Quick Catch-Up!

Since the last blog post, I have become a full time stay at home Momma... only. No more night shifts at the hospital. I miss my coworkers and I miss our extra income and I miss my job as a Labor & Delivery nurse... but I missed so much more of Elias... I feel like a new person since making the decision to only be a Momma.

Since then, we have been doing lots of fun stuff. For two of the three weeks I have stopped working at the hospital, our nieces stayed with us. I didn't get much done at all in the way of cleaning, organizing, or unpacking. But we have had lots of water playtime & E and I have had lots of snuggle time.

I have a wiggle worm in my lap right now, so I will just resort to bullet points...

** At nearly 22 months old, the little one is weaned. We weren't able to self-wean as I'd hoped due to impending fertility treatments. But, we have been able to snuggle a lot to make up for it & he is loving his almond milk.

** I had a "minor" surgery to remove a uterine polyp prior to moving on with IVF. That was not fun.

** I have made small accomplishments in the playroom. Hope to do more in the next weekends.

** Our first home had become a rental property when we purchased our current home. The tenants broke their 12mth lease & we are sort of scrambling to find new tenants. We have lots of yard work to do there to prepare for new tenants, but praying we can get someone in by July 1. Yes, we know it's only 4 days away...

** Our IVF #2 start date is July 19th. Two days after our anniversary. By my calculations, we should know by mid August if we are pregnant or not.

** E has become enamored with trucks and matchbox cars. He lines them all up. Real life tractors, golfcarts, tires, anything to do with outside stuff. He loves to wear his Daddy's work gloves. He loves to give kisses & goofy smiles.

** E still signs for us. Mostly: please, drink, water, bath, sleep. He SAYS: Momma, please, dog, Sydney, Dadda, bath, one-two-three, cookie, fish, turtle, & more that I can't think of...

** He loves cheddar cheese, almond milk, goldfish, peanuts, strawberries, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce/salad, hummus, ranch dressing, PB&Js, cookies, spaghetti, Mexican beans & rice. And the junk food his Momma might have... ;)

** We are back to cloth diapers & lots of diaper free time. We have little potty-s on both levels of the house & he frequently sits on them. We are still working on USING the potty! No pressure, just introduction.

Well, I think it is nap time for my little buddy, so we will head upstairs. I have plenty of towels to fold & another load of laundry to start! Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

14/365: Hmm...

Did I say I'd post every day? Maybe I meant like a post for each day that may be posted AFTER the fact...

;)

Working nights has kind of hindered the posting thing, but it is still on my mind!!

Working night shifts hasn't been as hard as I was worried about. Squishy has been awesome with allowing me to nap at least 5 hours (between several catnaps & one afternoon nap); even 7hrs yesterday! He has handled sleeping with Momma very well, too. No fussing or anything... just lays down & goes right to sleep! Such a contrast to how it is when I am home!! He fusses & cries & screams until I lay down with him & snuggle & nurse!

Today, we stayed in town & napped @ my brother & sister-in-law's house so that we could hang out with my Mom this afternoon. I slept through my alarm & the lunch date we had planned, but met later @ the mall. Got some awesome clearance deals @ Sears (my Mom, that is) & Old Navy (finally got my skinny jeans & some cute stuff for Squishy, too). A great dinner @ the Mexican restaurant & then we came home!

Have some chores planned for tomorrow through the afternoon & then we are heading into town to hang out with some friends from church. Looking forward to it!!

Wish I had a picture to share tonight, but glad to have some stuff to update about.

PS: In case you are wondering... I am nearing the end of my 13wk orientation period. I have learned a lot but still have SO MUCH to learn. My preceptors have been awesome & very encouraging. I know that once I am on my own, I will have support from the other nurses to help me through. There are nights I wonder if I should have returned to work & there are nights that I am proud to be a working nurse AND stay at home Momma. I will have to figure out the correct schedule of shifts, but once that happens I think it will be easier. So far, I have worked 3days/nights in a row most weeks, but will be trying to work 2nights in a row, then a weekend night. We will see how it works out! :)

OH, here's a picture... this little tube sure helps me get through the night w/out soda or coffee...


It really helps!

Tomorrow, I will post more about the signs Squishy has been using! He has made up a couple of his own & learned many from us! So nice to have a bit of insight as to what he wants!! :)

1/365: A New Year

A Blogger I follow is nearing the end of her 365-in-a-row blog posts and it has motivated me to do the same for this new year. We have many goals and dreams for this year and it will be nice to have a running diary of sorts. I hope to post a photo every day, too, but that may or may not happen.

Here are some changes our little family experienced this past (2010) year...
** Nick received a promotion in the very beginning of the year. Much more responsibility as a plant and quality control manager.
** Elias turned a year old and has just amazingly developed into a curious, adventurous toddler. So amazing to compare pictures, memories, and journal entries. It is hard to imagine it being the same little person.
** I passed the state board of nursing exam in March, worked as a shift supervisor from June through October at a somewhat local nursing home, then accepted a full time position with a local hospital in the labor and delivery unit in November.
** We bought a house on more land in October. Our mobile home/land is being cared for by renters. There isn't much work in the way of structural repair, only a couple of larger projects and the decorating/organizing/personalizing that comes with any home!
** We lost a dear dog, Irving. He was our shelter rescue and we feel happy to have given him an extra 6.5 years of life to enjoy.

