No really. It's true. Worst.ever.
Today I'm listening to the rain and hoping it doesn't turn too nasty. We're supposed to be leaving for Michigan in the morning. Dean wants to stay home so he can watch the Packers game... I think not. I actually get to see my family for Christmas and I want to maximize my time! If it's not absolutely foul, we will be leaving! Last year we headed to Michigan for Kaija's birthday in January. This year Dean decided to take his annual vacation time in December so we could be home with them for Christmas. We're really looking forward to spending this time with family. My mom has arranged for the girls to have pictures done. I really appreciate that because it's just not been something we can afford this year. Actually, we haven't done professional pictures since Kaija's first Christmas 2 years ago! I just need to get the girls' Christmas dresses. Hmm... Hopefully it's not too late to find them matching dresses!!
Kolbie has learned quite a bit since I last posted. She is now standing on her own and can get to standing with out pulling up! She's got 4 days to take her first steps to beat her sister. I think she's going to wait though :) And I'm okay with that! The past few days she has mastered the art of the Round of Applause! It's even cute and funny when instead of staying asleep when I lay her down she sits back on her knees and claps for me. I love her so much! She's rough and tumble which is exactly how she needs to be with a big sister like Kaija.
Kaija is getting to be quite the big girl as well. We're still battling the Potty Monster. She was nearly potty trained a few months ago and has since regressed. She's also showing some typical jealousy of her sister. We're working on spending more just "Kaija and Mommy" or "Kaija and Daddy" time with her. Kaija is also getting VERY excited about her Dora birthday party. She likes to tell us that she will be 3 in January. Kaija counts to 10 in Spanish and knows a few numbers in German as well. Just for fun. She really enjoys art and painting. I've been taking her to an art class on Fridays all Fall and she really loves to get messy and create. It's a lot of fun! Her favorite thing to draw right now is kitties.
As for me, I completed a 1 credit online class in a mere 5 days last week! I (embarrassingly) needed to do some remediation in Biology after taking the nursing entrance exam in September. It was nice to refresh my memory on all of those things! I'm sitting on the wait list to start school this Winter. We will see in about a month if I'm starting or now. I really should register for some of the co-requisites but I just can't pay for them. I'm not sure how we'll pay for nursing school either but things have a way of working out (at least I hope so!). I'm also still on the job hunt. I hope I have a few promising things out there right now. I guess we'll find out in the New Year!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
What!?
Ummm... so yeah, it's been over a month again... I so am not good at this!
We haven't had a whole lot going on, so it's hard to think of things to write about. You know? The biggest thing we did was go on a real family vacation. We took the girls to Green Bay for a few days and spent a couple of days just relaxing. We left as soon as Dean got home on Thursday and drove to our hotel in Oshkosh and just spent the afternoon swimming and then ventured out to find some local pizza. The girls didn't really care for the pool at first, but Kolbie warmed up to it before Kaija did. Kaija had a good time in the toddler pool they had there. We found the pizza place easy enough after not finding the first choice at all... You would have thought with all the ads they had all over the hotel we could have found it! Our pizza was good, nothing exciting or special, but good. Friday we got up and headed up to Green Bay which was an hour away. We hit the N.E.W. Zoo first. Kaija really loves going to the zoo and this was her 5th trip and 3rd zoo of the summer! It was nice, we hadn't been there in years so it was good to see how it had changed. The highlight of this zoo visit had to have been feeding the giraffes! I think we spent $10 buying leaves and biscuits to feed them. It was worth every penny! We then spent the afternoon at Lambeau Field having lunch at Curley's Pub and spending too much money in the Pro Shop. But that's what you do there!
