Thanksgiving

Well this month is coming to an end. It feels long, and short at the same time. I have finished 9 credit hours just this month and have 14 to go for my BSN. It's been great to work at my own pace (quickly) and I really like my program. I have tried to be really diligent with eating right and try to work out often. I do feel really stressed out about a few things though, but I'm trying hard to stay a float. I have great support and a wonderful hubby who has been helping out so much more at home so I can work on school.

Sophie is getting so big! She has the cutest smile and I love having days off with her. She is such a busy body though and has so much energy. It's hard when I have things I need to get done with school and all she wants to do is play - I feel guilty that I have to turn the TV on and try to distract her so I can get stuff done. I can't wait to be done with my BSN and not have to go to school, EVER again. Sophie is getting so tall. I haven't measured her but she doesn't fit length-wise in her 2T clothes. She is still a skinny gal. She is a horrible eater - she is so picky. I can count on one hand how many things she'll eat. We keep offering and hopefully she'll grow out of that. Feeding a toddler is so stressful sometimes! We have tried to do fun things each week as a family but we've been lacking. This seemed like a busy month!

I picked up some budgeted hours in the ER, on shift a week which will make me full time. I will work two shifts on Peds and one shift in the ER each week. I am so glad to be 'back' in the ER and loved it so much as a tech. I know that it will be really different but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to apply. I am looking forward to training, which starts the second week of December. Peds busy season will be starting in January (RSV season), so I know my life is going to get about ten-times more hectic.

For Thanksgiving Kale and I had a day off, so we decided to make the most of it and go see his family that lives in Rock Springs. We left Wednesday evening and stayed at his Grandma's house. She got Sophie a little surprise - some really fun building blocks and a cute little Zhu-Zhu pet (Sophie LOVES that thing). We hung out there for most of Thanksgiving morning. It is always so much fun to visit. We wish we could make it up there more. Sophie was a good girl considering the house wasn't really 'baby-proof.' She had a few little meltdowns and missed her nap but did good overall. Kale was having some major vertigo (dizziness) thought and couldn't do anything but lay still with his eyes closed. It made the day hard because Sophie required full attention and I had a paper I had to work on. We went to Kale's Uncle and Aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner. They have a dog, Oscar, who barked full blast at Sophie. Sophie really loves dogs usually but I think all the commotion from everyone and the barking really got to her and she had a hard time. It was getting to difficult to coop her up in one room, since this home also wasn't baby-proof, so we went back to Kale's grandparents to visit before leaving.

Mama's girl!

Luckily we had the iPad which is always something we rely on to help Keep Sophie busy and entertained no matter where we are!

Kale's Grandma told me her dream was to get a family picture. I didn't even plan on it happening, but surprisingly enough EVERYONE was there, including Kale's Uncle from Denver. I am still shocked it worked out so well and am glad we got one, even if it was impromptu and no one matched :)

Kale has really great Grandparent and we are so lucky we get to visit. They love Sophie so much and it's so fun to hang out with them and hear stories about their lives.

We left for home that night. Sophie fell asleep about 30 minutes from home, which never happens. It's a long drive (2 1/2 hrs one way) but she did really good both times. We were glad to be home, unloaded the car and cleaned up, and went to bed! We both worked the next day so we didn't do any black-friday stuff. We don't really 'NEED' anything anyway. Luckily Kale was feeling better. I worked all weekend and had stressful patients. For a brief moment during my weekend my confidence in my ability was shattered and I just didn't want to be a nurse again. Don't worry though, I feel better and am glad to be a nurse and have a great job that lets my schedule be flexible.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The Month of October

October was such a fun month! I had a great schedule at work, my sweet baby turned two, and there was a lot of fun things we did. Here is a little recap and updated about our lives:

Earlier in the month my mom's work had a party at a pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun. We had to wait in a long line, but we finally got to go on a way fun hayride. Sophie loved when we started to go and loved the tractor. We were sitting right in the front so we had a great view. We got to the pumpkin patch, and it wasn't as fun anymore. She didn't appreciate getting off the hayride and the dirt/mud was bugging her. She is funny because she loves to pat things. She pats my salt shakers, her Daddy's head, and particular to this story - pumpkins! We had pizza after the hayride back, and we were excited to take back our pumpkins.

Sophie is point to the pizza tent. She loves pizza. I can't think of anything else in the whole wide world she likes more than a big slice of pepperoni!

