I went to Kohls today to use my 30% off coupon and pic up a few last minute things. Kohls wasn't that bad, but it wasn't great either.
The road leading up to Kohls and between Lakeside and Kohls. That was another story. A normal FIVE minute drive home took 35 minutes. Holy Moly. It was a good thing I had the van and ACDC sirius radio. :)
I guess thats what I get for waiting till the weekend before Christmas. I also have to hit Target, but I was told they are open till midnight tonight so I will go around 11 and MAYBE beat some of the daytime traffic.
Jay's out in it now. He had to do all his shopping for me. I wish one year he would listen to me when I tell him to shop in EARLY December. I bet he'll never learn.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Be proud.
We had our first officially non-family baby-sitter last night.
My sister's friend, Kim, has baby-sat before but I consider her family.
We had the girl across the street over to stay with the girls.
We had gotten invited to our old neighbors annual Christmas party but it was a Friday so I knew we wouldn't be able to make it with Jay working. Then because of the snow, they called off work, so we were able to go. I called my cousin's first to no avail. Then, I called Cassie since her dad volunteered her earlier in the day. Her parents were attending the same party as us and Cassie was thrilled to come and stay with the girls. She didn't come over til 8, so everyone was already in their jammies and ready to sleep.
According to Em and Elle, she was a lot of fun and before I even left the house, Cecelia was feeding Cassie M and Ms, so I think she liked her too!
I am so glad that everyone had fun. It was nice to have a night out with my husband and friends. I think I could get used to having a sitter right across the street. I think we may have found a great match for the family- not that she will ever replace Busia and Dziadzia, but its nice to know we have even more availability. Especially on short notice things. :)
I'm so proud of me. I guess I am not as anal as I had originally thought. :)
My sister's friend, Kim, has baby-sat before but I consider her family.
We had the girl across the street over to stay with the girls.
We had gotten invited to our old neighbors annual Christmas party but it was a Friday so I knew we wouldn't be able to make it with Jay working. Then because of the snow, they called off work, so we were able to go. I called my cousin's first to no avail. Then, I called Cassie since her dad volunteered her earlier in the day. Her parents were attending the same party as us and Cassie was thrilled to come and stay with the girls. She didn't come over til 8, so everyone was already in their jammies and ready to sleep.
According to Em and Elle, she was a lot of fun and before I even left the house, Cecelia was feeding Cassie M and Ms, so I think she liked her too!
I am so glad that everyone had fun. It was nice to have a night out with my husband and friends. I think I could get used to having a sitter right across the street. I think we may have found a great match for the family- not that she will ever replace Busia and Dziadzia, but its nice to know we have even more availability. Especially on short notice things. :)
I'm so proud of me. I guess I am not as anal as I had originally thought. :)
Snow Glorious Snow
When I have no where to be I love snow. If I have to be out traveling in it, I am not a huge fan. And it's still pretty early in the year, so it doesn't bother be too bad. Ask me again in February and my answer may not be the same.
We got dumped on Friday! Like major! I measured 9 inches of snow (and that was before it offically stopped snowing) We had drifts in the back of the house that were up to my knees and the poor girls could barely walk thru the front yard cause the snow was too deep. I spent about an hour and a half out snowblowing at noon when Jay woke up and then he did about an hours worth, too. When Cecelia went down for her nap, the big girls and I spent two hours in the snow. We had so much fun! We even turned out 5 foot snowbank into a tunnel. I forgot how fun it is to get down and REALLY play in the snow. LOVE IT!
I took a zillion pics. I will upload them when I have more time.
We got dumped on Friday! Like major! I measured 9 inches of snow (and that was before it offically stopped snowing) We had drifts in the back of the house that were up to my knees and the poor girls could barely walk thru the front yard cause the snow was too deep. I spent about an hour and a half out snowblowing at noon when Jay woke up and then he did about an hours worth, too. When Cecelia went down for her nap, the big girls and I spent two hours in the snow. We had so much fun! We even turned out 5 foot snowbank into a tunnel. I forgot how fun it is to get down and REALLY play in the snow. LOVE IT!