Saturday we woke up BRIGHT and EARLY as is what happens when 4 people sleep in 1 room. After getting ready for the day we headed off to Appleton for some shopping. We love going to Scheel's, we love going to Scheel's in Appleton even more! We can get reasonably priced Packers gear there! While there we noticed a tattoo shop and Dean finally got his Packers tribute tat. I should have spent that 2 hours spending money on myself... :) But I spent it hanging out with the girls, having lunch and visiting the animals at the Humane Society shop. Our plan was to shop there in the morning then head back to Oshkosh and shop the outlets there for a bit. But the tattoo took so long we didn't do the outlets. Overall, that's probably a good thing since we came home with more money than we planned. Instead we headed back to the hotel and I got some swimming time with just Kaija. It took some doing but I FINALLY got her to 'swim' with me in the big pool. She had me in a death grip, but hey, she was having fun! Just as we were starting to have fun Dean came down with Kolbie who was hungry, swimming time was over. Kaija decided that that was when she would try the slide into the toddler pool. It went about as well as you can imagine it would. She had no idea what she was in for and FREAKED out when she hit the bottom. She hasn't gone under water more than 5 times in her life. Dean jumped in and snagged her out. She still claims that this was her favorite part. We took short naps and got cleaned up because next on the agenda was Family Night with the Packers!!
We headed out for Lambeau Field fairly early thinking the gates opened at 4:30. On the walk from our parking spot a police officer let us know that backpacks weren't allowed in the stadium. Okay. So where are we supposed to stash diapers for our kids? In daddy's cargo pockets of course. Turns out, they DO allow backpacks, especially if you have kids with you. Oh well! Gates actually didn't open until 5:30 and in the meantime we got rained on briefly. It wasn't a horrible rain and the girls didn't seem to mind at all. Despite a crazy long line we managed to get in fairly quickly and got all the snacks we thought we'd need for the night before finding our seats. We've never had a bad seat for Family Night and this year was no exception. Everyone had a great time and we amused the old folks sitting next to us. They liked the girls so much the asked to take pictures of them. That made me happy! Dean kept asking if we wanted to leave early, I kept insisting we were all fine, which we were. I'm so glad we stayed. Kaija hadn't seen fireworks like that before and was so amazed. That was Dean's favorite part - watching his little girl so amazed by fireworks. NOW he knows why I wanted to go on the 4th so bad! That was a very late night, the girls absolutely crashed out when we got back to our hotel room. Dean went out and got us food and we ate it by the door by the bathroom so we wouldn't bother them. During the afternoon we talked about going home via Milwaukee instead of Madison and checking out the zoo there. We were pretty tired, but we thought we'd see how we felt in the morning. The girls slept in a bit because of going to bed so late and we all felt pretty good, so Milwaukee Zoo here we come! What a great zoo! We had a blast there as well and by the end we were all so tired we just wanted to go home. The drive home wasn't bad until the last hour or so when meltdown city arrived in the back seat. But we survived and had so much fun. When we pulled into the driveway Kaija started crying and kept saying "I just want my baycayshun back!!" And that's exactly what we wanted to hear.
We haven't had a whole lot going on, so it's hard to think of things to write about. You know? The biggest thing we did was go on a real family vacation. We took the girls to Green Bay for a few days and spent a couple of days just relaxing. We left as soon as Dean got home on Thursday and drove to our hotel in Oshkosh and just spent the afternoon swimming and then ventured out to find some local pizza. The girls didn't really care for the pool at first, but Kolbie warmed up to it before Kaija did. Kaija had a good time in the toddler pool they had there. We found the pizza place easy enough after not finding the first choice at all... You would have thought with all the ads they had all over the hotel we could have found it! Our pizza was good, nothing exciting or special, but good. Friday we got up and headed up to Green Bay which was an hour away. We hit the N.E.W. Zoo first. Kaija really loves going to the zoo and this was her 5th trip and 3rd zoo of the summer! It was nice, we hadn't been there in years so it was good to see how it had changed. The highlight of this zoo visit had to have been feeding the giraffes! I think we spent $10 buying leaves and biscuits to feed them. It was worth every penny! We then spent the afternoon at Lambeau Field having lunch at Curley's Pub and spending too much money in the Pro Shop. But that's what you do there!