My mom is a great Grandma and Sophie is so lucky to have her. She helps babysit Sophie since our daycare fiasco. Sophie loves her, sometimes I wonder if she loves her more than she loves me :)

Another fun Halloween activity we did was going to Willard Bay. I've lived here my whole life but haven't ever heard about the Christmas light show they have there. I saw a flyer in a coupon magazine about a Halloween light show. It sounded fun but I didn't think more of it. We were going to go to Black Island Farms because I've heard how much fun it is there, but when the day came, Kale got home later than normal from work and it was FREEZING! I didn't want to pay all the money to go stand in the cold and the dark and not be able to enjoy it. We improvised and I remembered about the Willard Bay activity. It was a lot closer to us, so we got all dressed in our sweaters and blankets, and headed up there. Of course it was FREEZING! My car read somewhere around 34 degrees, eek! I was worried Sophie wouldn't have fun, but she loved it. I had her in my Boba right up against me. I found this awesome toddler pants at the DI with padding in them for warmth, so we dressed her in several layers, a jacket, a hat, and had a huge triple layer fleece blanket. It was still cold. I wore flip flops of course, and my feet were fine, my my hands were freezing. The lights were awesome! I should have thought to take my camera. Kale snapped this with his iPhone. It's not the greatest picture but depicts the efforts I made to keep my baby warm. I had her bundled up like nothing else, only her little face showed! She was quiet and still and I loved being able to cuddle her. We went on the hayride through the lights about 4 times. That's all she wanted to do. We did go through the kiddie-hay bale maze and then decided we were cold enough and they were almost ready to close. They had a lot more fun activities and I can't wait to try it out next year! It was right on the beach of Willard bay. What a fun time we had!

Earlier in the month we went to Lagoon with Kale's parents and nieces. Sophie hasn't been for a while and it showed! Usually she just LOVES Lagoon and I can't ever get her off the rides without a breakdown, but tonight she would cry when I'd put her on one. Until it started that is... then she would love it, but as soon as it stopped she would cry again. It must have just been one of those days for her. I bet it didn't help that it was dark and she had to sit by cousins she only sees once a month or so.

I had my Beco baby carrier which I love because I can slip her in and out of it and not have to pack a purse, stroller, or anything else. I am such an advocate for (proper) baby wearing. If you know of anyone that wants more information, here is a great site with all the types of baby carrying: BABYWEARING BLOG I see so many crummy baby carriers out there and wish I could just inform everyone of other, much more comfortable options!

Sophie loved when we got a snack and was snarffing the fries and trying to sip from people's soda. It's so bad and I promised myself I wouldn't let her have soda pop, but sometimes it's just not worth the fight. She loves it, of course.

Luckily it was a good, fairly warm night and we had a lot of fun. We didn't get to do any Frightmares stuff which was a bummer because honestly I've never been! Maybe next year though. We always get season passes and use them plenty. It's a lot of fun to be able to go, especially since we can take frontrunner there so our trip is virtually free!

Well I talked already about how awesome my mom is. She is a fabulous lady and definitely one of a kind. Now to brag about my Dad. Boy do I LOVE my dad. He is such a gentle giant and such a great Dad. I have so many fun memories of growing up and doing things that he loves like camping, fishing, and horseback riding. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful father. This month he had the opportunity to go on a big hunt. He did really well and got this 210 mule deer! (He's huge so it makes the animal look small, but this thing is huge). I am so proud of him and so happy he got a deer. Keep your eye out because he is going to be on the COVER of Trophy Hunter Magazine! Way to go Dad, you are awesome!

So Ogden has a lack of things to do with little kids that don't cost an arm and a leg (like the treehouse). We have a dinosaur park pass but Sophie is just a bit too small for that. We have gone to the nature center a few times, swimming during the summer, attempted a movie, and done other free things like hiking. Sometimes I wish we had more opportunities like salt lake does (Think natural history museum, discovery gateway, zoo, act). Well I had a coupon and went with my bestie to this really fun bounce house in Ogden that is fairly new. It looked fun, I wish I weighed under 150 lbs so I could go on those things! Apparently we didn't get the memo that if you are under 3 it is the most terrifying place to be. Both Sophie and Emery had complete meltdowns when we tried to put them on or in any of the bounce houses. I thought it was quite comical. Good thing it only cost us $3. By the end of the time, Sophie finally warmed up to one of the places just a little. Emery was quite content roaming the area with her snacks, and didn't appreciate out repeated attempts to put her in the bounce houses.

I plan on taking Sophie there again because I know if she would give it a chance she would like it. It's pretty loud and the bounce houses are huge. Plus I think being 'unstable' on her feet really scares her. It would be good if it was busier so she can see other kids play. There were like a total of 4 people there since we went during the day.

