Where Have I Been?

Hmmm that seems to be the question lately and it definitely has not been here posting on my blog lol...I have been quite busy and occupied lately with the kids and was enjoying my time off from school and pretty much took a break away from everything.

So What's New?
A lot of things are new first off I started my college reading class the week. Which I have been dreading since I hate reading period, but today was pretty good I am reading the book called NIGHT. I read the first chapter in that book today and as much as I hate reading the book seems pretty interesting as I get into it more I'll tell you about it. I also  have three chapters to read in my other book called "The Reader's Handbook" Reading Strategies for College Reading and Everyday Life, and a quiz on them next Wednesday.

What Else Is New?
I got my haircut and I am LOVING it...Well not really "cut" but styled and trimmed and I really like it I think it looks hot! I posted the picture below if you wanna check it out.

I also got ed to invest in a pair of UGG Clogs which I have been wanting FOREVER and he got them for me for Valentines day I was soooo excited... Next up see if I can convince him into a pair of UGG boots...

Jadyn and Ashton are doing good they had an appointment last week to get put back on WIC and Jadyn was due for some shots, but all in all he handled it good. Better than I thought he would anyway. I also called headstart to get Ashton enrolled into the Pre-School program for this September so they will send me the application as soon as they are accepting them. I am really excited and yet can't believe he is already old enough to be starting school, but I do think it will give me a nice break during the day to get schoolwork and other things done around the house while he is at school.

Well that is it for tonight, but do hope to post tomorrow again :)

My New Haircut

Goodnight

PS: I accidentally deleted my design here on my blog so this is how it is going to look until I can find the time to redo it all over again lol...

LOL I had to share this pic...

and no there is no gel holding it up or anything lol! It looked like that for about 2hrs after he took his hat off

Done With My First Class and I did the Unthinkable

WOOHOO I am excited! Yesterday was officially my last day of my College Success Online and I passed (of course) lol. Anyway I am happy to finally have this class down and be able to get moving on to the good classes. You know the ones that I am actually going to school for. All in all it was a good class, but I just want to get started with the good stuff.

Besides that I have some other news to share.

Yesterday I did the unthinkable....I took Ashton to get his haircut. I was seriously dreading taking him since well the last time I took him. I always drag out the haircut as long as possible it usually goes something like this. We walk in the door he is fine talks to the lady, she sits him in the chair and then a massive melt down happens. Screaming and throwing a HUGE tantrum seriously as soon as she sits him in the chair. Normally I have to sit in the chair with him and hold him down while the lady cuts his hair as fast as possible and not to mention we have NEVER walked out of the hair dressers with him having straight bangs because of the moving around and throwing a fit the whole time they cut his hair, but yesterday was completely different it was like he was a whole new child! He sat in the chair nicely talked to the lady about what he got for Christmas, his favorite colors, told her what his name was and that he liked her name too (Heather). It was AMAZING!

As I was walking in there I was thinking of a plan on how I was going to hold Ashton down with one arm and hold Jadyn in the other arm while they both tried to wiggle away, just to walk out with everyone starring at me and me in complete embarrassment. 

Nope I walked out with neither child screaming both with a smile on there face eating a sucker for being good oh and he has straight bangs :)

Before The Haircut

After The Haircut

Next up is to try to convince Jadyn to get his haircut I asked him yesterday if he wanted to get his done like brother, but he sounded pretty serious when he said NO! He is almost 2.5 years old and has never had a haircut he has always been such a baldy lol. The trip went so well with Ashton I did not want to ruin it by forcing Jadyn to get his cut (the back trimmed) also (he don't have enough hair yet for a full haircut just alot in the back). 

I will have to share some of his pics from when he was younger just to show you what I mean. He didn't even start growing hair until he was almost 2. Maybe tomorrow I will post a picture of Jadyn when he was a little guy he was such a cute little bald baby.