I took a zillion pics. I will upload them when I have more time.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
My husband rocks
He is really on board with my chosen career path.
So on board in fact that he bought me a website.
And now he is designing it for me.
I'm feeling pretty lucky today. :)
So on board in fact that he bought me a website.
And now he is designing it for me.
I'm feeling pretty lucky today. :)
I didn't think I would be this sad
but I am and I can't help it.
I think Cecelia is done nursing.
I was planning on 18 months or self weaning whichever came first.
Well, I have been slowly cutting back and have refused her in the middle of the night.
The last two nights when I rocked her to sleep, she showed no interest, so I didn't offer.
Trust me, she is the one to plop the suckie out as soon as I sit down with her in our big black chair.
So, she went to sleep last night and tonight without nursing. Thats TWO WHOLE DAYS without.
I am fairly certain she is done nursing. Just. Like. That.
Same thing Elle did to me, only Elle went from nursing 4-6 times a day to NOTHING. That was a whole lotta pain and a whole lotta tears.
This time, it's just a whole lotta tears. :(
The crappiest thing is I bought her the cutest pair of nursing advocacy overalls from a friend a while back. They are a 2T, so she isn't going to be able to wear them. :( And they are so cute, too. :(
I think Cecelia is done nursing.
I was planning on 18 months or self weaning whichever came first.
Well, I have been slowly cutting back and have refused her in the middle of the night.
The last two nights when I rocked her to sleep, she showed no interest, so I didn't offer.
Trust me, she is the one to plop the suckie out as soon as I sit down with her in our big black chair.
So, she went to sleep last night and tonight without nursing. Thats TWO WHOLE DAYS without.
I am fairly certain she is done nursing. Just. Like. That.
Same thing Elle did to me, only Elle went from nursing 4-6 times a day to NOTHING. That was a whole lotta pain and a whole lotta tears.
This time, it's just a whole lotta tears. :(
The crappiest thing is I bought her the cutest pair of nursing advocacy overalls from a friend a while back. They are a 2T, so she isn't going to be able to wear them. :( And they are so cute, too. :(
Another one bites the dust.
Yesterday I ordered cards online. Today we picked them up.
I have them all addressed and have address lables on them.
Jay is stopping for stamps on his way home.
They will be in the mailbox tomorrow morning.
And BAM. Cross that off my to do list.
Woohoo!
I have them all addressed and have address lables on them.
Jay is stopping for stamps on his way home.
They will be in the mailbox tomorrow morning.
And BAM. Cross that off my to do list.
Woohoo!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Christmas decor...CHECK
Everything is officially decorated. Jay added blow up Homer Claus, two spiral trees and a row of candy canes outside today. I put up all the lighted window decor today and the rest of the window clings. Last night the empty boxes went downstairs. I guess you can say that we are all ready for the holiday.
It feels pretty darn good to have everything done. Now we can sit back and enjoy the season.
It feels pretty darn good to have everything done. Now we can sit back and enjoy the season.
Gotta love a productive weekend!
Saturday my mom wanted to keep the girls overnight. We had other plans, but this was the ONLY weekend between now and Christmas that she could watch them so Jay and I could get out and do our annual Christmas shopping. So, we cancelled our other plans and away we went.
We dropped the girls off at noon and headed out. We got to Target around 1 and spent a good amount of time there. Dropped a ton of money, too. Thankfully I had a lot of cash saved up here and there so we didn't have to charge anything. Whew. We shopped the entire day stopping at 9:30 for dinner and finally finishing around 11. The good news is that aside from one big ticket item for the girls and three giftcards we are DONE! Everything is sorted and in piles in my secret hiding place ready to be wrapped. I do have to go out and get Jay something, but I can do that one afternoon by myself. No biggie.
