Workin' Mama

Where have I been lately and why haven't I blogged since last August? Well besides the fact that I was never really great at blogging in the first place. I started working exactly 3 months ago today. What started out as a couple days a week has slowly been taking over most of my free time. I barely have time to take pictures much less upload them and then blog about them. LOL Working has been a major transistion in my household. Brian is now responsible for a lot more and I am now a contributing monetarily to our family. Some things have been neglected in the transition, but both brian and I are making sure that the girls are not one of those things. Working with kids has been harder than I ever imagined. I have always been the type that enjoyed work and can see the positive in any job, but I never anticipated the guilt that would come over me when both girls cling to my legs not wanting me to go or the sad looks that that would flash on makenzie's face when I say yes to her question of, "mommy do you have to work tonight?" It hasn't been all bad though. I LOVE my job. I feel like in many ways I am making a difference in the lives of others. I love connecting with people and hearing the stories that my residents tell and hearing about their lives before coming to live at our facility. The work itself can be challenging especially when in the short three months I have worked there I have already been bit by a resident and pushed through a door almost into a wall because the resident wanted to leave. Both of these instances imediately made me want to quit, but I get plenty of hugs, kisses, I love you's and thank you's to make up for the bad. Not sure where I am headed in the working world, but wherever it is I hope that it gets a little easier on our family and it continues to be worthwhile!

Then and Now

Shortly after moving to Az and joining a mom's group I met a wonderful person who has since become one of my good friends. Adrianna is leaving for a few months and I will miss her! I thought this would be a perfect time to look back on one of my fonder memories of our two girls. Adrianna has a daughter who is very close in age to Madison and when the girls were younger it was very hard to tell the two apart. They both had lighter hair and pretty much bald heads. They were roughly the same size and developmentally the same, for the most part. In the first picture (taken when the girls were about 8 mos.) they look very similar to each other and the second picture was just taken August 1st (Girls are 2) and it is evident how much they have grown and how they each have their own look now. Adrianna and I still laugh about how much they looked alike and how we always had a hard time telling them apart. I just know that Adrianna is going to be one of those friends that will be in my life for a long time and hopefully our girls will be able to grow up together (along with many of my other friends and their amazing kids).

Back to School

Makenzie started back to school on Monday (orientation) and then her first official day was Wed.

Makenzie had missed school so much so she was not scared or upset when it was time for me to go. She did seem sad to leave Madison and told her, "I will miss you best friend!" That made my heart melt, but for the most part I was tear-free. Makenzie goes to an awesome school and they served us all breakfast and had a present for all of the parents which was called a cry baby bag or a parent survival kit. Attached was a little letter that I thought was so precious I had to share it:

Dear parents,

After you have wiped your tears, make yourself a cup of tea. Put your feet up and relax and take a minute to remember a few things while holding...

Cotton Ball- The softness will help you to remember the gentle spirit of your child

Rubber Band- Remember to help your child learn the possibilities and importance of having a flexible mind, heart and body. Stretch them, but not to the breaking point.

Candle- Celebrate life with your child. We usually celebrate birthdays and other special occasions, but overlook life's daily triumphs. Everyday miracles and extraordianary effort are reason enough to celebrate.

String- Think of it as a kite string- and remember to let your child soar, but don't let go of the string.

Penny- This is for your child's thoughts. Remember to have a conversation. lots of conversations. Don't just tell your child what you think or what they should think. Find out what they think. Encourage them to think for themselves. then listen very, very carefully.

Cross- Remember that Jesus loves you and your child

Thank you for entrusting your child with us. we promise to do our best every day to be your child's companion in learning and growing, both academically and spiritually.

Blessings, your staff at Christ Greenfield Lutheran preschool

Summer Fun!

With school starting tomorrow, I thought that I would recap our summer and some of the amazing experiences that we have had.

My Friends

This is just a few of the amazing women that I am lucky to call my friends. Moving out here two years ago I never thought that I would meet a group of ladies that are as amazing, friendly, understanding and supportive as these wonderful women. We try to meet at least once a week and all of us have at least one kid that is around the same age. This particular picture was taken at a birthday party for sweet mackenzie!

D-Backs Game July 24th, 2009

We had so much fun at the diamond back stadium. They have an amazing play land for the kids and a peter piper pizza inside. The girls loved playing and eating super expensive stadium food. We were really high up though which was kinda scary when you have an energetic 2 year old, but it all worked out and will definitely be going to another game soon!

Maddie's 2nd Birthday at CEC

I have very fond memories of Chuck E. Cheese since I worked there for most of high school. I have always thought they were a great company and provide so much fun. Makenzie had her first birthday at CEC and now Madison has celebrated a birthday there as well. It was so much fun and she was able to celebrate with some of her closest friends. Madison ended up with a black eye (which Brian attributes to the coger birthday curse), but she really enjoyed herself and I think had an awesome birthday!

Toddler Mcdonalds

One of my favorite things about AZ is how kid friendly everything is. There is so many options to get your kids out of the heat and one of the cheapest is the Toddler Mcdonalds. They have an entire play area dedicated to toddlers. It can get pretty crowded, but we were able to meet up with our friend baby mackenzie and her mommy for some lunch and play before it got too packed!