Losing A Best Friend....Really Hurts

So this last week was a pretty tough week for me :( I lost a best friend that I liked to call Snoopy. She was my first pet I ever owned my dad bought her for me when I was 10 years old. Well this last week she got extremely sick, so we took her to the vet and found out she had diabetes, well they told me she had a 50/50 chance, but with her heart murmur that she was diagnosed with a few years ago would complicate things and they were worried about heart failure and the stress it would put on her with the medicines they had to give her. When we took her in she had lost 20lbs in a matter of days, she was not walking really at all, she had gone pretty much blind, and was throwing up everything she ate, and her sugar was at 500 (norm for dogs I guess is 100). Well they kept her there for a couple nights and was able to get her sugar down and get her all leveled out, but she was still not pulling through she was getting worse. When I went to visit her she was still not eating and at this point she would not even respond when I said her name, like I wasn't even there. She wasn't walking just laying there. She did try to get up to come and see me but she could only take a few steps. So it was then that the vet said that they really did not see any will in her left to live, and that I should consider putting her down. At that point I could not believe what  I was hearing or seeing. She was so miserable and I was faced with the decision to keep trying or if it was just her time to go, as much as I wanted to keep trying to see if she would pull out of it , I had to keep thinking is this what she really wants? or am I just being selfish trying to keep her here? The decision was so tough. Just last week she was running around like the old snoopy I knew and seemed perfectly fine. Ultimately I knew it was best to let her go...I miss her soooo much...She would have been 11 years old this April 9th and I don't even remember a time when she wasn't around. She has been my best friend since I was just a little girl. I never thought that loosing a pet would be so difficult...after all everyone says well "it's just a dog" but to me she was so much more than that. She was my best friend no matter what I said or did and was always there when I was down and out all those years growing up. I just thought she had another few years left and the fact that it all happened so fast I think was what really hurts. The fact that I was not expecting it or prepared for it. So here is a poem that I want to share with everyone. When I read it it is sad but yet at the same time helps me realize I made a good choice and what was best for her. It is called
"The Last Battle"

If it should be that I grow frail and weak,

And pain should keep me from my sleep,

Then will you do what must be done,

For this, the last battle, can't be won.

You will be sad I understand,

But don't let grief then stay your hand,

For on this day, more than the rest,

Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many happy years,

You wouldn't want me to suffer so.

When the time comes, please, let me go.

Take me to where to my needs they'll tend,

Only, stay with me till the end

And hold me firm and speak to me,

Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time you will agree,

It is a kindness you do to me.

Although my tail its last has waved,

From pain and suffering I have been saved.

Don't grieve that it must be you,

Who has to decide this thing to do;

We've been so close,we two, these years,

Don't let your heart hold any tears.


In Loving Memory of Snoopy....You were my best friend until the end...Love You & Miss You Girl

April 9, 2000 - January 19 2010

Sneak Peak :)

Hey Everyone! Okay so here is the exciting news :) Well actually probably way more exciting to me than anyone else lol. I am working on moving this blog here over to a self hosted wordpress blog. I am still working on it but wanted to show you all little sneak peak of the design and what I have done so far so check out the screenshot below feel free to let me know what you think.

I am super excited about this lol and I really like how the design is turning out and can't wait to get moved in over there :) Ill let you all know as soon as I do

XOXO
Krista

Where The Heck Have I Been?

That seems to be the question, and obviously it has not been here posting on my blog lol. I feel so overwhelmed right now with EVERYTHING! I started my first class for college on January 7th so that is where ALOT of my time has been going along with the fact that Creative Chic Designs is closed, but I still managed somehow don't know how lol to take on a couple more designs for February. I get antsy to design let's just say and I love doing it for other people, so with having a few week break between this class I am taking and my next one which starts at the end of February I decided I would take on a couple, so those have been placed in the schedule.

The next place I have been is just being a mommy and taking care of the kiddos and with two toddlers believe me they do take time. I don't know if they are just both in the terrible two's or what, but boy oh boy they have been a handful lately. Either they are teamed up against me tearing apart the house or they are fighting because one looking at the other one, or is sitting on the other side of the couch and god forbid that happens!

I have also been spending ALOT of time on the phone getting my financial aid for school finished  (trying to get it finished), and my student adviser doesn't seem to believe in answering her phone or returning emails until two weeks later which has really been putting a hold on things. When I have questions like where do I need to send this information to? and all it takes is a few minutes to send me an email address at least I would think, but I don't hear back from her. Finally I had to call up and someone else got me the information I needed so technically I have never even spoke with this women who is supposed to be my "new student advisor". Now I just wait and see how much they approve me for. I had to get a credit on my account to get my books I needed when all of this should have been done in December. ( I have been calling and emailing her since the middle of December) hopefully things get better. I was told they are swamped right now with the holiday's etc... so I hope they get caught up awfully soon because this is a pain in my butt!

Well those are my thoughts for the day hope to post more often :)

{MIA} and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hey it's me Krista :) I have not fallen off the face of this earth lol, but it has been awhile since I posted in my blog. I just wanted to stop in and say Merry Christmas to everyone :) and I am on my way to lower Michigan to visit family, but as soon as I get back I have lots of things to share and great pics of the kiddos ;)  I should be back sometime tomorrow.