Whew. That was a big weight lifted off my shoulders. There was a lot of money spent, but not as much as years past, so I think we did well. Now onto wrapping. Thats my favorite part. I am sure I will start that this weekend while the girls are tucked into bed.
We dropped the girls off at noon and headed out. We got to Target around 1 and spent a good amount of time there. Dropped a ton of money, too. Thankfully I had a lot of cash saved up here and there so we didn't have to charge anything. Whew. We shopped the entire day stopping at 9:30 for dinner and finally finishing around 11. The good news is that aside from one big ticket item for the girls and three giftcards we are DONE! Everything is sorted and in piles in my secret hiding place ready to be wrapped. I do have to go out and get Jay something, but I can do that one afternoon by myself. No biggie.
Whew. That was a big weight lifted off my shoulders. There was a lot of money spent, but not as much as years past, so I think we did well. Now onto wrapping. Thats my favorite part. I am sure I will start that this weekend while the girls are tucked into bed.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Our Thanksgiving Turkey
The girls and I made this very large turkey for the back of the front door. I gave them all the feathers to decorate and Emily worked hard on writing things that she was thankful for. Elizabeth drew her own pictures and I wrote her words for her. We spent a good long time talking about all the things we were thankful for and all the things that we have. What a great project. Mr. Turkey is still up. I just can't bring myself to take him down. The girls figure that we should make a Christmas Tree this month and list the things we are thankful for on that. Now, thats getting with the spririt of the season!My calling
I have been back and forth with this for a year or so now. I have a degree in Early Childhood Education. I loved what I did. I loved working with children and teaching them and helping them to learn and grow. That was my place. Since having my own children, I must admit that I still love the child development, but I found something I love even more.
I want to work with pregnant women, birthing woman, newborns and breastfeeding. I want to roll that all into one career. I thought about getting into nursing, but I can't get into the two classes I need to take before applying for the highly competitive program. I thought about being a birth doula because that is where my passion lies. However, as a mother of three I can't make myself readily available to laboring women 24/7. Then I found a program for a postpartum doula and I was sold. This is what I want to do. I seriously have my whole life planned now. I want to start off as a postpartum doula, move into birth doula and eventually get certified as a lactation consultant. It would be cool to start my own business, but I can handle being affiliated with a hospital. I want to help women have a positive breastfeeding experience like I was blessed to have with our three girls.
I have completed my five chapters of breastfeeding knowledge and done the five tests. I whizzed right thru without any problems. Now, I move onto the reading portion of the program and I need to purchase $60 worth of books. Won't Jay be thrilled. :) I will need to attend a 4 day workshop in April in Ann Arbor, but I can handle it. I have to step outside my comfort zone and do this because I honestly feel like I was put on this earth to do this. I have the drive. Now all I need is the motivation (and a whole lotta cash.) I did look into getting a scholarship in which they will pay the amount of my seminar, I just have to sign a contract that I will provide free doula care to low income/ high risk families to work off my scholarship. I think that would be very interesting and extremely rewarding work. Afterall, I think high rish women will be the ones to benefit most from my services.
I seriously cannot wait to get the show on the road. I know I can do this and what better time than now? It's totally doable and as I read somewhere, what better thing is there than to get paid for doing something you LOVE and something that you would most likely do for free?
Wish me luck. I will need all the support I can get. I would love to have this completed by the end of the summer next year. Maybe if I try really hard I can make that happen. I already have a few of the 18 steps completed, so it can't take that long. :) Wheeeee......
I want to work with pregnant women, birthing woman, newborns and breastfeeding. I want to roll that all into one career. I thought about getting into nursing, but I can't get into the two classes I need to take before applying for the highly competitive program. I thought about being a birth doula because that is where my passion lies. However, as a mother of three I can't make myself readily available to laboring women 24/7. Then I found a program for a postpartum doula and I was sold. This is what I want to do. I seriously have my whole life planned now. I want to start off as a postpartum doula, move into birth doula and eventually get certified as a lactation consultant. It would be cool to start my own business, but I can handle being affiliated with a hospital. I want to help women have a positive breastfeeding experience like I was blessed to have with our three girls.
