Moving sucks

I've been wanting to post an update for some time now... just haven't found the motivation or even the energy. Things have been a little hectic for us lately – as you continue to read, you will better understand. I know there are some things that I have not written about (i.e. - Mother's Day, Memorial Day, and Father's Day), so I will update you on those things first and then get to the mayhem...

Mother's Day came and went for me this year. Nothing spectacular happened. The only real highlight was that Ender was saying “Momma” at that point in time. He has since ceased doing so. The only joy that brings me is the fact that I know he will say it enough over the course of his lifetime to make up for that lack of it now.

Memorial Day was wonderful. ScottE, Carter and I were able to go to Hershey Park. We had a blast. It was difficult leaving Ender alone for the first time, especially for the full day. But we all survived. We rode all of the roller-coasters in about 2 hours. It wasn't nearly as crowded as we expected it to be which was nice. But we did not go prepared to get wet – which we did because it was really hot that day.

Father's Day we spent in Springville with ScottE's sister and her family. We had a lot of fun, but it was a difficult weekend for me. ScottE had been gone all week and was needed to help with the chicken coop. Add to that the fact that Ender was refusing to take his naps and would not sit down without me, I was a little more than spent. But again, we all survived.

Okay. Recently my computer decided to no longer charge. Apparently the charge port has been damaged somehow. Which really sucks because most of our music is on my laptop, along with nearly all of our pictures from the past year (i.e. - Ender's whole life!). We are hoping to get it fixed soon, but with everything else going on, it's not likely for at least a little while.

The process of moving has begun. It is starting to get very bare in our home. We have already moved our dressers, couches, a desk, most of Ender's baby clothes, clothes we don't plan on wearing any time soon and a majority of ScottE's tools. We have a storage unit in Reading, which is nice, but here is where things get a little tricky. We aren't moving to Reading any more!! After our initial plan fell through, ScottE and I were at a loss for what to do. We were being really picky about where we moved to because we have moved way to much over the course of our 5 year marriage and we are both tired of it. Our plan was to get a very specific unit in Reading, live there for a few years, buy some property up near Jana and her family, then borrow against the equity and put a house on it, then move up there. Well, I guess you could say we're skipping a step.

After much prayer and conversation, ScottE and I have decided the best thing for us to do is to be near family. We are going to be moving up to the Springville/Tunkhannock area which is in northern PA. As of now, we are not entirely sure where we are going to be staying until we find a place of our own, but we are planning to buy a house within the next year (hopefully not that long). It's a little scary not really knowing where we are going, but we are trusting that our Heavenly Father will point us in the right direction when the time comes.

So, aside from the moving debacle, things are going pretty well. I've finally started some of my core classes, meaning my education courses. I'm stoked about that, but dreading the fact that it's been all math. However, there is a silver lining in that I'm getting them done now in the beginning so I don't have to worry about them later, which is really nice.

Ender is now 11 months old!! I can't believe it!! Where does the time go... Everyone told me how quickly it goes (I believed them, but still!). It seems unreal to me that he will be 1 year old here very soon. He is still not crawling, which right now is very much okay with me. Trying to pack everything and keep track of him would be way too much for me to handle everyday. But I'm not all that concerned about him not crawling. I read an article in which the author quoted a doctor who basically said as long as baby is babbling, he/she is developing fine. I can testify that Ender babbles constantly. I love listening to him and talking back to him. His smile and laughter light up a room...

Another big thing going on this summer is I'm going back to CA for a couple of weeks. Initially, ScottE and I were planning to stay in a hotel for a bit until our unit became available in Reading. Now plans have changed, but I'm still coming home. I will be there from August 12th through the 26th. I'm really excited! Ender has grown so much and I've missed my family.

Well... there has been some craziness and some exciting changes in our lives. I hope to not go so long between posts next time! =)

The early bird gets what... to take a nap?

I have never been an early bird. In fact, I've never really been able to get up at the time when I set my alarm. I simply hit that snooze button as many times as I possibly can justify and get those few precious moments of added slumber. Yet for the past few weeks, I've been waking up much earlier than normal – any time between 4:30 and 5 am – no where close to normal for me. What's a girl to do? Normally, I can just go back to sleep. But this morning, after getting up, using the toilet, getting a drink of water, shifting positions repeatedly, my attempts have amassed to nothing. And here I am, writing to you instead of doing what I would much rather be doing – sleeping!