My Brain Hurts

Wow so my brain really hurts right now I don't even want to think of anything right now lol. I went out to ed's uncle Joe's today to make my assessment tests for college so they can determine what classes I need to  be placed in and boy oh boy was I reminded how long I have been out of school! Let's just say WAY TO LONG. For those that don't know I dropped out of school when I was 16 because I was really sick while I was pregnant with Ashton and then I had Jadyn not long after Ashton.

Well anyway I went back to school when I was 19 and got my GED well ALOT of the questions on these test I was never taught and it has also been a little bit over a year since I got my GED so with almost every test I was racking my brains out, and thinking wow I should have just finished high school and when I was in high school I just screwed around and didn't learn much. Having my kids really made me grow up and get a reality check but wow I wish I would have known this ummmm like when I was 13, 14, 15 etc... but I guess as I always say and  have to remind myself sometimes "no regrets just lessons learned." Even though things have been harder and are still can be harder I love my kids and would never take them back, but when your parents tell you you need to finish school and harp on you a bit this is for a GOOD reason lol you may not think so now but believe it or not it is TRUE, but every time I get down and think I can't do this I just remind myself how bad I really want this and the reward in the end that seems to be a great motivator for me. Because honestly I was never a really motivated, on time person that liked school lol, but now that I have found something I like I guess it really gives me the motivation that I have always needed. Well I guess those are my thoughts for the day :)

take the nanny deprived quiz

 So i found this at nannydeprived.com and so many of these are so true haha take 

the test yourself and see if you are nanny deprived 

1) Have you ever eaten a random cheerio, puff, or pretzel just 
   because you had no where else to put it?

2) Have you ever vowed to never again wear white due to constant 
   grime,bodily fluids, and dirt showing minutes after you've gotten 
   dressed?

3) Have you ever used your garden hose to wash down a high chair, 
   stroller or child?

4) Have you ever walked around with a half eaten cookie in your 
   pocket?

5) Do you look forward to going to the doctor or dentist just so you 
   can sit in the waiting room and read a magazine by yourself?

6) Have you ever used a public restroom while holding a child on 
   yourlap because there was no where else to put them?

7) Have you watched Yo Gabba Gabba? I'm so sorry if you have!

8) Have you ever found marshmallows in your slippers?

   
9) Have you ever counted down the hours until bedtime?

10) Have you perfected the fine art of changing pee soaked 
    sheets while still mostly asleep?

11) Have you been forced to discuss or explain the plot of a Disney 
    movie while trying to merge onto an interstate in rush hour 
    traffic?

12) Have you ever had to use preschool safety scissors to cut a 
    major package because that was all you could find?

13) Have you ever cleaned grilled cheese off of your sunglasses?

14) Have you ever answered the door wearing "princess jewlery"?

15) Have you ever run out of batteries on PURPOSE?

16) Have you named your dust buster and consider it part of your 
    family?

17) Can you tell what time it is based on what show is on Noggin or 
    Nick Jr.?

I think I can honestly say I have done most of these except for a couple lol, and 

that includes #3. I have washed my kids high chair with a garden hose haha! just 

this last summer. So weird I thought I was the only one on this earth that has done

that. 
 

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, you truly 

are Nanny Deprived! Check out nannydeprived.com 

Made Up My Mind....

So it is official I have finally made up my mind when and where I am attending college :) I am super excited about this. For those that don't know me let's just say I have had a few minor set backs in life with being able to finish high school let alone now I am actually going to college! I originally was going to move this December so I could go as no colleges around where I live offer a degree in what I want, but unfortunately we are unable to move at this time, however I still really wanted to attend college so I started looking into online colleges and found the perfect one finally! It seriously felt like a fricken eternity, but I have decided that Baker College Online was the best choice for me at the moment.

Why? Well first of all Baker College has an Associates Program for Web Development and a Bachelors. Which will work out perfect for me because if I decide later on that I want to continue my education and get a Bachelors I can. The second reason I choose them was that they are affordable and offer all the classes that I was wanting to take, and finally I choose them because when we are able to move I can easily transfer from an online student to a campus student, something I was really looking for when I was searching through all these different colleges.

I received a letter from them letting me know I was accepted a couple days ago YAY!  Now I have to take my ASSESSMENT test and finish up some paperwork and I will be all set and ready to start.

I am very excited about this and had to share with everyone lol. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything lately and at one point felt like giving up, but I am very glad that I didn't. 

