Blessed

I read a friend's blog today. It was so great! She made me smile and laugh, and I just loved reading it. Then I thought, when did I update my blog last? I clicked over to it...my last post was over a year and a half ago. It was before....so much. Who would think SO MUCH could happen and change in just a year and a half...

Big decisions.
Moving from the house I loved.
Moving from a city I had come to find...comfortable.
Leaving a job where I had become...comfortable, even a little bored. (To think I complained about that last part!)
Returning to my home town.
Working in a new position on my "jobs to work" list...no, not a flight attendant silly, I have little kids! I was a bank teller.
Just unpacking boxes...and my 2 year old daughter faced a shocking health issue.
Left my job.
Found a new one!
Juliette is doing fantastic.
God was, and is, and will always be GOOD!

And through it all...even though the details are starkly different than my life has ever known...one thing is constant...

The joy
the strength
the peace
the comfort
the healing power
...of God.

In fact, I can look over any period of time in my life and say...I've always been....blessed! I've always been taken care of, and cared for. So today, as I look back on the missing months of my blog, I can think only one thing...

Thank you God for BLESSING my life!!!!

...the moments, the days and hours, the events big and small...every part of it.

In every excitement, in every high point, in every low point, in every scary thing big or small, in every dull and even boring point, in every moment that I needed blessing...it was there, whether I saw it then...or not. :D

So today I am grateful, and you guessed it...I'm blessed!

Thankful

Back in July, when Juliette was about 10 months old, I realized that I am not the "stay at home mom" type. So I started looking for a job. The tough economy proved to be a bit of a hurdle, and I really wanted to work in Jackson. I decided that I wanted to work at Allegiance, it was close to home and offered positions of reception and secretarial work, which I really enjoy. But my online application came back unacccepted. I found a job through Manpower in Ann Arbor, a temp agency, working at U of M as a unit clerk. Just what I was looking for.

It was actually a pretty busy job a lot of the time, and I enjoy that type of position, so it was a good fit. Except that drive. By the time I paid for gas and daycare, and if I bought my lunch in the cafeteria, I was just breaking even. So my kids got experience with other kids, and I got out of the house, but it would be nice to bring something home.

Manpower kept telling me that U of M was going to hire some Manpower people (and they told me I was doing well and would be hired) and that hiring was starting January 10.

Well I got sick of driving one hour one way, so about six weeks after I started at U of M, I applied at Allegiance. My hospital experience (and perseverence at getting an interview) must have been enough, because I got a job offer.

At the time I was a little discouraged because it was only part time, and I was full time at U of M. But the pay was better (not a temp agency anymore) and I was much closer to home. Between the gas savings and the daycare savings, I was making money!

But for a while I did wonder if I would have been hired by U of M and made that "great money" they had talked about for so long. I really missed the doctors and nurses that I worked with and the fast pace.

Well today I talked to a friend that I worked with at U of M, back in November when I left, she too was "doing well" and should be hired "soon". Today, in mid-April, she told me positions were only offered a couple of weeks ago. She said that me leaving U of M for my current job was a great decision, and we joked that April must be the new January. :)

So today, I am very thankful for my part time position. I do get a lot more time with my family, and surprisingly the gas cost savings helps me bring more money home working part time than when I was full time. AND bonus, if I want to go back to college (my current hope for myself) I actually have some time to do it!

Potty training

Annabelle has started potty training. Her daycare wants to move her up to the preschool room because she turned 3, but she has to be out of diapers. So I get a call that they will work me if I will work with them and we will get her potty trained. I have been putting it off, obviously. She actually started "#2" in the potty almost 6 months ago, and has been incredibly consistent. That was what I was most not wanting to clean out of underwear and jeans etc. Later, I decided that I don't want to change wet clothes or deal with finding wet spots on my couch, in her car seat, randomly on the carpet, in her bed.... I understand its part of being a mom! But I also heard that when they are "ready" they will start waking up dry in the morning and from naps...still yet to see that one! :) So here we go...

Its been a couple weeks, and some days she comes home from daycare in the plastic pants I sent her in, totally dry. But she tells me "I only go pee in the toilet potty at daycare, just at daycare". Sigh. She will get it. She does use it a lot at home, but she gets playing, and I forget to ask her. I try to watch the clock, I just need to make it a habit.

I think that's the ticket...I don't push it very hard. Diapers are so easy. I know she can't wear them to kindergarden and I have come up with motivators like a sticker when she uses the "toilet potty" and lots of praise.

I have also discovered that she now only wants to wear pull ups (with her underwear underneath or over the top, depends on what she asks for, but either way doesn't seem to affect whether she wets them or not) and that if I put her in a regular diaper, she is not happy.

So in the morning we start out with me telling her she has to wear a regular diaper until she pees in the potty. She will jump right on and say "I tried! I can wear my pull up now!" Then she can have a pullup as long as she keeps going in the potty. If her pullup gets wet, back to a regular diaper. It seems to be working ok. I don't want to put her in underwear until she is consistently dry.

