Oh the lack

So sorry, I still have not posted any pics and have to admit that I don't know when I will. I hate to say I'm too busy, it just hasn't been my priority. I started a new business in January so now I have two businesses that I am learning to balance along with family life and still get a little me time in there as well. I have learned and those very close to me have learned, that if I don't get any alone time for awhile I can be very displeasing to be around. I am way more social than when I was younger but I've always been someone who has enjoyed my time alone. Maybe it's having been raised an only child and when my friends couldn't play I learned very well how to play by myself and be comfortable doing so. Probably also why I always thought it was weird in middle and high school when other girls could not go to the restroom without a friend tagging along. Anyway I'm rambling whatever comes into my head first, I took yesterday off to rest so I have a bit more on my plate today than I planned. It's all good though, I just remind myself that it will get done and I can always move things around since I do make my own schedule. Unless of course someone wants to come see our home which is for sale now. We got a call from a lady yesterday afternoon wanting to see it and only had about 10 minutes to do a quick pickup. We are selling ourselves and I certainly didn't want to lose a potential buyer by making her wait 24hours or more to see it. I'm very hopeful we can sell it on our own and when we have a buyer I have a real estate agent who will do all our legal paperwork for us for a much more affordable price than listing it. I'm so grateful I found her and we are so excited as a family to be making the change and be able to find a house hopefully asap! Well, I need to get. You all have a great week and we'll talk soon!

Things really have gotten busier with one in K and one in preschool! Plus I now have two jobs!

In a way I hate to say that we are so busy and yet at the same time it's a nice change as long as I have some time to relax! Which is why I have scheduled family time for us as well so we can relax. We have blocked out every Sunday on our calendar for family plus I won't work on Tues nights when Brendan has his Karate. As for getting to the blog, I've clearly had other things I've been focusing on. I can't believe it's been over a month and a half since I last posted, I'm so sorry for those of you who check fairly often. I'm gonna try to get better. What I want to do either tonight or tomorrow is put some more pictures up for you all, we have some from B's karate test in mid-Dec., he went from white belt to yellow and is back at it again. They started when school did and then he'll get tested again in May I believe! We had a very busy yet good Christmas! Got to see quite a bit of family in Pueblo for a few days and then came back home to spend the new year here and have Christmas and B's bday with Dave's parents on New Years Eve, that was very relaxing and we even let the boys stay up past midnight! Of course I warned them that if they wanted to make it that they would need a nap so they took good ones obviously. ;) I've also just started my own 2nd business! I am still massaging and loving it but have been thinking for quite a long time about becoming a PartyLite Consultant to supplement our income, plus get free candles which I love! Another big reason and the most important for me to finally make the decision is that I want to help Dave quit the paper routes he currently has by the time summer starts and I really believe I can do it! For those of you who helped me start by ordering from my starter show, I can't possibly thank you enough for your support, it means the world to me! Thanks to you I was able to earn my starter kit for free! They should be coming in a couple weeks, I will keep you posted and can't wait for our order to come. I also just set up my website with Partylite, so if you want, feel free to check it out and pass my info on to people you know in my area of Ft. Collins/Loveland! www.partylite.biz/alyssamccall I appreciate any and all referrals for both my businesses! Well, I need to get some work done and also relax before a couple of clients I'm working on tonight. Take care and I will post pics soon! Love and blessings to you all!

Lazy Busy Butt

Well, I may have been hard pressed to write anything but at least I've finally changed the blog layout now that it's the holiday season! I have actually been working on a Letter to send out to family and friends this Christmas with a picture included of the boys as happy brothers. I'm excited that I will be able to finally send something out again after not having done it for 3 years, when Carter was only an infant! Thanks to facebook I have a lot of people on my list and it's been the perfect tool to get updated addresses from family and friends that I have/had old ones for, some I knew of and some not. So I'm almost done with that, now that I almost have everyone I want and need on my label program which will make it easier for me and less writing. Oh and of course, the most important thing I need to make sure they get where I want them to go.....stamps!

So far this year, with the exception of me cooking the meal, it looks like I will be able to do everything I want to this season including a cookie exchange with friends from my former mothers group! Very excited to see some friends and also get a variety of cookies while only having to make ONE kind!

Brendan had his karate test to level up to a new belt last Tuesday. We should find out either this week or the next how he did, none of the parents could be in there while it was going on. They will be having an awards ceremony for the kids on the 15th, which will be his last class until the new year! And thankfully for us the location will change then too. They will be holding class at O'Dea next semester, which is great since that's his school and it's literally three minutes from home!

Anyway, that's it for now. We hope everyone is having a safe and prosperous holiday season! We're thinking of you all always!

We are alive!