On another note...
I am also excited about this weekend, we are planning on finishing up our Christmas shopping for the kids. We already got Punky (aka jadyn) his bigger present a bike :) I think he will be really excited Christmas morning because Ashton had gotten a bike last year and I think he actually rode sat on the bike more than Ashton did and they were always fighting over it, so I think he will be excited to have one of his own now.

We are not sure what we are going to get Ashton yet we are a little stumped as to what to get him for his "bigger" present, but I am sure we will find something this weekend.

Well I guess that is all for now, but I will be back again to share some more with everyone.

Ohhhh how I hate snow!

Well as you can see in the picture to the left (my front yard) it is definitely going to be a white Christmas here this year {as is every year} , but in all honesty I HATE snow I could live the rest of my life without EVER seeing snow again. I seriously think I was supposed to be a a southern girl, I actually went to Texas a couple months ago and loved it! It was 9am there and about 55-60 degrees and they were complaining it was cold. I could of walked around in a Tank Top and by noon it was about 70 degrees where I live it was about 30 or 40 degrees :(. Some people say "oh but the snow is so beautiful"but I think it just plain ol' sucks. Why? There are many reasons why the main reason is I do not like cold weather I would be so happy to live in a place where it stayed at least 60 degrees most of the year, but for those of you that don't know I live in Upper Michigan, some mistake it for the upper part of lower Michigan, but no I live in the way up north next to Wisconsin, across the Mackinac Bridge, about 2 hours from Canada Upper Michigan and let me tell you we get ALOT of snow. I was so unhappy this morning when I woke up and saw this. {Yesterday there was grass on the ground yet}. The second reason I don't like snow is all the clothes you have to wear to go outside, and dressing the kids takes you an extra hour just to get out the door not fun when you are in a hurry in my book.  The third reason I don not like snow is how bad the roads get. I hate driving in snow it is slippery and nasty and in blizzards or when it really snows hard you can't hardly see out your windshield. The fourth reason I don't like snow is getting out of your driveway the next morning after it has snowed hard.If you don't have a plow then you are not leaving anytime soon you either pay someone to plow you or shovel it out. Those are the main reasons I am not into snow at all. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Christmas time but could definitely deal with not having snow for Christmas. Well anyway those are my thoughts for the day and on snow.

Super Duper B-day!

Woohoo I had such and awesome b-day this year! Everything turned out so great. Ed bought me a brand new digital camera which I have been wanting for a long time since his mother stole my other one. Then I received two gift certificates from both of my grandmas and my aunt to go shopping at Kohls for some new clothes. Thanks So Much for Them!

For those of you that don't know me I am a super shopaholic lol. I absolutely love to go shopping. I ended up going at the perfect time they had some GREAT sales going on. Many things were 50%-80% off! I ended up getting a CUTE new pair of high heels, boots, 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of sweatpants,  4 shirts, and some jewelry!

So I was pretty happy, but then to top it all off I got to go to the club on Saturday night with the girls! Which I have never done and I just now turned 21. We decided that it was time for me to go and I had to go and have some fun with ash and melissa (my best friends) and buy my first drink. Which even though I was 21 I as I was walking up to the bar I felt as though I was not supposed to be lol. Like I was doing something wrong guess it is just from all those years of not being able to do that and it being "illegal" for me to do. Well I quickly got over it had a couple drinks danced with my friends had a great night! and then headed home. I was very surprised that Ed let me go he usually don't like me doing this kind of stuff, but he did :) Below I have posted a pic that we took that night just before we left.

The Simple Things In Life...

One thing I have learned after have two children are to appreciate the simple things in life and to take time out for myself. Which yes can be hard between feeding the kids, bathing the kids, dressing the kids, running errands, being a taxi, working, feeding the dog, walking the dog and if you are a mom you know the list does not end there.

There are so many things that need to be done during the day, but when you do get the time to relax, find yourself, and slow down a bit you really appreciate it.

A few simple things that I appreciate and enjoy doing that make me feel great and refreshed are

1. Showering (alone)
2. Shopping (alone)
3. Going to the Cafe
4. Getting a Haircut
5. Tanning
6. Getting a new outfit
7. Putting my makeup on for the day

Now I am sure that all moms have there own "things" they like to do that is relaxing or makes them feel great. These are just a few of my "simple" things in life after becoming a mom that I have learned to appreciate ( for example: being able to shower by myself) or like to do that helps refresh me and feel good about myself (for example : actually doing my makeup for the day and not just thinking about it).