Saturday we woke up BRIGHT and EARLY as is what happens when 4 people sleep in 1 room. After getting ready for the day we headed off to Appleton for some shopping. We love going to Scheel's, we love going to Scheel's in Appleton even more! We can get reasonably priced Packers gear there! While there we noticed a tattoo shop and Dean finally got his Packers tribute tat. I should have spent that 2 hours spending money on myself... :) But I spent it hanging out with the girls, having lunch and visiting the animals at the Humane Society shop. Our plan was to shop there in the morning then head back to Oshkosh and shop the outlets there for a bit. But the tattoo took so long we didn't do the outlets. Overall, that's probably a good thing since we came home with more money than we planned. Instead we headed back to the hotel and I got some swimming time with just Kaija. It took some doing but I FINALLY got her to 'swim' with me in the big pool. She had me in a death grip, but hey, she was having fun! Just as we were starting to have fun Dean came down with Kolbie who was hungry, swimming time was over. Kaija decided that that was when she would try the slide into the toddler pool. It went about as well as you can imagine it would. She had no idea what she was in for and FREAKED out when she hit the bottom. She hasn't gone under water more than 5 times in her life. Dean jumped in and snagged her out. She still claims that this was her favorite part. We took short naps and got cleaned up because next on the agenda was Family Night with the Packers!!
We headed out for Lambeau Field fairly early thinking the gates opened at 4:30. On the walk from our parking spot a police officer let us know that backpacks weren't allowed in the stadium. Okay. So where are we supposed to stash diapers for our kids? In daddy's cargo pockets of course. Turns out, they DO allow backpacks, especially if you have kids with you. Oh well! Gates actually didn't open until 5:30 and in the meantime we got rained on briefly. It wasn't a horrible rain and the girls didn't seem to mind at all. Despite a crazy long line we managed to get in fairly quickly and got all the snacks we thought we'd need for the night before finding our seats. We've never had a bad seat for Family Night and this year was no exception. Everyone had a great time and we amused the old folks sitting next to us. They liked the girls so much the asked to take pictures of them. That made me happy! Dean kept asking if we wanted to leave early, I kept insisting we were all fine, which we were. I'm so glad we stayed. Kaija hadn't seen fireworks like that before and was so amazed. That was Dean's favorite part - watching his little girl so amazed by fireworks. NOW he knows why I wanted to go on the 4th so bad! That was a very late night, the girls absolutely crashed out when we got back to our hotel room. Dean went out and got us food and we ate it by the door by the bathroom so we wouldn't bother them. During the afternoon we talked about going home via Milwaukee instead of Madison and checking out the zoo there. We were pretty tired, but we thought we'd see how we felt in the morning. The girls slept in a bit because of going to bed so late and we all felt pretty good, so Milwaukee Zoo here we come! What a great zoo! We had a blast there as well and by the end we were all so tired we just wanted to go home. The drive home wasn't bad until the last hour or so when meltdown city arrived in the back seat. But we survived and had so much fun. When we pulled into the driveway Kaija started crying and kept saying "I just want my baycayshun back!!" And that's exactly what we wanted to hear.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Things Kaija Says
I need to start writing these down somewhere... She's too much!
Today she found the plastic strap from a box and decided it was a stethoscope.
K: Hi! I Dr. Kaija! I listen to your beats.
M: Oh great!
K: Ribbit ribbit! Ribbit ribbit! You have frogs!!
M: Oh no!! Am I going to die?
K: Yep. You die in water...
Somewhere that moved from cute to a little freaky... but mostly cute! Her main favorite right now is "I love you SO MUCH!" ♥♥♥ I think I prefer that one.
Today she found the plastic strap from a box and decided it was a stethoscope.
K: Hi! I Dr. Kaija! I listen to your beats.
M: Oh great!
K: Ribbit ribbit! Ribbit ribbit! You have frogs!!
M: Oh no!! Am I going to die?
K: Yep. You die in water...
Somewhere that moved from cute to a little freaky... but mostly cute! Her main favorite right now is "I love you SO MUCH!" ♥♥♥ I think I prefer that one.
I Wear Babies
I do! And I like it! I like it A LOT!