4th of July

One of my earliest childhood memories is going to Fairmont Park in CA and having BBQ's. If anyone knows my mom it is one of her favorite parks and she suggests going there for any holiday which permits having a BBQ. This was where we spent the fourth of July and it was a ton of fun! We played badminton for a couple hours (YES HOURS) and sat by the lake enjoying awesome food and visiting with family and friends.

Night Swimming Anyone?

Our first night in CA, my mom insisted that we all break out our bathing suits and go swimming. Madison couldn't stay awake, but the rest of us were swimming around 11PM. Makenzie thought it was the coolest thing in the whole world taht we could stay up late to go swimming!

Road Trip

This is one of my favorite pictures from our road trip to CA. It was not a really special drive and is one that we have made dozens of times, but I wanted to make it seem more like a vacation so me and the girls played all kinds of games and took a dozen pictures. This was during a stop for gas. While in Ca we got to do two things I have never done before which is visit the L.A. Zoo (free with my Phoenix zoo membership) and the aquarium of the pacific (which is fantastic!!!)

Makenzie's Birthday Party

Makenzie celebrated her fourth birthday at build-a- Bear. She really wanted to have it there and wanted to invite her entire class. It was so much fun watching all of the kids make their bears, but I thought the best part was seeing all of her classmates react when they saw each other. They had been on summer vacation for about a month before Makenzie's party so when they saw each other they were giving hugs and were so excited to see each other. Makenzie and madison still are sleeping with the bears they made so I think it was a hit!

Veg Pledge

As some of you may know, before getting pregnant with makenzie I was a vegetarian. At that time, I wanted to eat healthier and I have a liking for for pigs and cows. I think they are cute so I felt bad eating them. I lasted for a long time, but when I got pregnant I craved burgers. That was probably the reason that I gained so much weight during that pregnancy. I seriously had like three burgers a day at least. Since then I have just not had the motivation to go back. Growing up a meat eater it is just easier and more convenient for me to cook meat rather than try to be creative in thinking up veg recipes. However, I have really wanted to go back and try it again. The last couple weeks I have been strongly considering it and I keep coming across more and more things that are pushing me in that direction. So, it is official starting Monday june 15th I am no longer going to be eating meat. I took a pledge through PETA to try it for 30 days in which I will see how manageable it is for me with 2 kids and a husband (who is NOT giving up meat). This time around there is a variety of reasons for doing this. Some of the reasons are:

It is healthier

Vegetarians have more energy, lower cholesterol and are at lower risk for heart disease

It helps save animals

The grain used to feed live stock can be used to help feed the hungry

Cows and pigs are cute (some people may think poultry/seafood is cute)

One thing I cannot give up is dairy. I like milk, cheese, etc. and no amount of soy substitutes are going to make up for it. Other than that no beef, pork, poultry or seafood for at least 30 days, but quite possibly longer. If anyone knows any tasty vegetarian recipes please send them my way and wish me luck!

Animal LOVE

Among other things, last week me and the girls went shopping at old Navy. they were having a sale on dresses and skirts so I wanted to stop by and see if I could find anything. The first thing Madison sees is the Manequins standing at the front of the store. They are the ones in the commercial with the moms and dads and kids and a DOG!!! Madison was hooked. We spent at least fifteen minutes while Madison hugged the "kids" and pet the "dog". I had to drag her away so I could, heaven forbid, shop for clothes. Makenzie was waiting to see the doggie on the bench so we eventually made our way to the kids section, but there was no dog. Makenzie was so bummed. I got them bouncie balls to keep them occupied (big mistake bc every 2 seconds I was chasing after someone's ball) while I finished shopping. As we made our way to the dressing room Makenzie screamed, "there he is!!!!!!" The dog was in the dressing room. the girls ran over and spent the next ten minutes sitting with the dog. Makenzie asked if I could take their picture so here it is.

Following the animal theme, Madison has been working on her animal sounds. I thought it would be cute to take a video of her practicing. (Please excuse the laundry in the background...it was laundry day!)

Okay so NO video... i started posting this at 3:00 and it is now 7:30 and is still not uploaded. I will edit this later

A tutto c'è rimedio, fuorchè alla morte

The last month has been especially rough. I received a phone call letting me know that my friend's two year old daughter had passed away. It was a shock to everyone. She wasn't sick or anything, but was invloved in a horrible freak accident. The emotions spilled over. Being a mother, I cannot imagine what the loss of a child is like. Makenzie and Madison both slept with me that night and I could do nothing, but cry and hold my girls. It is in times like these that my faith is tested. How could something like this happen??? Why?? What is the purpose of taking a little girl from her family when she had so much more to do and see ? I just don't know. I was able to attend the memorial service which was agonizing. What words are there to console a family who has experienced such a loss? I even found myself sitting on the floor at Walmart crying because there are no sympathy cards that can express how sympathetic I am, how much I want to do to help, and how nothing anyone can do will help ease the pain. Death has always had a profound impact on me. It makes me realize that life is too short to waste. I find myself evaluating my time with my girls and wondering if I am making the most of it. Today, I found out that an old friend lost his mother to cancer. She was an amazing woman. One of the kindest women that you could ever meet. So, today I am asking myself again, Why? Why was this mother taken when her kids still needed her so much? Although I know that i will never know the answers to these questions, this has served as a reminder that each moment is special and you never know where life will lead so it is important to make the most of it. I want to cherish my girls, my marriage, my family and friends.