When you sit down and think about what makes you happy after you become a mother you realize how simple all of these things are yet how important they are to being a great mom.

Yet sometimes we forget how important it is to do these simple things that let us slow down, relax and make us who we are.

I guess this post came to me after the other day when I got a haircut and had not taken the time to do this in over a year, but after it was all done I felt so great like a whole new person. Yeah I know it is just a hair cut, but for me it was a confidence booster, it was relaxing, and I enjoyed chatting with the hairstylist and taking a time out for me (something that I do not do often) but have learned that I need to start doing.

I feel that all moms should have one day a week, month etc... whichever you feel is best for you to do one thing that you enjoy doing or have been wanting to do.

So with this post I am now curious as to what other moms enjoy doing for themselves or what they find relaxing?

{Frustrations & Questions}

So nothing seems to be going right for me lately and when I say nothing I mean nothing! lol. I am trying to go to college and everything just seems to be a big flop lately for me. Originally the plan was to pack up and move an go to Delta in Saginaw, but I don not foresee that happening as we do not have the finances to move that far before January.

I have now started to research online college which seems like a great option but I feel as though I am being pushed and pulled in every direction possible by everyone around me! Ed (my fiance) wants to stay here because everything he knows is where we live right now. Even though he told me if we absolutely have to move we can do so, but I can definitely feel the pressure to go to online college from him.

Then I have the parents telling me I should move right away and go to college in lower Michigan, but without the money to move just how do you do that? They say "Just Do It", but how do you do anything without having a plan? That is my question. I do not like doing anything without a plan and I just don't see this happening.

I have researched a few online colleges one being Full Sail, seems like an awesome school for what I am going for {Web Development} . You get a Mac Book Pro all the software you need like Photoshop CS4 and all the works that you get to keep for LIFE, and they seem to have a really in-depth program for web development, but that comes with a pretty hefty price. Like $53,000 or more for a bachelors degree. Seems very intriguing but can I afford it?

I also have just looked at Baker College which offers a certificate, associates, and bachelors degree it seems like a great school , but doesn't offer any of what Full Sail offers in the cost of the tuition or seem like the have a really in-depth web development program , but is a lot less expensive to go there, and what is nice about them is they are located right in lower Michigan so if I ever decide I wanted to transfer to a campus, I can very easily do that as well as get my associates degree and continue my education if I feel the need to at a later date.

This all just seems so complicated, frustrating, and to top it off I do feel the stress of what everyone wants me to do and what they think is best for me, but shouldn't I only know what is truly best for me?

Why You Don't Let A Two Year Old Dress Himself to go in public...

Okay the other day Jadyn decided he wanted to dress himself. He seems to be at that stage where HE wants to do EVERYTHING HIMSELF! Well this is what happens when I let him dress himself. This is a great example why you never let your two year old dress himself to go into public LOL. and yes that is my underwear and his dads sock!

Online College ???

To to make a long story short I was signed up and all ready to go to ITT Tech in Swartz Creek, MI but when I reviewed some other colleges didn't really feel it was the best place for me and what I was looking for in my degree. Which is a web/graphic design degree, so I called them up to let them know I was not going to attend there and decided I wanted to go to Delta in Saginaw, MI which is not to far from Swartz Creek,

Now I just got a brochure in the mail for Full Sail University which offers not just an associates degree in web development but a bachelors in web development which is exciting. They also hook you up with a new mac book pro, photoshop CS4, and Office for Mac.

I am thinking this is AWESOME! The only issue is there is no Full Sail University near me, so with that being said I would have to do the classes online which is cool and I would not have to move, but I am just a little bit weary of attending college online. I am worried that I wont be able to learn without an actual teacher.I am horrible at math to tell you the truth and am not sure if I don't have a teacher right there showing me how to do it and am learning on my own if I would be successful? I am not to worried about my design classes because I have already taught myself everything I know and learn more with every site I do. I just have a hard time focusing on things that don't interest me (hint hint like math). I'm just stumped on this decision :(

Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences about online college in the comments section below.

meet krista

Welcome to my new blog All Things Krista, for those that don't know me I am a mommy of two boys ages 3 and 2. Ashton is my oldest and Jadyn is my youngest. I have a wonderful fiance his name is Ed. We live in the upper Michigan area. I am a freelance web/graphic designer , I recently have gotten into photography and scrap booking. I also love to design Christmas Cards, Baby Announcements, etc... So you will probably see a lot of that type of stuff here on this blog along with my rambling about my kids, my life, family, and a lot of crafty things.