After almost a year and a half...

...My life has taken quite a few interesting turns, but all have been for the better so far as I am concerned!

In February I started my current job at a local Air conditioning company as an "Appointment Setter" (basically a fancy word for telemarketer!!) I took to it like fish to water. I have worked very hard and have progressed with this company, I am now a team lead and I have 3 team members who I trained and am helping to motivate to make sales of their own! On June 1st I was finally stable enough to get my own place! Well, not 100% my own, because one can only do so much on a telemarketer's wages, so I have a room mate, My sister's best friend, and slowly becoming one of my best friends as well. So we are 3 months into our 12 month lease, and I NEVER want to leave!

Kari-Lynn is now 4 years old, she is in preschool and is getting so big! I can't believe we are only 1 year away from Kindergarten!

So all in all, just a short update post, but things are looking up! Keep an eye out for future blogs that contain stories (and insider tips) about the telemarketing world. Stories on how I am dealing with being a working mom, as well as the bread winner and sole working parent of my family unit (daddy is being a stay at home daddy, so we will see how that goes for now!!!), And updates on getting Kari-Lynn ready for the BIG K!!!

Until Next time!

XoXoXo from the Hubbards!

Everybody Loves Babies!

So first, a little setup. I am a bzzagent. I signed up at bzzagent.com in 2004. Bzzagent is a Word of Mouth Advertising firm. To quote them "We're an international network of consumers who voluntarily participate in word-of-mouth (WOM) programs for a variety of products and services. Basically, we're a community of communicators." (from their non-member info page located HERE)

As a Bzzagent you get TONS of awesome free cool and fun stuff to try for nothing but the promise of telling your friends, family, and co-workers what you honestly think about the product, and in turn sharing the story with bzzagent.com where they reward you with all kinds of neat stuff!

Currently Bzzagent is working with promoting a movie that comes out this mother's day called "BABIES" Here is the trailer to the movie:



Also, here are a few exclusives from the movie (click on the photos to follow the links! When you follow the links you help to earn me some cool freebies!)













Also, check out my friend Jennie's Blog, she is also a bzzagent, and is also helping to promote BABIES, so help her gain her freebies, and also enjoy the content of her blog "My Fabulous Savings and More!"

Everything is going good!!

I can't begin to tell you all how blessed I feel right now because things have been going so well that I've been waiting, sitting on edge even, for things to just collapse and break apart!

First, Work is going very well, I'm a month into it and I'm rockin' and rollin' the hardware girl attitude! Going home every day with dirty hands, a sore back, and just a bit more knowledge about all things tool/hardware related! I've been spending the last few work days putting bright orange price stickers on teeny tiny pieces of hardware like nuts, washers, and screws! I have been able to answer customer's questions better and better every shift, and have even started getting better at the whole "get creative" thing (meaning, if someone has a fix-it problem that has no clear-cut solution, you try and help them find a solution with usually in-expensive items that are meant for other purposes!) I'm also thinking of starting a hardware themed jewelry/fashion line, so keep an eye out for that!!

Secondly, as I mentioned in my previous post, Rob is coming home...FOR GOOD! I am so excited. His last class is this Wednesday and he'll either head out for the Zona that day after class or the following day! I have this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off of work so that I can spend some well-earned time with my hubby-to-be and his mom!

Lastly, Rob and I have been discussing finally getting an apartment!! Our current goal is to be moved into our own place by August! It seems far off, but in financial terms it's sooooo close!! But we're saving every penny we can and are really looking forward to finally having our own space, and finally being together full time! This is what we have been waiting for, this is what needs to happen to start things on the path of (drum-roll please!) THE WEDDING!! I can't wait to marry this man!

Well that's all for now folks! More updates as they happen!

It's been quite a month!!

Hello there Friends and Family!!

So February has been quite a month here in our little world, and honestly BOY am I glad that it's over! I interviewed with ACE hardware on the 9th (The day after KL's birthday!) and got the job that day! I started on the 11th working as cashier at the location two blocks from my home here in phoenix! I LOVE the job, I Love my co-workers, the customers, and the fact that I dont have to work with food!! I should be able to save a bunch of money working here and I am so happy and glad to be back to work!

Secondly, I got the word the other day that Rob is finally coming home to stay! He should be coming home next month! I dont know all the exact details yet, but that's about all I can divulge right at this moment!

I will try and update as much as I possibly can, Take Care everyone!!

Happy Birthday Kari-Lynn!

It's 1:30 am here in AZ...that means it is officially the big day! Happy 3rd Birthday my sweet baby!

Two posts in one day!?