When I was pregnant with Kaija I was doing some research and was a member of a parenting community on-line and kept coming across moms who used slings or other carriers to "wear" their babies. This was totally foreign to me but made so much sense! You mean I can have 2 free hands to do things AND carry my baby? Sign me up! So I set out to find a sling to carry Kaija in. Then I discovered that they are expensive. Crazy expensive for the amount of fabric you get in some cases. I just couldn't justify it. One day we were in TJ Maxx for reasons I don't remember, but I came across the Parents of Invention Ultimate Baby Wrap for $20. I figured that was a price I could handle and it looked interesting. I'd heard a little about wraps, they seemed pretty complicated, but I decided to go for it. I watched the DVD that came with it and looked up more videos on Youtube. And as tricky as it was I practiced putting it on while pregnant. I had it down! I was so excited for Kaija to be born so I could cuddle her in it! Then she was born and HATED it... So I packed it away for about a month. When she was a bit bigger I got it back out and lo and behold she LOVED IT! She sacked right out and slept for hours snuggled into my chest. I typed an email with 2 hands. I loaded the dishwasher. I even made dinner (Note: this isn't really recommended!)! Yee haw!! I could tuck her into my coat and go for long walks. It suddenly became the best $20 I ever spent. The main downfall I found to it is how looooong it is and it is a bit complicated to put on. I've got it mastered now, but for me it's not really something I can easily put on in a parking lot while shopping. And she pretty much topped out of being carried in it comfortably at around 7 months.
Fast forward to being pregnant again. I got my wrap out and washed it and got it all ready to use for Kolbie. This time I was not disappointed at all the first few weeks! See, Kolbie is a snuggle baby. She WANTS to be held. She WANTS to cuddle with you. I've called her my baby Spider Monkey more than once! When she was 2 weeks old I strapped her on, threw a jacket on, and walked across the street to sit around a bonfire for 4 hours. She slept the entire time. ENTIRE TIME. Someone who arrived after it got dark didn't even realize I had a tiny baby in my coat until she squeaked to tell me she was hungry and wanted to be in bed. I think I wore her for a part of everyday for weeks on end.
A few weeks ago Dean asked how much longer I thought Kolbie would be in the wrap. He thought she was looking a bit big for it and I didn't disagree. How I managed to carry Kaija in it as long as I did I'm not sure. So we started talking about maybe finding something else. I started looking at making my own Mei Tei. I started researching other carriers so I could gently approach him with how much they are. Three days later had Ergo Baby Carriers available for too good a price to pass up. I ran up the stairs to check on the budget with Dean and found out that it was something I could get. I ran back down the stairs, wallet in hand, only to find that Google check-out was down at that moment! No!! Fortunately it was back up only minutes later and I made, hands down, the best $70 purchase EV.ER. I expected it to take 2 weeks to arrive. I ordered it Wednesday and had it the following Monday. I've used it every day since. We can grocery shop with one cart now. It's so easy! I'm so in love with it.
With both carriers I've gotten lots of compliments and strange looks, but mostly encouragement. One day while wearing Kaija in the wrap a man yelled from the other side of the street and asked if I had cotton candy in my coat! Nope, just a baby wearing a bright pink hat! Wearing Kolbie in the wrap led to an awesome discussion on baby wearing at the Farmer's Market over Memorial Day weekend. I passed on info to make your own and websites to go to to learn how to put it on. At first I thought that woman and her mom thought I was weird! Nope, they wanted to be like me! And that was 20 minutes after my mom questioned if it was all worth it to put it on. Yup! You bet it is! Now with the Ergo I've had a number of positive interactions. A few women at church have told me that they have them as well. A nice woman at the grocery store seemed pretty excited at the idea of getting one for her daughter and her first grandbaby. Mysteriously, the odd looks I've gotten from people have been from other mom's wearing their babies in Bjorns or other style carriers... weird. We're all in this together! :)
Mostly, I am proud to spread the message of baby wearing. It's healthy for your baby AND you. Um, hello squats with a 15 lb. weight strapped to your chest?! My abs hurt this weekend and I couldn't figure out why, until I took Kolbie off of me and relaxed a bit. You can not slouch while baby wearing! I wore Kolbie while handing out lunch at church last weekend and the older man that was cooking the hot dogs made a great observation. He said, "You know, those are so great! I mean Native Americans wore their babies on their backs! Now your baby just curls right up and falls asleep listening to your heartbeat." How can that be wrong?
