It's Tuesday! Here's what I have to do!

Here's my "to-do" list for this week. Hoping I get to check at least a FEW of these off this week! :)

- Finish Ali's Scrapbook (I'm over 1/2-way done!)
- Start Adrienne's Scrapbooks
- Do Adrienne's Handprint Keepsake
- Grocery Shop
- Plan Meals (I've been using this site & I LOVE it: http://eatathomecooks.com/ ) She gives a menu & a shopping list for each week & the recipes are simple & delicious!!!
- Paint baby-doll furniture
- Appointment with Dr. Tseng: Friday
- Dentist next Tuesday! :(
- Ali's 2-year check up next Wednesday!

Quiet Morning

Today has been a calm, quiet day so far.  Everyone is content and pleasant.  In the pic, Ali & Adrienne are chilling in the living room watching some cartoons. 

I'm really going to miss these peaceful little moments when I have to go back to work.  It makes me so sad to think of all the tings I will be missing out on when I am back working. :(  I wish Nick could be the working parent & I'd stay home forever!!!  That would be my biggest dream / wish.

After such a great day yesterday, I guess I'm just feeling a bit down thinking about how my time home is coming to an end....

Anyone want to pay me to be home with my babies? 

New Phone!

Just trying out my new phone.  I downloaded a blogger app so watch out world, now I can blog from anywhere!  No one is safe now.

I got a Samsung Epic and I really like it so far.  I was a little intimidated when I first turned it on but after tinkering with it this evening, I'm getting the hang of it!!!

It is really pretty scary being intimidated of technology.  Now I have more sympathy for my parents when I was teaching them how to use their computer!  Never thought I'd be in their shoes. (At least not this soon!)

Just a few more things to learn how to do on it, then I'll be happy!

To-Do-List Tuesday

A friend has recently added some cute themes to her blog: "Wordless Wednesdays" being one of them.

I'm stealing her idea and posting my weekly To Do List on Tuesdays. I call it To-Do-List Tuesday.

And, here's mine for this week! :)

Simple Joys

Today has been such a fun day. I had a rough night with Adrienne not sleeping much so I thought that today would be a rough, crabby type of day, but I was wrong.

I haven't left the house or done anything extravagant. In fact, I haven't even put on any make-up today! I've just been home with my 2 girls and I've been laughing almost all day!

One thing that made me laugh today was this man's blog about his experiences being a stay-at-home dad. :) If you have some time, read some of his posts. They had me laughing OUT LOUD!!! Blog: Message with a Bottle

Mostly, I've been laughing at Ali. She is such a crack-up, that girl! She is really starting to add more words to her vocabulary and she's putting together phrases and sentences more and more every day. I swear she's saying things this week that she couldn't / didn't say last week. It's incredible how quickly they learn, grow, and change!!!

Some of the things she says that crack me up are:

• AAAli: Her name, all drawn out in an irritated tone of voice. Mostly, she's picked this up from Nick & I saying it when she's done something "bad". So now, when I hear her say it, I know I'm about to see something she shouldn't be doing.

• "Don't get down": She says this when I put her to bed in her princess loft bed. I always say this to her before I leave her room and now she tells me it instead.

• "'Cuse Me": She learned this last week. And tonight at dinner she burped and kept saying "Cuse me"! Over and over. It was adorable.

• "I do it": Anytime she wants to do something herself, this is her phrase. But you have to say it with an almost Jersey-like accent, with extra emphasis on the DO.

• "HO HO": After snuggling with me & watching Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs tonight, she sang "Ho Ho, Ho Ho" while we were laying in her bed saying prayers and snuggling. At first I didn't quite know what she was trying to say, but when I figured it out, she was so excited. Too cute.

She also just does the cutest things. She loves to help me with anything I'm doing. Whether it's cleaning the house, cooking dinner, or taking care of the baby. She's my little shadow and I LOVE it.

Alina has such a big heart, too. That's one of the things I love the most about her. She is already such a compassionate, empathetic soul. Sometimes she seems much older than just a mere 2 years old. She picks up on people's feelings and always wants to comfort them, make them laugh, or make them feel better. She's my little clown.

She is also SASSY. While this can be very trying, it is a part of her personality that I enjoy. I am proud of her little independent streak. I like that she wants to learn and do things on her own. She is not content being made to do things inexplicably. I like it because it makes me believe she will grow into a strong, independent, and confident woman some day.

And speaking of her sassy side, she's still shouting for me in her bedroom and it's now 9:30 pm. She likes one of us to lay with her for a "MINUTE" (she asks us to come up in her bed with her when she naps / goes to bed and she knows we'll come if she says "just for a minute"). Nick had class tonight so I could only tuck her in and then I had to come out and take care of the baby who has her fussy time at this time every night. So little Miss Ali is feeling a bit left out and wants some extra love. Guess now that Nick is home, I can go spoil her.

Good night all!

Finding the Energy....