So I couldn't wait until tomorrow to post this!

Kari-Lynn's first birthday gift got here today, it is from my grandparents, It's a "Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Walk & Giggle doll" here is a picture...She LOVES IT!!!


When the box got here she bugged me for the better part of an hour to open it, when I finally did and she saw it, she flipped! She yelled at the top of her lungs "A Baby! With a Puppy! And a bottle! and a Binkie! and a Blankie! HOW AWESOME!" I told her that it needed batteries, and she said "it's ok, I can just hold her until we get batteries!" she is such a dork, so I ended up opening the doll, and it is now "sleeping" on the floor next to the baby that Rob's parents got her for christmas this year, both of them tucked underneath the blanket that the doll came with, and she is dragging the puppy toy back and forth between the kitchen and the living room...I'd say this gift was an instant hit! Good Job Grandma and Grandpa!

So it's been about a week and a half since I posted anything, so I will start back to this past weekend! On Saturday night, Kari-Lynn had her very first sleepover without mama! She went to Auntie Dawn's house and slept over with Keira and Joseph, she did so good and had a whole lot of fun!


In the coming weeks we are looking forward to Spending the night with Grandma Darcie (Rob's mom) On Saturday night for Kari-Lynn's b-day, Super Bowl Sunday, Monday Kari-Lynn turns 3 years old officially, Tuesday we may get together with Uncle Nathan and Auntie Martha, and the following weekend we are taking Kari-Lynn to Build-a-Bear for her special birthday surprise and mommy is going to make strawberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting (as per request from the birthday girl!)

I can't believe my baby is going to be 3 years old on Monday...so sad, she is growing up so fast!

Oh! And as far as potty training goes, she has been doing FANTASTIC! She wears big-girl panties all day long, only wearing diapers/pull ups at bedtime or when we go on long car-rides (which we haven't done since we started potty training) on saturday we will be done with the 2nd week of potty training and I am so glad to be over this hurdle...she still has accidents here and there, but I'm going to consider this a success, I have a potty trained little girl! Next step...Preschool!

Kari-Lynn is a big girl now!

So it's official! My baby girl is pretty much gone! As sad as it is, it's also pretty nice!

I decided that I was done with changing diapers all day long, just DONE! So I asked Kari-Lynn if she wanted to wear big girl panties one day and she gave me a very excited "yes!" Also, I found the pampers potty training kit that I sent for over a year ago, which contained a Dora potty progress chart, Dora and Diego stickers, a Dora trophy, a Dora coloring page, and some coupons for pampers easy ups (which were expired, boo!)

Well anyway, back to the big girl panties! I put them on her at about 2pm and she stayed dry for the rest of the day with only one accident! Thismorning I put a pair of panties on her and told her that diapers were for bedtime only (I'm not brave enough for night-time training yet, but I will get there!) she has done so good today, though she has had two accidents, but that's a big improvement over not going in the potty at all!

Yesterday, she went out with Nana to go grocery shopping and she got a haircut! It's so short (that's because mommy wasn't there!) but it looks so cute! I'm having trouble figuring out what to do with it, but I'm sure I will manage after time!

Time is going by so fast! But I am still loving being mommy and I can't wait for her to turn 3 in just two weeks!

Potty Training!!

So I posted a long while back about potty training...and it really didn't go very well back then!

Recently I started back up with a vengeance! Kari-Lynn has done sooo well! She has done #1 AND #2 on the potty this week! She's still getting rewarded with stickers but she doesn't want me to put them on a potty chart, she has to wear them!

I can't wait until she is out of diapers!

Hunting hunting hunting!

Getting back into the work force isn't nearly as easy as it sounded when I had the brilliant idea! It seems that employers look at my reusme and see at 3 year gap between my last job and now and think that I wont do well! It's so hard to get back to work...after all, I've only been a stay at home mom for the past three years...what kind of work experience could that give me? Well I'll tell you! Recently I recieved an e-mail detailing how much a stay at home mom would make per year if she were paid for every job she did...so lets see...

Job Title	National Average Annual Salary
Teacher-Daycare Center	$26,891
Van Driver	$30,762
Housekeeper	$18,750
Cook	$31,099
CEO	$612,623
Nurse	$56,113
General Maintenance Worker	$29,656
Base Pay (40 Hours)	$43, 461
Overtime Pay (60 Hours)	$88,009
Mom's Annual Salary	$937,364

According to this...I should be making almost 7 figures! What's wrong with this picture? So since I have been out of work for three years, and have no formal education after high school, I can't even get a job at Target...god help us!!!! Lets hope the economy gets better!