For as long as I can remember, my dad has been an early bird. Regardless of what time he goes to bed, he wakes up before his alarm. I had always been lucky enough to be able to sleep in until I truly wanted to get up. Is this the start of a new me? Am I going to be getting up with the sun? I'm not sure how long this will continue, but until it changes (or doesn't, I guess), I'm planning to take advantage of it.

In addition to waking up early, the past few weeks have been full of intense conversations, between me and ScottE as well as with our best friend back home, Laura. I'm not sure what else is going on, but there has definitely been some kind of shift within me. I'm calling it “delayed postpartum depression.” I've been rather moody and difficult to get along with. I applaud those who have seen this side of me and have dealt with it rather skillfully. Both ScottE and Laura have been the brunt of my wrath over the past few weeks and for that I am sorry. I know I can be difficult to get along with at times... but I feel we are on the upswing of things as I finally have realized what's going on.

I feel like Ender is growing up, like he's not my little baby anymore. I know he is still very dependent upon me for a lot of things. I'm so happy to see him learning and growing. But a part of me feels like he doesn't need so much from me, or perhaps that our bond isn't as strong as it used to be. Maybe another part of it is the fact that we live so far from all of our family and I've been more than a little homesick. Maybe another issue is just that I don't get out of the house as much as I should (or even could). Maybe I'm just getting baby hungry. Or perhaps my body is just starting to get back to normal after not having its cycle for over a year and a half. I'm not sure what is truly going on, but I do know this: I am aware of it and am doing something about it.

I am very determined to get up at a decent time (which for me is anytime before 7). Yesterday was a hard day, but I know today is going to be better. In point of fact, it already is as I am sitting here rather than lying in bed.

I am going to get out of the house more. I know I've said this in the past, but I am going to set a schedule, and stick to it. I find when I do spend time with others, I tend to stay until they kick me out (or rather politely say they have other things they need to get to), or until Ender or I get tired. I won't do that anymore. I will stay for a couple of hours, then get back to what I had planned for the day. I am hoping this will give me the motivation to actually do it rather than just saying that I will. I don't think I will get as overwhelmed with things this way. Plus, if things are going well, it will allow me to be happy with staying longer periods of time.

I think writing on a much more regular basis will help me with things too. I already feel a lot better about life, just sitting here writing this. I'm not sure what it is but just knowing that at least a few people will read this helps me to realize that I'm not so alone in the world.

So, in addition to all of my emotional/hormonal issues, we are preparing to move. I am looking forward to this particular move with much more excitement than trepidation (at least right now). We are very much hoping that this will be the last move before we buy a house. We thought that about this last move, but financial changes make things more difficult. Things didn't work out here the way we had hoped. But that's okay. We've lived here for over a year already! It's hard to believe that this time last year was much more difficult. We didn't have any of our stuff from the moving company – I was pregnant, sleeping on a leaky air mattress; we had 2 dogs and ScottE was working mostly in VA so he was gone a lot. The changes that have occurred over the past year have been incredible. We really love it here in PA.

I'm not entirely sure what this new leaf is going to bring into our lives. But I'm really hoping that it's more happiness and fewer arguments. So, here's to hoping! =)

Other than the difficult weeks between me and ScottE, things are going really well for Ender. He is starting to sit on his own, though he's not pulling himself up quite yet. He talks all the time and I'm sure we'll have a real word here real soon! I love watching him learn and grow. I'm so grateful to be his mommy! I'm going to be posting pictures and videos soon... I promise!

Inspiration?

I've been wanting to write something “new” for some time. Perhaps my current creative writing class will provide me with some inspiration to write on a more regular basis. I keep wanting to get more organized, to do things I want/need to do but also to simply get more done. I don't do much of anything during the day and when the night hits, I want to clean! But then I realize that I should get up earlier in the day. So, do I stay up late and then sleep in? Or do I try to get to bed at a decent time and then get up early? I've never been much of an early bird. I keep thinking that will change as I have children but so far, it's not changing at all.

I have recently been inspired to do things differently. I want to have set days for certain things. Last week, ScottE had a night job on Tuesday, so he was home during the day. It was great having him home, but I was unable to do anything that I really wanted to get done. Then Wednesday, he had an afternoon job to make up for his night job the previous day. It was very difficult to get back into my routine of things to do. I'm not sure why, but it really upset me to have my routine so out of sorts. In a way, I blew up at ScottE and we had a significant discussion of why I was upset. I know he didn't really understand, but I tried my best to explain what was going on in my head. Does anyone else have this issue?