Today a friend helped remind me to always find the energy to give Ali, Adrienne, and Jakey extra attention, love, snuggles, etc. She helped remind me to soak up every moment of the days with them that I can, while I can. Today would have been her daughter's 14th birthday. My friend lost her daughter 10 years ago, when she was just 4 years old. My heart aches for her. And my heart aches to think of that happening to me.

Read her blog entry here: ( http://jodyferlaak.blogspot.com/2011/03/she-got-her-wish.html )

Her sweet little daughter wished that she could stay 4 years old forever. And, in a very sad turn of events, she has stayed 4 forever in her mommy's memory. You can read the story of their tragic loss here. ( http://www.bethel.edu/publications-archive/focus/past-issues/spring-2003/teagan )

I hope that if you read her blog and the story of how they lost their little sweetie, it may inspire you to hold your loved ones a little bit longer today, to love them a little more, and to find that extra bit of energy to make lasting memories with them.

It has been a good reminder for me today, when I'm feeling so drained from early morning and late night feedings and a bit of colic from Adrienne and a bit of sass-i-tude from Alina and absent mindedness from Jakers. I wouldn't want it any other way and I am thanking God, especially today, for blessing me with the awesome responsibility of loving these angels-on-earth.

Feeling extra-blessed this morning and hoping you all take a moment to read her story.

I love you Jakey.

I love you Alina Claire.

I love you Adrienne Ruth.

Now and for always.......

XOXO
Mommy

Body Image Issues

When getting dressed this morning, I realized that I have reverse-anorexia.

When I get dressed, I think I'm skinnier than I am.

I think in my head that I'm not "that big" and can fit in my old clothes.

Sadly, when I try them on, they don't fit quite right yet or I look like a stuffed sausage.

I know, it's only been 4 weeks, but it seems longer and it seems like I should be fitting into regular clothes again.

Only 3 more weeks until I go back to work and who knows what I'll even be able to wear to work.

I really hate to go buy clothes to outfit this new, chubbier body. If I give in and buy clothes that fit this figure, I've let it win and I don't like to lose! ;)

That's all. Short post. Just wanted to share.

Coincidence???

There is a job that I really want at Macomb ISD: science consultant for K-12.

The position was posted in November 2010. I applied back at the beginning of January. I emailed the HR director and they received my materials. The position is still posted on the site. I've contemplated emailing again to show I'm still interested, but I'm worried I'll be on the border of annoying rather than interested.

I found out a few days ago that I won the Region 9 Director Position for the Michigan Science Teacher's Association (MSTA). It's a 3-year term and I'm very excited to have gotten it.

Our first meeting is April 8th-9th. When asking for more details on the meeting, I was put in touch with another director, Mike Klein. He's the CURRENT Macomb ISD science consultant & is retiring. He has the job I want!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it coincidence that I've just been put into contact with the guy whose job I desperately want or is it God's way of opening an opportunity for me?! When I realized who he is & that he works for Macomb ISD and that I'll be meeting him in a few weeks, I seriously thought about emailing him and asking about his replacement! I'm going to try to keep my crazy desire for his job under control, but I might have to scope out the situation when I'm in Lansing meeting him!

So crazy!!!

Lazy Weekend!

This weekend has been a lazy, stay-at-home weekend. Saturday was such a blustery, rainy day that I didn't want to even venture out of my warm little haven. Add to it that Ali came down with a yucky cold: runny nose, cough, and nasal congestion making it tough for her to breathe, and there was no way we were going anywhere!!! I've been trying to keep Ali separated from Adrienne, in the hopes of protecting baby-girl from whatever sickness Ali has, but it's probably inevitable that she'll get it. I hope & pray that she doesn't catch the cold because it breaks my heart when babies have coughs and colds! :(

Saturday during the day we got lots of freezing rain and ice. Then overnight we added about 3 inches of snow on top of that slick mess. That was enough to keep me indoors again Sunday! I did venture out during a quiet time to get groceries for the week and to take pop cans back. Other than that, it's been a restful day for us.

I decided to drop a few classes I had signed up for to earn SB-CEUs for. At the time I signed up for them, I thought "Oh, I'll be home on maternity leave when they start & I'll have TONS of time to work on them!" Boy was I wrong. When I DO get a few minutes to work on them, my brain is such mush that I couldn't come up with anything decent share. So, I decided to drop the classes and just focus on my girls!

My new hope is that every day I can take a few minutes out to post in my blog. It's therapeutic to me, even if I don't have much to write about! :)

A Wonderful Lunch Date!

Thursday, Nick & I went out for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Nick heard they had $.55 wings on Thursdays so we thought we'd try it out. (We've only eaten there once or twice, so we thought we'd give it another go...)

It was a nice afternoon. We took Adrienne with us but Ali went to Gma Richmond's to "play" and Jakers was in school, so it was pretty relaxing just having one tot to handle. We actually had a calm, peaceful meal and were able to talk and relax. That hasn't happened in a while! Usually our meals out (if we even venture out) consist of rushing to order & eat before Ali turns into a monster! (or pumpkin, whichever she's feeling at the moment.)