Some goals we have set as a family and I have set as an individual...
** Replacing the flooring upstairs. This will be "Big Project #2" after the A/C unit is paid for. We plan to replace the current carpet with some sort of hardwood flooring. Probably bamboo.
** Finish painting the walls on both levels of the house, set up each area, & declutter-declutter-DECLUTTER! Ensure the house is functional.
** Drink soda only once/week. I would love to cut it out altogether, but realistically... that probably won't happen.
** Get pregnant! We hope to not have to pursue treatment, but will if that is where we are led.
** Restart our contributions for Hubby-Bub's IRA, Squishy's educational fund, & open an IRA account for myself.
** Begin a savings fund for the fencing for the property.
** Planning & some execution of landscaping for the front of the property.

As you can see, most of our goals are related to the house & financial planning! :) As long as I continue to work, my paychecks will go toward house & savings. This way, we continue to live off of one income in case we need to return to a single income family.

We are very excited for the year ahead, but I must admit to being a bit anxious, also. I begin my night shifts this week & am wondering how it will all work out with watching Squishy during the day & being away from him three nights/week. I will definitely be updating throughout... although maybe not as wordy on those days following working all night! :)

Have a wonderful New Year!

Progress

Accomplished Friday:

* Closing of the house
* Cleaning of guest bathroom
* Sweeping
* Carpet cleaning
* Assisted seller to move stuff out

Accomplished Saturday:

* Sweeping & mopping (first time)
* Scrubbing of kitched + bay window area
* Scrubbing of interior side door
* Confirmed seller was leaving

Accompished Sunday:

* Nothing (w/ church & working, it didn't leave much time to do anything)

Accomplished Monday:

* Kitchen cabinets/shelves cleaned out
* Fridge cleaned
* Mopped floor twice. Scrubbed as I went.
* My awesome friend, Ashlee, came over & scrubbed the baseboard + walls & also cleaned the interior of the front door.
* Upstairs windows & flooring vacuumed
* Pantry shelves cleaned & put back up. Pantry cleaned.
* Laundry area dusted (yuck) & mopped.
* Windows cleaned.
* Interior back doors cleaned.

Accomplished Tuesday:

* Another mopping!
* Ashlee came again & scrubbed the remaining baseboard (dining/play room, hallway, & guest room.
* Put contact paper + liners down in kitchen cabinets. (Even put some stuff in them already!)
* Unpacked three or four boxes.
* W/D moved in the house; will be hooked up later.
* Scrubbed the living room area.

It sure seems like we've done so much... and we have, but there is still so much to do. More scrubbing & mopping of the main areas. Some walls need to be primed. Almost all of the walls + baseboards need to be painted. I haven't even started the deep cleaning of the upstairs bathrooms, but want the bottom to be done first! And, obviously, we need to move in! Then, it's final painting, unpacking, & decorating... making it our HOME.

We also need to clean the current home for the renters moving in November 1. That won't be nearly as exhausting! :)

Hoping to head over more Wednesday to keep cleaning & move a couple boxes or so in the van. We will see if it happens or not...

{dis} Connected

After this past weekend, I've thought much about the connection I have with my child.

It's not just an emotional connection, but for us it is also physical & hormonal connections that tie us together.

On Friday, Squishy's birthday, he spent many hours in the carseat while I drove around buying last minute items for his birthday party.

Disconnected.

On Saturday, I woke up earlier than the boys & started hauling stuff out to the van for the party. Made macaroni & cheese. Fielded some calls. Prayed the rain would stop for the party. Drove to the park to begin the set-up. The whole length of the party, I was either refilling trays or chatting with all the guests. Squishy wanted to be down walking everywhere & playing in his own world. No time for Momma & I didn't feel like I had enough time for him, either. Then, I had to rush home to change into scrubs to head to work that afternoon. I got home around 11.45pm that night.

That whole day felt disconnected. With both baby & daddy.

Then Sunday began with a trip to church. Where, you guessed it, we were separated again. Squish-Squish went to nursery & Hubby-Bub went to teach the Youth group lesson. I'd be lying if I said I pretty much didn't think about him the whole time. And missing him. After church, we went to lunch with my family, then rushed out to get home in time for me to change into scrubs & head to work again.

Then, as soon as I grabbed my bag to head inside, I realized I forgot my pump. Baby is eating more "real" food & so I pump on during breaks to provide milk for his dinner & night-time snack. But, I was soon remembering that physical connection. I began worrying about how I would get through the shift. My stomach began aching & I physically felt sick. I had a hard time concentrating enough to speak to Hubby about my predicament. I couldn't answer questions clearly & felt on the verge of tears. Thankfully, my husband was wonderful & happy to come to my rescue. He drove home, then the 20miles to my job, & delivered food, the baby, & my pump. It was such an exciting moment. I hate missing most of the day with my guys on the weekend & was so looking forward to seeing them, too. We talked & I nursed & my evening became so much better.

So, even though I crawled in bed @ 11.45pm, I was so excited about the next day. Because Monday, I got to...

reConnect

I missed my little man so much & could not handle being away from him much more than those two shifts every other weekend. I think initially, after his birth, I was somewhat disconnected with him. Subconsciously. B'feeding was so difficult & I had to return to classes so soon. I am not sure why. But, when my maternity leave ended when he was about 4mths old, I couldn't fathom leaving him. I know others are better mothers because they work & others have bills that must be paid, but I could not do it. And, we assumed this in the beginning. So, we saved & cut expenses & planned for me to stay home.


And I've never truly regretted it. Sometimes going over the finances leaves me wishing I worked, but then I quickly remember what I'd be giving up. My job is amazing in that it's very part-time, great pay, & allows Squishy to remain with his parents all the week. But, it still leaves me disconnected every other weekend.


On that note, I will head to bed now. My two favorite mens in the world are sleeping soundly in the next room & I shall retire there, too.



Here's a quick photo of Baby & one of his great g'mothers. I think this is so cute!