opening a floral shop, and is doing so out of her home. We have always wanted to own our own shop, as I like to *arrange* flowers as well, though my talent is not nearly as polished as hers! My end of our dream shop was everything else...food, jewelry, crafts, etc. If only.....

Anyway, she lives in a small community, but they are extremely loyal people, and have blessed her with tons of business! Her first event was to be a Mother's Day sale, but as soon as she put an ad in the local paper, she began receiving orders. Luckily, there is a floral wholesaler fairly close by, so everything has worked out extremely well! She asked me to assist her for the Mother's Day sale, and we had a great time! She sold a ton of arrangements and planters. I'm so glad I could share this very important day with her!

I have 3 cousins who graduate this month...Billy from Western Illinois University, Nathan from Hamilton Technical College, and Nick from Galesburg High School. It's so exciting to see these three take such important steps in their lives...I remember changing their diapers! All three are destined for great things, and are hard workers, which will take them farther in life than most anything else.

I mentioned previously that I was planning a benefit for a friend's dad...it went extremely well! I was exhausted by the end of the week, but we raised almost $4,000 in one day! And, I just found out that he is now cancer-free! Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles...(yep, Fiddler on the Roof!)

On Sunday, my friends and I are going to see Barenaked Ladies! I can't wait! I'm not as big of a fan as my friends are, but it will be a good time! We don't get to spend much time together as adults (everyone but me has little kids), so when we do...well, let's just say we always have a good time! Don't get me wrong, I love their kids, and spend a lot of time with them too, but it's nice to have an uninterrupted conversation once in awhile!

Well, I guess that's it for me for now. To all the mothers who read my blog, I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day...you all deserve it! With some of the terrible things I see, you all gracefully show me that there's still some hope in the world. You are wonderful moms!