When I was pregnant with Kaija I was doing some research and was a member of a parenting community on-line and kept coming across moms who used slings or other carriers to "wear" their babies. This was totally foreign to me but made so much sense! You mean I can have 2 free hands to do things AND carry my baby? Sign me up! So I set out to find a sling to carry Kaija in. Then I discovered that they are expensive. Crazy expensive for the amount of fabric you get in some cases. I just couldn't justify it. One day we were in TJ Maxx for reasons I don't remember, but I came across the Parents of Invention Ultimate Baby Wrap for $20. I figured that was a price I could handle and it looked interesting. I'd heard a little about wraps, they seemed pretty complicated, but I decided to go for it. I watched the DVD that came with it and looked up more videos on Youtube. And as tricky as it was I practiced putting it on while pregnant. I had it down! I was so excited for Kaija to be born so I could cuddle her in it! Then she was born and HATED it... So I packed it away for about a month. When she was a bit bigger I got it back out and lo and behold she LOVED IT! She sacked right out and slept for hours snuggled into my chest. I typed an email with 2 hands. I loaded the dishwasher. I even made dinner (Note: this isn't really recommended!)! Yee haw!! I could tuck her into my coat and go for long walks. It suddenly became the best $20 I ever spent. The main downfall I found to it is how looooong it is and it is a bit complicated to put on. I've got it mastered now, but for me it's not really something I can easily put on in a parking lot while shopping. And she pretty much topped out of being carried in it comfortably at around 7 months.
Fast forward to being pregnant again. I got my wrap out and washed it and got it all ready to use for Kolbie. This time I was not disappointed at all the first few weeks! See, Kolbie is a snuggle baby. She WANTS to be held. She WANTS to cuddle with you. I've called her my baby Spider Monkey more than once! When she was 2 weeks old I strapped her on, threw a jacket on, and walked across the street to sit around a bonfire for 4 hours. She slept the entire time. ENTIRE TIME. Someone who arrived after it got dark didn't even realize I had a tiny baby in my coat until she squeaked to tell me she was hungry and wanted to be in bed. I think I wore her for a part of everyday for weeks on end.
A few weeks ago Dean asked how much longer I thought Kolbie would be in the wrap. He thought she was looking a bit big for it and I didn't disagree. How I managed to carry Kaija in it as long as I did I'm not sure. So we started talking about maybe finding something else. I started looking at making my own Mei Tei. I started researching other carriers so I could gently approach him with how much they are. Three days later had Ergo Baby Carriers available for too good a price to pass up. I ran up the stairs to check on the budget with Dean and found out that it was something I could get. I ran back down the stairs, wallet in hand, only to find that Google check-out was down at that moment! No!! Fortunately it was back up only minutes later and I made, hands down, the best $70 purchase EV.ER. I expected it to take 2 weeks to arrive. I ordered it Wednesday and had it the following Monday. I've used it every day since. We can grocery shop with one cart now. It's so easy! I'm so in love with it.
With both carriers I've gotten lots of compliments and strange looks, but mostly encouragement. One day while wearing Kaija in the wrap a man yelled from the other side of the street and asked if I had cotton candy in my coat! Nope, just a baby wearing a bright pink hat! Wearing Kolbie in the wrap led to an awesome discussion on baby wearing at the Farmer's Market over Memorial Day weekend. I passed on info to make your own and websites to go to to learn how to put it on. At first I thought that woman and her mom thought I was weird! Nope, they wanted to be like me! And that was 20 minutes after my mom questioned if it was all worth it to put it on. Yup! You bet it is! Now with the Ergo I've had a number of positive interactions. A few women at church have told me that they have them as well. A nice woman at the grocery store seemed pretty excited at the idea of getting one for her daughter and her first grandbaby. Mysteriously, the odd looks I've gotten from people have been from other mom's wearing their babies in Bjorns or other style carriers... weird. We're all in this together! :)
Mostly, I am proud to spread the message of baby wearing. It's healthy for your baby AND you. Um, hello squats with a 15 lb. weight strapped to your chest?! My abs hurt this weekend and I couldn't figure out why, until I took Kolbie off of me and relaxed a bit. You can not slouch while baby wearing! I wore Kolbie while handing out lunch at church last weekend and the older man that was cooking the hot dogs made a great observation. He said, "You know, those are so great! I mean Native Americans wore their babies on their backs! Now your baby just curls right up and falls asleep listening to your heartbeat." How can that be wrong?