Ender is doing really well. We went to the doctor today and he, not surprisingly, got a clean bill of health. He is 19 pounds, 4.5 ounces and nearly 30 inches long! He is getting so big... I'm planning to post some pictures soon.

Speaking of pictures... this past Saturday, we went out to this beautiful mansion and a sister from our ward took pictures for us! I've gotten a sneak peak at them and I can't wait to get the rest of them. She is truly an amazing photographer.

A sad bit in our lives... we no longer have Charli. As most already know, we will be moving this summer (yay...). It just seems to be rather difficult to move with a dog. We've done it before, and it wasn't always a major hassle, but when you are going to be renting a place, dogs limit your options. We've found this incredible place just outside of Reading, but they don't accept dogs, pets really of any kind. We were very sad at first, but we've realized that this is something that is important for our family. Luckily (as I always try to find the silver lining), there is a wonderful family in our ward that was willing to take her. They have 5 children and Charli seems to be fitting in nicely. It almost makes it harder to see that she has been so well received. I know that I will continue to miss her, but for now, I am doing my best to accept the companionship of Ender. It's not the same because he doesn't cuddle under the covers or just sit next to me like Charli did – but I'm coping!

Another bit about Ender – he is such a joy! I love being his mommy...

• Whenever he hears music (or even when he doesn't), he moves his head from side to side like he's dancing! It is so cute – I think that's my favorite thing that he does lately. 

• He's beginning to roll all over the place. I know it won't be long until he's crawling and then I'll really have to get on top of the household cleaning!

• He recently discovered that he can yell. He's not usually upset, he just likes to hear his own voice. Not usually that big of a deal, but when we're trying to watch TV or something it gets a little frustrating.

• He nods his head yes! I don't think he's actually saying “yes” at this point, but it's a nice thought.

• He sticks his tongue out all the time.

• It's super cute to watch him discovering things. He holds things in his hands and looks at them, and then of course puts them in his mouth. But first, he looks at it, turns it over in his hands. He is becoming quite dexterous (as ScottE says).

• Whenever I say “mom-mom-mom-mama,” he gets this big goofy grin on his face. I just love it!

• He is beginning to sit up. You just have to sit him up first.

I think that's the extent of his milestones for now. I'll try to keep everyone more up to date. =)

Rumors and movies

In my haste to get something posted the other day, I neglected to mention a few of the amazing things that have been going on here. =) One of the major things I wanted to mention was that Ender loves to talk and sing. Unless he's laughing or eating, he's talking or singing. His little voice is so adorable. I love listening to him. =)

Upon reading some other blogs, I've begun to realize that I don't have to always have a lot to say or even something creative, I just need to take the time to write more often. =)

Anyway... to dispel any rumors that are going around in PA, our little family will be moving at the end of July. We are rather sad to be moving from our little community here, but we are looking forward to saving money. It is so hard to uproot our lives so often. We have moved way too many times in the 5 years that we have been married. I think we've decided that this will be the last until we buy a house. We are planning to stay in Reading for a long time to come. Hopefully, we will be able to get things together and save the money we need to finally buy a house.

I am hoping to get some pictures done of the whole family soon. A sister in our ward has offered to take some professional pictures of Ender and I'm hoping she will include me and ScottE!

ScottE and I have also been on a bit of a movie buying binge! I love having movies in the house and with us planning to turn off the Dish at the end of 24, we need some entertainment around here! Our recent acquisitions include: Wall-E, Avatar, the X-Men trilogy, Smokey and the Bandit, French Kiss, 9, Star Trek, The Italian Job and Chicken Run. We also recently recorded a few on our DVR – I went through a major Lord of the Rings phase recently as well. We recorded that a few months ago and I've watched it several times all the way through! I am going to miss having TV in the house, but I'm going to cherish the memories I make with our family even more. Movies are so much more fun anyway! =)

Ender is growing up!