I have completed my five chapters of breastfeeding knowledge and done the five tests. I whizzed right thru without any problems. Now, I move onto the reading portion of the program and I need to purchase $60 worth of books. Won't Jay be thrilled. :) I will need to attend a 4 day workshop in April in Ann Arbor, but I can handle it. I have to step outside my comfort zone and do this because I honestly feel like I was put on this earth to do this. I have the drive. Now all I need is the motivation (and a whole lotta cash.) I did look into getting a scholarship in which they will pay the amount of my seminar, I just have to sign a contract that I will provide free doula care to low income/ high risk families to work off my scholarship. I think that would be very interesting and extremely rewarding work. Afterall, I think high rish women will be the ones to benefit most from my services.
I seriously cannot wait to get the show on the road. I know I can do this and what better time than now? It's totally doable and as I read somewhere, what better thing is there than to get paid for doing something you LOVE and something that you would most likely do for free?
Wish me luck. I will need all the support I can get. I would love to have this completed by the end of the summer next year. Maybe if I try really hard I can make that happen. I already have a few of the 18 steps completed, so it can't take that long. :) Wheeeee......
Almost there
After spending the last four days decorating, I am pleased to say that we are almost done. The outside is 80% there. We have two more blow ups that need to be put up and I think we are DONE. The inside is a glow from all the lights lit. Lets just say I highly doubt that I will be under budget on the electricity bill this month thats for darn sure. My goal is to have it all complete by tomorrow evening. After dinner we are going to decorate Cecelia's tree and put up a few more decorations. We will be done tonight inside. Though, this next weekend we will have to put up the REAL tree downstairs. Whew. It's a lotta work, but its a lotta fun and the final product is worth it. I am taking bids now for someone to come and put it all away in January. lol
The girls are busily playing with my all time favorite decoration that we have. There aren't many things out there that kee three kids busy for hours. I have the Little People Nativity Scene and they are BIG fans of it. I actually think I am going to add on a few more pieces for myself this year. LOVE IT! If you haven't seen it, you should really check it out.
The girls are busily playing with my all time favorite decoration that we have. There aren't many things out there that kee three kids busy for hours. I have the Little People Nativity Scene and they are BIG fans of it. I actually think I am going to add on a few more pieces for myself this year. LOVE IT! If you haven't seen it, you should really check it out.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Happy December
And the countdown begins.
21 days until our annual Christmas cookie baking
22 days until my nephew is "home." (and my brother and sister in law too) I can't wait to see him! (and them, too, I guess)
23 days until Christmas Eve. My favorite day of the year.
24 days until CHRISTMAS.
30 days left in the year. ZOINKS!
This is fixing to be another whirlwind month. I love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, though. We are cutting way back this year and making a new tradition. One in which Christmas is about JESUS and HIS birthday not about how many presents are under the tree and how much credit card debt we have come January. It's so hard as a parent not to buy everything on the shelves at TRU, but we really want to make it about HIM and not US.
Happy December everyone. Enjoy what's left of 2008. Enjoy your families and your friends this season.
21 days until our annual Christmas cookie baking
22 days until my nephew is "home." (and my brother and sister in law too) I can't wait to see him! (and them, too, I guess)
23 days until Christmas Eve. My favorite day of the year.
24 days until CHRISTMAS.
30 days left in the year. ZOINKS!
This is fixing to be another whirlwind month. I love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, though. We are cutting way back this year and making a new tradition. One in which Christmas is about JESUS and HIS birthday not about how many presents are under the tree and how much credit card debt we have come January. It's so hard as a parent not to buy everything on the shelves at TRU, but we really want to make it about HIM and not US.
Happy December everyone. Enjoy what's left of 2008. Enjoy your families and your friends this season.
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