Friday, July 9, 2010
Nursing In Public
Breastfeeding is something I feel strongly about. Probably more strongly than most people who know me realize. In fact I think I'm surprising myself with how strongly I feel about it.
I knew when Kaija was born that I was going to nurse her. It wasn't a question. When I went back to work we had to give some formula though. Pumping and I do not get along, no matter the circumstances. That was fine. In fact at about 8.5 months she had to go to formula full-time. I was proud of myself! But the one thing I never did with Kaija was nurse in public. I never really needed to. Besides, she got formula part time anyway, so we could just take some with us if we were going to be out during a time when she would want to eat.
Since I had such great success with Kaija, there was absolutely no question I was going to nurse Kolbie as well. This time, I set a firm goal of 1 year, but promised myself not to be disappointed if our nursing relationship doesn't last that long. So far it has been wonderful! Having an all natural labor and delivery followed by over an hour of skin-on-skin contact and nursing before anyone even took her from me definitely fostered that. She's had a few - 3 or 4 - bottles of formula because again, I can not pump. I've had to be away for doctor appointments for Kaija, or job interviews. And soon I'll be heading back to school so inevitably she'll get some then. But as long as I can maintain 1 or 2 nursing sessions a day until she's 1 I will feel successful.
Now here's where NIP comes into play. Having a toddler that can't stay cooped up in the house all the time and a family that likes to be out and about, it has to be done. Especially since I'd like to avoid formula. Clearly I have no problem with formula, but my supply is perfect. Meaning I have exactly what she needs all the time, no more, no less. By replacing 1 session with a bottle that messes with the fine tuned machine we've got working here. Apparently, my wonderful husband is embarrassed by the fact that on occasion I will need to *gasp* nurse Kolbie someplace other than in the rocking chair in her room. He even sighs when I nurse her in our bed... it makes me crazy. Now, I'm someone who likes to pick and choose her battles. And this is one I've been trying to avoid. Until today. Today we were out to eat and Kolbie needed to eat. I had 2 options (in his eyes) - the bathroom or hike it back to the truck. To keep some semblance of peace I chose the bathroom. Now, I don't know about you, but I've never eaten next to someone using the bathroom. But if the occasion would arise, I'm sure I'd be pretty grossed out. True, an infant likely has no idea what's going on in the next stall, but I do. Gross. Unsanitary. I was pissed off that that's what I had to do to make *him* comfortable. I decided then and there that the next time it comes up, he's going to deal with it. I know my legal rights. I'm not someone who will raise a stink, but I'm also not going to let my daughters think that it's okay to feed their babies in the bathroom either. So, sorry honey. You lose this one.
The best intentions...
So I planned to write at least once a week, if not once a day. Yup, not so much, huh!?
To say things have been hectic would be a complete lie. Frankly I'm just lazy. I think of things to write and then don't or forget what I was going to write about.
Perhaps this can be my re-start of my re-start? Ha! We'll see... we will see...
To say things have been hectic would be a complete lie. Frankly I'm just lazy. I think of things to write and then don't or forget what I was going to write about.
Perhaps this can be my re-start of my re-start? Ha! We'll see... we will see...
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Kolbie - 2 Months
Kolbie turned 2 months old yesterday!! Wow!! I can't believe it... I really can't. Time goes by too fast when you have babies. Today was her 2 month check-up. She weighed 12 lb. 8 oz. and was 23 inches long. That's 5 lbs. and 3.5 inches growth from birth! Amazing!! There's something very satisfying knowing that I alone am providing everything she needs to grow big and strong and healthy.
I love my girls so much :)
Moving Forward
I've been searching for a new job/career for 9 months now and have realized I'm getting no where. I was all gung ho at first and didn't think it would be that hard with the holidays approaching to find something. I was wrong. During the holidays all I was really finding was temporary jobs and that's not what I was looking for. After the holidays I was just too pregnant to care about getting a new job. During this time I've had exactly 3 call backs that have lead to exactly 2 interviews. One was at 32-ish weeks pregnant. I'll never know if that was the reason for not hiring me and that's okay. It turned out that if I had been hired Kolbie would have been born before I even finished my training there. The second interview was this week. It went well, until I realized that the job wouldn't be worth it. It pays $10.36/hr, guaranteed 40 hrs/week. Sounds good enough... but the shift is 2:15-11:15. Dean works 3rd shift and we have 2 babies. And it's not *really* a place I want to work that badly. So I'm declining anything further from them. It just won't work for us.