I have rubber pants, but they don't hold a full bladder and I don't want to find wet spots all over my house. :) Also I only have two pair and daycare wants her to wear those, they think pullups do not encourage toilet use, so if those are clean and ready to go for daycare, I prefer to leave them as such.

I think I just need to be more regular about taking her to the potty instead of waiting for her to ask...

Joe thinks as soon as Annabelle gets it Juliette will get curious and we'll have her potty trained very soon. She is 1 1/2, I'm not holding my breath. :)

Lizzie!!!!

Yesterday was beautiful. I have been trying to go and see my wonderful friend Lizzie since her beautiful baby Belle Alivia was born in December. Lizzie lives an hour away from me, and she likes me to bring my girls so she can see them too, so we usually make a day of it.

When Belle was born I was working full time at U of M, and it was the middle of cold season, and one or the other of my two little sweeties were constantly having runny noses or a cough or an ear infection or a mysterious fever or just yuck. Anyways, as much as I wanted to see my friend, I did not want to bring my sick babies over to her precious newborn. So I waited, and I waited...and finally...health!

I'm now working just part time for Allegiance, so I get some days off during the week. Healthy kids and a day off! I actually called her less than 24 hours before I wanted to come over, I was so excited that she wasn't busy I was screaming on the phone! That baby is almost 4 months old and I have not seen her yet!!!

So I get up the next morning (later than I wanted to) and pack up the kids and we go. We even stopped at the store and got some of the ingredients for cheesy potatoes because I was thinking about them the night before. Lizzie sent me home with some, actually all of the leftovers. :) Yummmmmmm.

I finally got to see Belle, and her name is just right for her... she is so beautiful! She has big crystal blue eyes, and pure white creamy skin, a little round face, and peach fuzz on her head, except just above the nape of her neck, a little dark patch. Oh, she is perfect. She is SUCH a good baby. She did not spit up at all while I was there...I told Lizzie's husband Ian that when he got home from work and he said "really....". I guess that's not regular for her, but my kids were just fountains. Every time they ate and then randomly for hours after. :) She went to bed easily, and every time she started to fuss, a pacifier kept her happy. Ok, maybe I am over romanticizing it, but she was just great! It was so great to see her! (And Lizzie too!...I know, sometimes we get lost behind our kids, but we're so stinkin proud of them we don't mind a bit!)

Annabelle and Juliette loved seeing a baby again. At first, Annabelle was calling her Emilly, Dawn's baby. Then Annabelle started calling her "Baby Belle" or "my baby". "Can Baby Belle go downstairs with me? I can take her milk for her... Can I hold my baby now?" Juliette kept coming right up to her face and going "ahh ha ha ha". It was adorable. Lizzie asked me if I could handle three....I'm thinking I need a little bit longer. More babies yes, maybe next year...or the year after that? :)

Lizzie even had her in green for Saint Patricks Day. I forgot, well I heard it on the radio, but we were in the car. Lizzie is very festive so I should have expected her and Belle to be in green. She had Easter decorations all over her house, just cute little things here and there, MANY of which found new higher locations because Juliette was eating them or destroying them or running off with them. Annabelle had some green on, just by chance, Juliette didn't start with any, but then she had lunch so I had to change her.

I forgot Juliette's bib so I was like, ah she'll be ok. Then I fed her some yogurt. The very first spoon flipped upside down before it got to her mouth and landed on her shirt. She didn't seem to notice, then we laughed and she looked down and proceded to splash it, yes splash it, all across her chest and belly. Soon she had quite a puddle, I was like, well I'll just change her so I let her continue. She seemed to be eating some too. When she got done she was wearing a yogurt shirt, jeans were covered too, and Belle's highchair was officially slopped with food. :)

When Ian got home from work, Annabelle told us stories and sang us her favorite songs, she was just a ham. She never took a nap which was interesting, but she slept REALLY well all the way home and all night. :)

Juliette ran around a lot, giggled, and was a silly busy girl. She also had quiet and sneaky moments just like at home and almost had a run in with the open oven at lunch time (I was the one pulling food out), but Lizzie stopped her just in time. Whew! Lizzie said Juliette was a totally different little girl, she was so much more just a baby last time she saw her. She has her own little personality for sure!

They were both climbing in and all over Belle's toys and baby accessories (her swing, her bumbo, her playmat) and Lizzie was so nice. I'm like "girls! You are too big for that!" Lizzie was like "its ok, they're having fun." She was so relaxed, it was a fun fun day.

The best part about going to Lizzie's house? We can do nothing all day but sit around, watch a little tv, eat some good food, and we have a wonderful time!!

A new direction

My thoughts lately have been about school, college specifically. I am thinking of going back for my bachelors. Since I was little I remember wanting to be a teacher or a nurse. Then in 10th grade when I decided to pursue God's plan for my life, I wanted to be a missionary. I visited colleges for missionary training. They suggested you have another occupation, almost like a James Bond secret agent "cover story" to get in to sensitive countries that would not allow or maybe would not encourage missionaries.