Wow, I really have been more lazy about blogging lately than I thought! Can't believe it's been over a month. Sorry to leave you all hanging! Although, most of you we keep in touch with anyway, whether over the phone or through facebook. :) Just like most everyone else we have been dealing with sickness. Carter got the flu a few weeks ago, thankfully we got him into the doctor fairly shortly after he started with a fever and it didn't take him long at all to get rid of it with the meds he was prescribed! Then almost two weeks ago I took both boys back in because their coughs wouldn't go away, B had a mild ear infection that thankfully has not progressed. Apparently the boy needs to blow his nose more often, so I've been bugging him even more so to do just that! Just seems to be this year especially that the cough lingers a bit longer than normal. Through all of this my throat has been bothering me, then I came down with a cold which of course progressed into that horrible cough. I took myself to the doctor last Fri and got myself some drugs which are helping tremendously! I don't usually like to go to the doctor since normally I can shake these things naturally on my own but the night I had Thursday night was NOT good and so I went for the first time in almost three years to my regular physician. I am happy to say that I know my OB's better than my physician since that means I mostly only ever go for my yearly women well check and rarely for being sick. :)

Dave is still enjoying his job and is super busy thanks to the new regulations banks have to follow for the loans he helps with! Unfortunately we need him to keep the papers indefinitely until I can drum up more regular clients. If you have friends or family in Fort Collins, I would greatly appreciate the referrals!!!!! You can send them to my website for more info and ways to contact me. www.ahmassage.vpweb.com Dave is helping me to brainstorm more ways to get my name out there, besides my fairs, without us spending money. I'm going to find a network group to join soon, so I'm excited about that. I really want Dave to be able to quit the papers and so I've really gotta get my butt in gear! Any suggestions anybody has are GREATLY appreciated! I'm actually gonna update my website soon with some other suggestions I've gotten from friends so if you have any for that or for how I can freely/cheaply market myself please let me know.

Brendan and Carter are doing good. We are still working on potty training with Mr. C, he is a stubborn little boy! He must be mine. ;) Brendan is going to finish up his first session of karate in Dec., he takes his first test for it Dec. 1st! We are so looking forward to the holidays this year and we are so thankful for all of you friends and family that are in our lives! We hope you are all doing well!
Much Love, McCall Family

How cute is this?

Here's a pic of our karate kid for you all to finally enjoy!

Hola mi familia y amigos!

Okay, I didn't know what to put for the title and I'm feeling a little goofy today so I figured why not say hello in another language. :) We hope you all are doing well. I can't believe how time is flying! I keep trying to post at least once a week, but as you can see that isn't quite happening. Oh well, it's close enough for now. Anyway I just thought I'd tell you all about our weekend. As some of you know I did a Holistic Fair just a little south of Fort Collins on Sat. and Sun., it was AMAZING!!! I did chair massage, there were also other healers, readers, clairvoyants, as well as booths to buy things from new age stores in the area. I haven't done a fair since I was pregnant with Brendan and I am so glad I was finally able to do one again. This is the first time I did one completely by myself and it was the best fair I've done yet! Maybe I think so, because it's been so long but also the energy at this fair was phenomenal! I believe I got just the right people for me to work on, I was busy both days and made twice what I paid for my booth fee! Now I'm just hoping and praying and visualizing a couple of people calling me to set up appointments for table massage. It feels so good to be working again!
While I was at the fair, Dave was stay-at-home daddy for the whole weekend! He took the boys to the CSU game to watch them become 3-0 for the season! I wish I could have joined them since it was actually Dave's very first time watching the game with his boys. That's all right, we have more chances this season to go to games and I only have a couple times a year to do a fair so I can get more clients. On Sunday he took them to the park and other than that they just hung around the house and spent quality time together, for the most part.
Today is a day for me to rest and it works out perfect that Brendan didn't have school today for a teacher collaboration day. The boys and I are hanging out in our jammies, watching a movie or two and going NOWHERE! We've already watched Peter Pan and later we might be watching The Muppets Take Manhattan. We are having a very good day so far and hope it continues. We hope you all are having a great day as well! Love to you all. :)

We Have a Karate Kid in Our Home Now!

Brendan and I went Tuesday night to check out a karate class and get him registered in his very first extra-curricular activity. There was actually a flyer for this school in his notebook one of the first days he came home from school and that was sign enough for me. That's how I learned about and started baton with Pride City Baton Corps in third grade was a flyer handed out in school. The name of the school is Sei Shin Kan Karate and meets at the boys and girls club, I believe to keep their costs low and their focus is more to help kids learn taditional Japanese Martial Arts techniques to defend themselves and especially what to do in terms of stranger danger as well as teaching them respect, patience, perseverance, confidence and discipline. From what I've seen so far, the teachers are great with kids! They're a lot less competitive than other schools out there and at a very reasonable cost with no contract, which helps in case B changes his mind, although I hope he doesn't. The class is 45 minutes long every Tuesday evening. Brendan enjoyed it so much he asked me last night if we were going to karate again so I explained when he gets to go. I even participated a bit since I'll pry just be staying there while he's in class. It's so far from our house that it's pointless for me to go anywhere else. I'm sure Dave will take a few turns as well so he can meet the teachers and see what B is learning. They needed a few parent helpers so that the kids could practice getting out of two holds that they had showed them, that was fun and beneficial for me cause then I know what Brendan's learning and I can practice with him to build his skills. It will certainly help me worry just a little less about him being more independent as he gets older, knowing he has great skills to take care of himself physically and mentally. I hope he enjoys it so much that he sticks with it for at least a good amount of time, if not very long. Guess we'll just see what happens, but with the way he and C are liking to do kicks and things like that it's certainly a great interest for him right now. Hopefully sometime I can get pictures for you, maybe when he gets his uniform sometime in the next few weeks.