That lead us to where we are now. I am going back to school, hopefully this fall. I've decided on becoming a Surgical Tech and as long as I can find a pre-requisite class I need to take this summer, I will hopefully be able to start the program in August. I've got enough credits already to get an Associates in Applied Science as opposed to just a certificate which is pretty great. If I can get in this fall I'll hopefully be done next Spring already. I really hope it all works out. We can't really afford for me to have to wait until Fall 2011.
Wish me luck whatever happens!
That lead us to where we are now. I am going back to school, hopefully this fall. I've decided on becoming a Surgical Tech and as long as I can find a pre-requisite class I need to take this summer, I will hopefully be able to start the program in August. I've got enough credits already to get an Associates in Applied Science as opposed to just a certificate which is pretty great. If I can get in this fall I'll hopefully be done next Spring already. I really hope it all works out. We can't really afford for me to have to wait until Fall 2011.
Wish me luck whatever happens!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Looking back
Dean said something the other day that got me thinking. He mentioned everything I've accomplished in my 20's - and that there's still 1 year left.
I turned 20 living in a new place, with new people, at a new summer job. A few friends had come to visit and we sat overlooking Lake Michigan drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade. My Grandpa Hyde had had a stroke 2 weeks prior. My mom left for South Dakota the same day I left for Mackinaw City and I was just sitting waiting for news. None came that weekend. It wasn't until late Sunday when I talked to my sister that I got the news that he had passed away on my birthday. No one wanted to call and tell me because it was my day and they knew I had friends visiting me. What was worse was when we couldn't figure out how to get me to his funeral later that week. I still get upset about that and I probably will forever. I wrapped up my 20th year by doing silly things and hurting a few people, but ultimately found the man who was to be the love of my life. When I met him that summer had you told me that, I would have laughed and not in a nice way I'm sorry to admit. He was too quiet. Too shy. And too interested in someone else - as was I. It's amazing what time can do. Six months later we were together.
My 21st birthday was fun - as they should be, right? My 22nd birthday was spent on the beach at Martha's Vineyard. What a FANTASTIC way to spend a birthday! Great friends, fresh seafood, and tasty martinis - okay, not so tasty, but it was worth a shot! The beers later were better. I turned 23 two weeks after I moved in with Dean and starting a new job. I got married 3 months after turning 24. I turned 25 with very little ceremony. I'm pretty sure I worked that day. The friends I had I worked with and we didn't socialize much. Some, but not much. We moved that year to Illinois/Iowa.
My 26th birthday was one of the best by far. One week before we found out we were having our first baby. We had dinner to celebrate the new life we were embarking on. We were moving to a great new apartment. Dean had a wonderful job. My job was going well. Life was fantastic!
The year I turned 27 was pretty great too. We bought a house! And new cars! And I got a promotion! And we decided we were ready to have another baby. Then 2009 happened. That was a rough year. We lost a baby in March. I was 5 weeks pregnant and had felt "off" the entire week between the positive test and losing that baby. That was hard. Very hard. We decided to jump right back in. If we weren't sure about having another baby before that, we certainly were after.
And then I turned 28. I had a stressful summer at work and that made conceiving difficult. Once the stress was over in July, I finally got that positive test again! And I felt so different. I just knew everything was fine and that we were definitely having a baby, due Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010. One year and five days after our loss. How ironic... In August I lost my job. I still don't really understand what happened, but apparently you shouldn't tell your spouse a co-worker's last name. At least that's what I've gathered from the situation. I was 8 weeks pregnant and sick everyday. I think of the situation as a blessing in disguise. I got to be home with Kaija as she was learning the most. I got to puke in my own bathroom and nap on my couch when I was having a crappy pregnancy day. It has been rough since we do need me to have an income. But we've made do. We're happy and healthy. And at the end of it all, Kolbie was born on March 26th - a year after I accepted that a pregnancy was over nearly before it had really began. God is funny that way sometimes.