Although I still had a desire to be a teacher, I pictured a teacher in the US from some faraway place like Uruguay with a heavy accent, and I thought, that would be me in another country. Just like a teacher in the US with a heavy accent and limited knowledge of English would be unlikely to be hired here, I figured going to school for teaching with the idea of teaching overseas was a bit of a waste. Even if I learned the language, I would probably need an interpreter to help me, 8 hours a day to do my job. That's just an inconvenience...cost to me, tiring for the intrepreter. Anyways.

At these colleges they also encouraged medical missions. I wanted to help people so it seemed a natural course. I enrolled in EMT classes to train to become an EMT, which after finishing about 75% of the course, I learned that to get hired, you need to agree to pursue a license as a medic, Paramedic that is. Two more years of school in something I wasn't loving too much anyway. Sigh. But I finished the program at least.

I still remember sitting at a fire station on what we called "ride alongs" waiting for the siren to go off that we had a call, I was just reading a homework assignment, and I remember thinking "I don't think I want to do this, I want to be in full time ministry."

Although that is still my desire, I have come to discover over the last two years that it is ok to be in ministry and have another job. It might be a bit more challenging, but for me, it is nice to have one other element in my life, almost like an extra curricular activity. :) Hats off and kudos kudos kudos to stay at home moms, but I just don't enjoy ALL that time at home, I like some good ME time.

I really liked being a secretary when I worked for Mount Hope, but I left there when Annabelle was 8 months old because I just couldn't be away from her. When I had Juliette and she turned about 10 months old, with two toddlers at home I was like "Mommy needs a time out!" The thought of paying a babysitter so I could pay a gym membership or pay for an art class seemed silly to me, I thought "if I'm gonna pay someone to take care of my kids, I would like to at least earn some money", so I went back to work. :)

I am now working a part time job as a registration clerk for a hospital. It is a good job, but I would like to have a degree; for earning power. :)

I started to think again about how much I enjoyed being a secretary, and thought, maybe I can go to school to be a secretary that makes good money, like a legal secretary. But the more I thought about that idea the more I realized how a full time day job would mean less and less time with my kids, and I thought....maybe that's not it.

Working for a hospital is great because I can work part time and still get benefits, and I have learned a few things about myself.

I prefer to only work part time, so that I still have time to spend with my kids. I know that teachers work full time, but with weekends, holidays, and summers off, I would pretty much be home all the time that my kids are (once everyone is school aged). I understand that I would need time to grade papers and create lesson plans, but I have two ideas for this. One, someone recently told me the first year or so is a lot, but once you get "in the groove" its pretty much autopilot. And if you think that sounds lazy, my second thought is this: even though I'll need to spend time at home, I can decide when that time is, ie when the kids are in bed, or doing their homework (ha ha right?), or early in the morning (eesh). But the point is, I can decide when those hours are, not my employer.

I've also learned that I like to be home with my infants until they are about 10-12 months old. My thought is to get at least started on my degree (I have my associates, but I still have probably 2.5 to 3 years to go) and get to 90 credit hours so I can substitute teach. Depending on when that happens, maybe do that for a little while, and then have another baby. :) Then take my year, and bonus as a sustitute you have the option of yes or no when they call you, so who knows, maybe a day here and there won't be as hard as a steady job, even if the baby is not 10 months old yet. Then keep working on school, finish up, be a teacher! Hip hip hooray!

A big part of my reason for wanting to become a teacher comes out of my desire to help people, specifically children. When I was working at Mount Hope I was also volunteering there in the Childrens Department, and I miss that so much. I also left doing that when I had Annabelle, but that I left just before she was born. So it has been 3 years, wow. When I look back on that time, it was definately one of the highlights of my life, and part of that I think was the time I spent with those kids.

I am thinking of teaching math, and if you know me you are thinking "excuse me miss 2.0 in college algebra, how do you expect to do that" or "I seem to remember you failing 3 years of high school math", well another thing I have figured out is that I CAN do or learn just about anything I really want to learn.

I didn't really care to try in high school, I distinctly remember my math teacher one time scolding me that I had a question on a lesson we had covered earlier in the week, and I remember sort of giving up then. I remember another time a boy in my class sobbing because he just did not understand what the teacher was trying to explain. And I thought "how embarrassing, I don't get it either but I'm just going to pretend not to care". I remember spending 5 minutes on an assignment my teacher said should take 30, and thinking "I can't do this, I'll just copy the odd numbered answers out of the back, guess at the rest, and hopefully I won't fail the assignment". Well, all that to say, my goal is to help kids understand that math is not beyond their understanding. That they can understand this problem, this lesson, they can figure it out. It may not come as easily to them as it does for some other kids, but that does not mean it is out of their reach or that they are just never meant to understant it. It can get easier for them, if they are willing to try. It is ok not to understand, it is ok to ask questions, I was the dumb kid once too, and look where I am.

Also the reps at Baker College told me that female teachers of Math and Science are in high demand because not many females go into that, and school districts are looking for good female role models to get more girls to be interested in pursuing careers in math and science.

So even though the economy is no less than drab, and even though its probably gonna take me a couple years, I am really excited about the possibilities, and I can't wait to schedule a visit with Spring Arbor.