While enjoying our peaceful lunch out, we started talking about the past few weeks in our lives and we started thinking ahead to our future together. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:

• We talked about how happy we were that Adrienne stayed in a bit longer than she originally planned. A 38-week old baby is something COMPLETELY different than a 34-week old baby! Ali's 35-weeks was scary enough!

• We talked about how blessed we were by our church family, these past 2 weeks especially. Not only did they provide meals to us, but they were so generous in their giving that we didn't even have to grocery shop for 2 weeks! We had SO much food (and goodies, too)! So, not only did they bless us with keeping us fed and not having to cook, but they also blessed us financially in a BIG way.

• On that note, I started to get weepy. (These mommy-hormones can do a number on me!) I just started to think of how lucky we are and how God has provided for us in so many ways in our lives together. We are living pretty strictly in terms of money, especially with my maternity pay being only 66% of my normal pay. And, Nick's unemployment pay had ended in January. He finally was able to contact someone about it and it was extended for another period of time! Thursday we got a large sum of money from the back pay of months he wasn't paid directly deposited in our bank account. We were definitely not expecting that! Now we are able to put tires on our van and pay off all of our debt that we've been working to pay off since we got married. We are now debt-free (aside from our mortgage & my student loan)! No car payments, no credit card debt, NOTHING! It's such a relief and so wonderful to think about not having all of that money to pay out each month! Now we can save, save, save for a new house someday!!! So, thinking of all of that, I just kept tearing up when trying to talk with Nick about how great our God is. He provides for us and takes care of us even when we don't ask for it. He truly DOES know what is on our hearts and minds and knows what we need most even before we know and think to ask for it. Amazing!

• We also discussed Nick's future career and what he hopes to do with his degree.

• We talked about our family & how we love our babies so much! I talked about how much I love the infant / baby stage and Nick talked about how he loves the toddler stage for their independence. We also talked about how blessed Nick is to have been able to be home with Ali for a whole year. And I confessed to my insane jealousy of him for that. I wish, with all my heart, that I could be the stay-at-home parent and that I could be the one to be with our loveys all day, every day. I even told Nick that if I could be the one who was at home, I wouldn't be opposed to having another baby...........I must be INSANE!!!
  

• We laughed about how Adrienne was sleeping in her car seat. She looked like Nick after a Thanksgiving Day meal: passed out with her mouth hanging wide open......trademark Nick! :)

After our lunch, we headed to Meijer to get some items for the baby & other projects we are working on around our house. It was just a fun afternoon of being out & about, just the 2 of us (well, plus Adrienne, but she didn't make a peep the whole time!), almost like when we were dating, back 10 years ago!

This was a great little trip out & it was just what Nick & I needed to re-charge our mommy & daddy batteries. A stress-free lunch, good conversation, and a bit of shopping tossed in. It made me remember how much I love my husband!

March 1st, 2011

Today was Adrienne's original due date! But, following in her big sister's footsteps, she came early! She tried to one-up her sister and come at just 34 weeks pregnant, but after 4 weeks of bed-rest, 2 trips to the hospital with pre-term labor, and medication to stop contractions, we had a healthy, beautiful baby girl at 38 weeks! My beautiful baby girl also shares her birthday with her adorable cousin, Piper! (What are the odds of that?!)

In the 2 weeks that I've had Adrienne in my arms, I've just been trying to get used to being a mom of three! We've been getting a routine established, trying to sleep, doing our best to keep Ali happy and not feeling neglected with the baby getting so much attention, and just trying to keep on top of the every day things that need to get done.

I'm getting the hang of it. For sure.

But, it's going by WAY too fast. 2 weeks old already! That means I only have 4 more weeks home with my darlings. :( That makes me sad. Very sad. Especially when I think that I only have 2 weeks off for the summer. That makes me even sadder.

I feel very blessed. Blessed to have 3 beautiful, intelligent, healthy children. Blessed to have wonderful friends & family who care for us and support us in various ways. And blessed to finally be holding & loving on Adrienne! (She's so cute & sweet! I am LOVING snuggling her!)

I also feel very BUSY. I get a little stressed out / anxious when I think of going back to work & how our routines will change. Adrienne is on a 4-hour feeding schedule and I've managed to get her on-board with what I think will work out ok while I'm at work. Most of my day is just spent occupying Ali and comforting / feeding Adrienne. I really don't have much time to do anything for myself. {Which explains the lack of postings from me!} But, my goal this week is to get in more of a routine so that I CAN have some time for myself. Whether it's time to post on my blog or get down to my scrap table. It's important to get time to myself (even just a small chunk of time) to recharge / unwind.

This is a random post. I feel like my mind is a jumble these days. Must be the lack of sleep / surging mommy hormones kicking in. I'll try to post a more coherent entry soon.