Big Day for Dillards!

January 1st is Dillards HUGE sale - 50% all clearance. If you've never been, first, you're missing out, and second, it's CRAZY. People are buying EVERYTHING.

So, The Hubs's store (Cary Towne Center) did the most business the store HAS EVER DONE January 1st. EVER - like in the whole history of the store!!!

I am super proud of The Hubsber - that is a HUGE accomplishment.

Just thought I'd share, in case anyone else wants to send him a congratulations :)

Twitter

So... I'm new to the Twitter craze, but I now have a profile set up. My userid is mamato2gs (or just look me up - Kate Duzan).

No promises, but it's a pretty twitterific (oh yeah!) site!

PS - The Hubs's store also has a Twitter page... Dillards0425. Pretty nifty... All you Cool Springs Dillard's shoppers here in Franklin TN can get sale updates via text (or however your Twitter account is set up).

Tweet out!

Spring has Sprung!

Spring is here in Tennessee! The pear trees are blooming, the grass is suddenly green, and it's getting warmer... JT's two week anniversary for school is coming up... To read more about his progress, see his blog (to the left).

Audrey is adjusting to JT going to school (as am I)... It is hard for both of us to walk away when JT is crying and reaching for us. It breaks my heart every day it happens. His (awesome) teacher sent home pictures of him ten minutes after we left, and he was laughing and having a grand time... But it's still hard.

I applied for - and was accepted! - a job with Writers.ph. This company is a little different than Demand Studios and Writers Research Group (and Associated Content, lol... Man, I work with a lot of companies...). They focus on essay writing. It's actually pretty cool - and intriguing. The pay is still good (it is for pretty much all my jobs, or I wouldn't do it) and it's something new and promising as far as learning - I LOVE to learn constantly... Jack of all trades :-)

Check out my article links on the right hand side... I have some new stuff on Associated Content that's pretty neat (and very personal, surprisingly... I've shied away from terribly personal stuff in the past...).

The Hubs's store is doing great. I know it's because he's there, but his store is way above average... While I think they were down in sales last month, it wasn't by much (and Easter was in 'last month' in the previous year, so to even be close is fantastic - those numbers are way higher). Hopefully they'll kick some booty this month... He's really enjoying working with people again. I know he loves coming up with new events, and my crazy husband loves doing the PA announcements. One day I walked in to hear, "We're having a CRAZY sale up here... It won't last long - come buy a purse now! Guys, buy one for your mom, your wife, your baby momma..." Only The Hubs! Really, though, he is so good with people, and they appreciate him so much... It's nice.

Hope everyone is fabulous!

JT, School and Lots of Driving

Yep, that's all that's really new around here.

JT started school last Monday. He seems to be okay with it... He goes Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:25 - 11:30am. He cried Thursday and Friday, which not only crushed me, but upset his big sister a LOT. She was so upset we had to leave him there crying...

Which leads to the funny school story of the week... JT fell asleep on his desk Friday. 3 years old and already falling asleep at school, LOL! He had also just gotten a (black) stamp on his hand, and so he looked all polka-dotted when we picked him up. He was so exhausted Miss Maggie (his teacher) had to carry him out. See, JT has been sleeping in this baby crib in his room that we just had in there to put stuffed toys in... He stays up and 'makes his bed' by pulling all his blankets and pillows off his REAL bed - then sleeping there. He does NOT want us doing it - so this is the new routine, I suppose.

We drive SO much now... We leave our house at 7am, drive The Hubs to work (about a 35-40 min drive), turn around, drive JT to school (45 min drive to an hour). Then I pick JT up at 11:30, we go home (about 25 min drive), then we pick daddy up at 6:15pm. It pretty much sucks, but I don't want JT on the bus - he's only 3!!! - and I don't think he's secure enough with the transition to school to successfully deal with the bus. Plus - mommy isn't ready to give that up yet... Another hour or more my baby would be gone... Nosiree.

I'm still dealing with the dang headache from hell. Have no clue what is going on, but we're coming up on about 6 weeks straight of it... And I can't handle much more. I have 2 months and some change until my insurance will pay for anything... But I may end up at the doc's office before then. My head is not doing so hot! Bob, on the other hand, has pretty much settled himself down and stopped growing (praise God!), so I'm feeling pretty good about the surgery having to wait - it wasn't the best case scenario, but at least Bob is behaving!

Audrey has a birthday party today at Chuck E Cheese (Happy Birthday Emily!), so we're all heading that way in just a bit.

That's all for now... Hope everyone else is doing well!

Love to all!

Bye, Miss Great Big!

Great Big Nanny came on Wednesday, and left this morning. We were SO sad to see her go...

JT asked for 'cookie' a few times today... And he's referring to her. So, he calls her Cookie, and Audrey calls her Great Big Nanny - or 'Miss Great Big'. If you know my grandmother, you see the humor in this. She's roughly 5'2", and maybe 100 lbs. Seriously, there is nothing great big about her (except her personality)!

So, we're on our own... We will miss her a whole bunch... But I have a feeling she'll be back soon. She left a bag full of shoes and clothes at our house (lol, now I know exactly where I get it from).

As far as the Duzan fam... JT starts school tomorrow! I am going crazy... But I know he will like it. At least for the most part ;) And I need some time alone with my Audrey... She sometimes gets the rough end of the deal being the sister of a high energy autistic boy... But she is so sweet. I just want her to know how loved and important she is (JT, too, but he seems to know that very well lately, lol).

The Hubs's store has been doing some crazy awesome things, and he is loving his job. Dillard's is giving them a little more freedom to help clear old merchandise, and everyone knows that The Hubs loves coming up with 'fun' ideas - and he gets SO excited! It's great to see him so pumped up about work, and I know that helps his employees and the company in general to have someone who really is excited about what he does.

I met with my pastor (Pastor Carol) this week, and really had a great discussion with her. She is such a sweet person... It just solidified my decision that this is the church for us. I can't say enough about Emmanuel Presbyterian - the people are wonderful, the message is kind and helpful, and overall people just want to be better and do better in God's eyes. The best church I have ever attended by far.

I am dealing with Bob better every day... I have realized that in my life, I have faced plenty of challenges. Every time I fall, God catches me. Even when I may not realize it, God is always there. It is SO hard for me to realize I have no control... But truly, in life, we don't have control over - well, hardly anything. I saw a sign on a church on the way here that says 'Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it.' This is SO true. I cannot control Bob, my insurance company, my doctors or anything else. I can control how I react to this situation and what I do with myself. I choose to believe that God is in the details... Somewhere. I have a hard time closing my eyes and waiting for God's safety net... 'Let go and let God' is not easy. But I know I will be okay - it is just going to have to play out the way it's meant to play out.

So, all in all, we are doing fantastic. We are happy, busy and exhausted... A wonderful combination :-)

I hope that everyone is doing well...