It seems forever since I sat down to update everyone on what is going on here in central PA. So, here goes:

Ender is officially rolling all over the place. Just this past Sunday he rolled for the first time from his back to his tummy. It seems he is no longer content to just lay on the floor on his back. I'm grateful and yet terrified at the same time. It's been so nice that he's been content to be immobile. =)

He sits really well if he has someone/thing to lean against. I'm trying to get him to sit up on his own, but I don't want to force him to do anything he's not ready or willing to do himself.

I have to admit that I've been a terrible first-time mom. I haven't taken pictures of every waking moment of my firstborn's life! It has been some time since I took any major photos of our little boy. I promise you, I will make an effort to take more over the next few days/weeks and will get them posted promptly.

Ender now has 2 teeth! I noticed the first one a couple weeks ago and then went to show someone his 1 tooth and discovered he had 2! I can't believe it!! I know the next time I blink he'll have a whole mouth full! lol

I recently started doing ScottE's work orders for him. It has taken a lot of stress off of him. He has since been getting home at a reasonable time. Luckily, Ender takes a decent morning nap, so I'm usually able to get the work orders done then. It has been really nice for ScottE to be less stressed about his work. He is getting back to the point of liking his job! It was very frustrating for me to hear him constantly complain about getting what he called “a real job.” I tried to explain to him that he has a great job, he just wanted to work more normal hours. Well, with me processing most of his paper/computer work, he's been a lot happier. And that makes the rest of us happier! =)

Other than that, not much is going on here! I am tentatively putting together a story. I'm not exactly sure of my intentions with it yet, but it's been fun bouncing around ideas and writing something other than a short blog every now and then (which is still not as often as it should be!).

Solids =)

Well... I've done it again! I've let another month come and go without writing a whole lot. I'm working on getting this thing down. I've decided to make a lot of changes in my life. I'm working on getting a routine put together so I can do the things that need to get done along with the things I want to get done. Hopefully putting some kind of calendar together will help with this. Wish me luck!

So what's been going on here? A lot actually. Ender is now eating solids; Ender is nearly caught up on his shots; bills have been paid – taxes filed and returned; another class down and a seemingly ump-teen million to go!

Eating solids! - and loving it?

Things have been going really well with Ender. He's been eating solids for about two weeks now. I started him on rice cereal and have since tried peas, sweet potatoes and carrots. He did really well the first two days with the rice but then decided he didn't want to eat anymore. I gave him a reprieve for a couple of days and it seems to have worked out for the best. I feed him some cereal all of the time and he usually finishes everything. He's been eating really well. When I tried the peas, he did NOT like them. I was a little frustrated because I know babies tend to not like their green veggies. I'll probably try them again in a couple weeks and see how it goes. However, he LOVES carrots and sweet potatoes. I tried the carrots first and he had a rough time adjusting to the new texture and flavor, but he wasn't spitting it out like he did with the peas. I kept “forcing” it down his throat but since he wasn't spitting it out, I figured he was liking it – at least relatively. After the carrots, I tried sweet potatoes. He LOVES them!! I've even made some myself. He has a rough time with the texture at first (it's not as smooth as the commercial foods), but he gets over it and can't seem to get enough (THANK YOU SO MUCH JANA FOR THE GRINDER!!).

Today it seems like he's going a little backwards. He hasn't wanted nearly as much in the solid department – he's been wanting to nurse a lot. Perhaps he's teething and needing the comfort of Mommy? I'm not sure what's going on... he's sleeping a lot too – not that I'm complaining about that part though! =)

I took him to the doctor on Monday, the 15th. He weighs over 16 pounds now (and now that he's eating solids, growing more each day)! He's really long too – nearly 28 inches. The doctor suggested I start him on solids sooner rather than later – which I've done. They want to be sure he's getting an adequate amount of nutrients, iron specifically. They also prescribed him a vitamin and fluoride supplement. He has been doing pretty well with taking them. He's not particularly fond of his multi-vitamin (I give them to him with a dropper), but he's getting better about taking it. He doesn't spit out as much of it as he used to.

He has another appointment on the 15th of this month and he should be caught up on his shots then. I can't wait to see how much he weighs. He eats so much! I won't be surprised if he's gained at least a couple of pounds. =)

My next class...

I just finished my US Constitution course and will be starting my next class – Art Through the Ages. There is a lot of reading involved. I'm really going to have to set a strict schedule in order to keep up with everything. I know if I just sit down and schedule everything out, I'll be able to stay on top of things. I didn't do as well in my Constitution course because I got lazy. The thing that I struggle with the most is participation. I hate having to respond to people, especially when they don't really respond to me. This class has been nice though because most of my teammates were pretty chatty and responded to a lot of my discussion question posts. I hope this next class goes as smoothly...