Our Ward had a trunk or treat the Friday before Halloween. It was fun. I worked and got out late so I had to head straight there, so apparently I was a nurse as my costume. My husband didn't dress up, and I was not in the mood to dress Sophie up since we had no impressive ideas and she hates wearing the hood on her piggy costume. I did have a light up Halloween shirt so that should count for something. We had crockpot soups and chili's and it was delicious. The only thing Sophie would eat were these little cornbread muffins. What a cute idea, I am going to have to make some. They were teeny and cute and I think she liked the portability of them. She spent the dinner running up and down the isles, patting and petting all the pumpkins, trying to climb the hay bale decorations, and attempting to stir people's drinks with her spoon. We played some games. Sophie loved the beanbag throw game. Her sweet little babysitter, Erica, who is FABULOUS with her was there. We just love her, she is the best babysitter! Sophie loves her!

Afterwards we went out and went trunk or treating. Sophie wasn't sure what was going on but finally found out that if she looked cute and held out her little pumpkin bag she would get a treat. Then she was on board and just living it up! It was so much fun. My favorite part of the nights as the apple lady. She said "We have the healthy treat, apples" and held out the bowl of apples. It was dark, but Sophs reached in, picked up the apple, examined it and turned it around, then threw it over her shoulder and stormed to the next bowl of 'real' treats. It was hilarious, I still just laugh out loud thinking about it. Luckily the lady thought it was pretty funny too! That little stinker... she just loves sugar. I blame her Daddy since he could live off soda pop, candy, and pizza...

I always feel so rushed and busy in life and sometimes I just want to do something that I actually WANT to do. I had the opportunity this month to work on a lot of little projects I have been bookmarking. I made some Christmas gifts for family, and some things to list on Etsy.com. I love Etsy, it is the best place to get hair bows and little handmade things for Sophie. Also, I have found some REALLY cool things in the vintage section to decorate my house. I got some awesome old books for my mantle, some antique kitchen tools for my front room, and I just LOVE to browse the site. I listed some hair bows and crayon rolls that I was able to make. It was fun to just be able to craft. I have a sewing machine that I just haven't been very comfortable with the troubleshooting parts of sewing, but I'm getting the hang of it. 7th grade Home-Ec is all coming back to me now! Ha. I had Mrs. Taylor and boy could she be mean, but luckily my cross-stitch and serging skills were up to par and she loved me.

So when I found out I was pregnant, I became 'on the look out' for baby things out and about in my travels. It was really great to slowly build my supply of baby items. I had a complete set of my cloth diapers, tons of hand me down and new clothes, and lots and lots of toys! When I was doing a DI run, I found these awesome mega blocks for 5 bucks! There is a huge bag full and then a large mega-block wagon full. Recently I rotated through my toy stash, since Sophie gets bored of the same old toys easily, and she has loved these. She is quite the builder. Kale loves it too. He's like a little kid! He helps to 'stabilize' her creations and helps her build towers and things. It's so cute. I have the best husband, he is such a good Daddy.

This week was a busy week for me. I started school again. I know, what was I thinking!? Unfortunately here a bachelors degree in nursing is nothing all too special. It has no pay increase and really no immediate results. Long term we would need it if my hospital tries to obtain magnet status or if I was interested in a teaching or managerial position (which I'm not). I have been putting it off due to cost of school and time. I always wanted to be able to spend time with my babies when they were little and work on that while they were at school or something. Well, if you don't know this about me, I love a challenge and get bored easily when things are slow in my life. This prompted me in August to look into a BSN program. Despite getting my original two degrees from Weber State, I knew I didn't want to continue any schooling there. I looked at all online programs: there was on from Dixie and one from a University in Idaho. Unfortunately most of those were super competitive and seemed a little lengthy. I have always always been skeptical of the education you get from an online-based school or some of these outrageously expensive schools like Steven's Henager or Phoenix. I ran across Western Governors University and really liked it. The cost was great, and the best part about it is that you can work at your own individual pace. That is a plus for me because I do school marathons. I work really hard on things for hours and hours on end for a few weeks, then when life gets busy I school down a bit until I can pick up again. Some students have been successful enough to get their BSN in 6 months because of this ability. It is fully accredited just like a BYU or Weber State program, and my work does a tuition reimbursement for it. That sealed the deal for me. I applied, got in, and was able to start Nov 1. Once you are accepted you can start the very next month, which is great. I have loved it so far and am pretty much done with 4 credit units of my 23 total that I need in this first week. I aim to complete at least two more classes this month, and then slow down my pace a bit but finish by April. I hope that I can be successful but no big deal if not. If I finish by April, my final tuition cost is only $3700. That is another big incentive.

I should be studying or doing course work now, but instead I took the time to blog :)

I am looking forward to the holidays. It is snowing now and all the leaves are falling off my trees. I love the business of the holidays and the opportunity to spend a lot of time with family. It's always a good excuse to remember how grateful we should all be for what we have!