And now I'm 29. What can I accomplish this year? I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out.
I turned 20 living in a new place, with new people, at a new summer job. A few friends had come to visit and we sat overlooking Lake Michigan drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade. My Grandpa Hyde had had a stroke 2 weeks prior. My mom left for South Dakota the same day I left for Mackinaw City and I was just sitting waiting for news. None came that weekend. It wasn't until late Sunday when I talked to my sister that I got the news that he had passed away on my birthday. No one wanted to call and tell me because it was my day and they knew I had friends visiting me. What was worse was when we couldn't figure out how to get me to his funeral later that week. I still get upset about that and I probably will forever. I wrapped up my 20th year by doing silly things and hurting a few people, but ultimately found the man who was to be the love of my life. When I met him that summer had you told me that, I would have laughed and not in a nice way I'm sorry to admit. He was too quiet. Too shy. And too interested in someone else - as was I. It's amazing what time can do. Six months later we were together.
My 21st birthday was fun - as they should be, right? My 22nd birthday was spent on the beach at Martha's Vineyard. What a FANTASTIC way to spend a birthday! Great friends, fresh seafood, and tasty martinis - okay, not so tasty, but it was worth a shot! The beers later were better. I turned 23 two weeks after I moved in with Dean and starting a new job. I got married 3 months after turning 24. I turned 25 with very little ceremony. I'm pretty sure I worked that day. The friends I had I worked with and we didn't socialize much. Some, but not much. We moved that year to Illinois/Iowa.
My 26th birthday was one of the best by far. One week before we found out we were having our first baby. We had dinner to celebrate the new life we were embarking on. We were moving to a great new apartment. Dean had a wonderful job. My job was going well. Life was fantastic!
The year I turned 27 was pretty great too. We bought a house! And new cars! And I got a promotion! And we decided we were ready to have another baby. Then 2009 happened. That was a rough year. We lost a baby in March. I was 5 weeks pregnant and had felt "off" the entire week between the positive test and losing that baby. That was hard. Very hard. We decided to jump right back in. If we weren't sure about having another baby before that, we certainly were after.
And then I turned 28. I had a stressful summer at work and that made conceiving difficult. Once the stress was over in July, I finally got that positive test again! And I felt so different. I just knew everything was fine and that we were definitely having a baby, due Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010. One year and five days after our loss. How ironic... In August I lost my job. I still don't really understand what happened, but apparently you shouldn't tell your spouse a co-worker's last name. At least that's what I've gathered from the situation. I was 8 weeks pregnant and sick everyday. I think of the situation as a blessing in disguise. I got to be home with Kaija as she was learning the most. I got to puke in my own bathroom and nap on my couch when I was having a crappy pregnancy day. It has been rough since we do need me to have an income. But we've made do. We're happy and healthy. And at the end of it all, Kolbie was born on March 26th - a year after I accepted that a pregnancy was over nearly before it had really began. God is funny that way sometimes.
And now I'm 29. What can I accomplish this year? I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A New Start
Once upon a time we started a blog for Kaija. It lasted exactly 2 months or so. I've been wanting to start a new one for a while now and I decided that today, my 29th birthday, will be the day. I'd like to say I'll update daily until my 30th birthday, but that's unlikely. But I do hope that it lasts more than 2 months!
Right now, Kolbie is sleeping peacefully on my chest. I don't dare move her because she's finally calm and out. We're comfortable, that's what matters! Kaija is running around wearing nothing but her p.j. shirt and slippers. We're potty training... and that really just means she pees on the couch daily. But she does also make it to her potty at least once a day as well. It's a work in progress! Currently she's taken her potty apart and reassembled it backwards to sit on it. If she pees on her potty at least once a day all week she will be getting a surprise at the end of the week. Dean is sleeping, he's only been home a few hours. When he gets up this afternoon we'll probably head to the park again. He works hard for his girls. We all appreciate everything he does!
As I said, it's my 29th birthday. There are no big plans for today but I can't wait for Dean and Kaija to make my giant cookie covered in chocolate frosting and sprinkles! (Kaija tells me she'll be using red sprinkles...) Is that going to be good for us? Not a chance. But will it be fun? You bet!!
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