Another month has come and gone... I'm hoping to stay on top of things a little bit better this month. I think that because I'll be getting up earlier (at least that's the plan) I'll be able to get more done throughout the day. And since Ender seems to take a good morning nap, I should be able to get the housework done during that time and then be able to write/read/get schoolwork done during his afternoon nap and when he goes to bed. I really need to take the time to set out my schedule for the next month. Hopefully that will help.

I think that's all for now. =) I wanted to upload some pictures with this post, but the uploader is being really slow and I don't feel like waiting for it! I'll try again tomorrow...

Writing for writing's sake...

I've discovered another reason I don't write more often. I don't think people want to read about the mundaneness of my everyday life. I also feel that unless I have something special to write about, what is the point? Everything just comes out the same as every other post and even I get bored writing it! It may not have been that long, and there may not have been much to change, but I feel the need to write – even if it's about mundane things! =)

Ender is doing well. I can't believe he is nearly 6 months old already! He has yet to roll over, but I think that's mostly my fault. He spends most of his time in his swing, bouncer, my arms or his crib. He gets very little time on the floor because of our dogs. I still am trying to give him tummy time everyday, but it doesn't always happen. Who knows? Maybe he'll skip the rolling over phase and jump right to sitting up! He enjoys standing already. I hold him up so he can put his feet down and stand. He's so cute... he just stands there and looks around at everything. I truly don't remember what life was like before he came into it. It's like he's always been a part of us, a part of the family.

While I'm not really looking forward to him being mobile, I love watching Ender learn. He reaches out and grabs things on a regular basis now. He is constantly hitting the rattle on his car-seat and he has even started pulling it down! It brings a smile to my face when we're driving down the road and all I can hear from the back seat is a rattle being hit and bouncing all over the place. He talks a lot too now and his little voice is gorgeous. It seems like he's practicing his eating too. He watches the food go from our hands to our mouths and then seems to mimic our chewing. He is just growing up so fast! I am definitely enjoying this time with him. He is so cuddly! Sometimes when I'm holding him, he just lays his head against me. I cherish those moments because I know they are fleeting!

I've had a few relatively sleepless nights. I'm not sure if there is just too much going on in my head or what. Last night was particularly hard. It was the first night without ScottE in some time. I got to bed at a decent time (which is around midnight for me), but Ender woke up at 3:30 and then again at 4:30. When he woke up again at 6:30, I had pretty much decided we should both get up, but I still didn't want to. I can usually go in, put his binkie back in his mouth and he'll go back to sleep. He wasn't really having that today. I really should just resign to getting up earlier. =) That is one of my resolutions for this year, but thus far has been unsuccessful. Wish me luck in the days to come!

ScottE and I also buzzed Ender's hair the other day! He had a bunch of long, straggly hairs and I was getting frustrated with it. I think it's super adorable now. We missed a few still but I'm sure we'll go over it again sometime soon. What do you think?

One big change that is coming soon is ScottE and I are giving Halcyon to Jana and Tyler. We're planning to take her up there this weekend. We've discussed it and, while I have mixed feelings about it, I am pretty excited for them to have a puppy. I know Halcyon has grown rather attached to Jana. I am definitely going to miss her as she is my baby... but I know I will be able to see her on a (close to) regular basis. We go up there quite often and are planning on moving up there at some point in the (relative) near future. I know she is going to a good home that will take care of her. It has been a little tough taking care of two dogs and a baby. The dogs aren't all that high-maintenance but I have to take them down our two flights of stairs a few times a day. One of the nice things about being at Jana's is we don't have to put them on a leash when they need to go out. We just let them go. They go outside, do their business and knock on the door when they are ready to come in. So wish we could do that here...

ScottE and I went and got our taxes done last week. We are so excited about our return! We are planning to get a bunch of our bills taken care of and getting a few toys for ourselves as well. CANNOT WAIT!! Also... I cut my bangs the other day! I'm still not sure how I feel about them and ScottE has yet to see them. What do you think?

Well, for not having much to write about, I sure wrote a lot! I really am trying to write at least once a week – we'll see how it goes! Until next time...