SAHM (or Stay at Home Mom) =)

I read a blog recently that talked about the joys of being a stay at home mom and it got me thinking about the life that I lead. I am pretty happy with how things are right now. I enjoy the time that I get with Ender and how active and talkative he is becoming. It is so awesome to see the changes in him from day to day. I know that it's more difficult because I get to see him everyday and thus don't see the dramatic changes like so many others do. But I get to see the true changes, the discoveries, the epiphanies... the light bulbs =) It is so amazing to watch a child learn and grow.

So, thank you, MaryLynn for the inspiration and well placed ideals!

Writer's induced insomnia

I don't ordinarily blog about my sleeping habits, but last night was particularly difficult. I kept writing all of these different blogs in my head and was unable to clear my head long enough for my body to relax and go to sleep. I'm not sure what's going on... perhaps it was just the fact that it was the first night I had slept without ScottE in some time... or perhaps there is just so much stuff itching to get out of me into the blogosphere! =) Who knows... I guess I'll just have to retest the theory tonight.

I actually got to bed at a good time last night. I was in bed by 10:30 and had the lights out by 11. I was able to wash my face, brush my teeth, read my Scriptures and say my prayers, turn the light out by 11 and it still took me so much time to fall asleep. I chalked it up to perhaps too much caffeine throughout the day (I had a Red Bull and some Diet Mountain Dew because I had a BUNCH of stuff to do yesterday), but then I figured that it had been long enough since my last drop of caffeine that it shouldn't have affected me so much. Was I wrong?? I'm going to do some experimentation and see what helps. Perhaps if I had just taken the time to write out all of the ideas that were roaming around in my mind... I guess I'll try both approaches and see what shakes out. First I will try to not drink as much caffeine, and perhaps get up and write things out. Then I will try just getting up and not adjusting my caffeine intake. Wish me luck! =)

Weekends are tough... at least for blogging! =)

So, I have been way worse about this than I thought I would be. You would think that I could make a commitment for just 3 months, but I guess not! Part of why I don't blog on the weekends though, is because ScottE is gone so much during the week and when he's here we like to spend as much time together. Blogging isn't exactly interaction between the two of us! =) Either way, I will find some way to make it up!

What's been going on, you ask? Well, a lot and yet nothing at all! We got a new desk over the weekend and it is absolutely b-e-a-utiful. It's black and has a shelf for our printer/scanner and gives me more room that I really know what to do with! This is the first desk that we've gotten for a very specific purpose... for school and work orders. It's nice to have something so specific! It's going to take some time to get everything adjusted properly though... =)

I am planning to go out and see ScottE wherever he is working again this week. It's really nice to get that “ScottE - fix” in the middle of the week! I got so spoiled spending so much time with him last week that I don't think I could go a whole week again without seeing him...

Another class is down for me and it seems I still have so many more to go. I just finished a Foundations of Education course and will be beginning Childhood Development next block. I'm looking forward to it, but looking over the synopsis, it appears like it's going to be a lot of work; which is good and bad because a lot of my courses have been pretty easy so far.

In other news, I got my hair cut over the weekend too. I only wanted a bit of a trim, to clean up the ends and help it to grow longer and healthier. My stylist had slightly different plans and took off more than I really wanted her to. She took an inch off of the length and it feels like I'm back to where I was over a year ago. On the plus side, she cut off most of the blonde that I put in nearly 2 years ago! I'm still a little sad but I know it'll grow back... just like the grass... =) lol

I think that's all for now... I will do my best to write some tomorrow! :P

Post 23

It's only the second day of my promise to myself and this post is going to be one of those "today was pretty much the same as every other day" posts, although not entirely. Since we are still in Lancaster, we were able to go and spend some time with a family we hadn't seen in some time. They all got a major kick out of Ender (no surprise there!) and we had some fun. It was just an afternoon visit, but there's my day! =)

Until tomorrow! ;)

Here's to 100

I am sitting in a hotel room in Lancaster, and while I should be doing my final or perhaps processing work orders, instead, I am writing a blog. Last night as I lay in bed trying to get my brain to shut up long enough for my body to relax and fall into Wonderland, I had this aspiration of reaching 100 posts on this blog by the end of the year. A relatively lofty goal, seeing as I only have 21 now. However, after some calculations, I have realized that if I post something, even if it's just a picture or video, or little blurb saying that “today was just like every other day,” it's still something and it will get me there. So, here's to 100. Wish me luck!

There were so many other things rolling through my brain last night and I really wish that I could remember at least some of them... but alas, having children kills brain cells (it's true, my best friend told me so), and I have completely forgotten everything that I wanted to write about. Perhaps the added benefit of having the ability to blog on my phone will stint this phenomenon. But until that happens, or it's a night that ScottE is out of town, this will probably be a common note in my blog. =)

Life is going well. It's been a bit of a challenge all around to have ScottE gone a lot right now, but it is a sacrifice we knew we would be making when we moved to Springville. It is nice to be able to come and see him every once in a while though; even if it means living without some of our everyday amenities (won't be happening in the snow!).

Ender is doing phenomenally well with everything these days. He's eating so many new things but it's still a little difficult to find things that he can feed himself without making too much of a mess. He eats a LOT of macaroni and cheese! Hands down his favorite thing right now, next to bananas of course. One other thing that I forgot to mention earlier is that he says “dada” for please. It's so cute! I know that it's not actually “please,” but it's a heck of a lot better than him screaming or fussing for food!

Until tomorrow... we'll see how long I can keep this up =)

Nearly 14 months

For some time now, I've been wanting to write an update on just the antics of Ender. Yet, I find myself even procrastinating something so simple! I will (yet again) be making a better effort to record his life and that of those who will be joining our family in the future! (NOTE: this is NOT an announcement of any kind, just an acknowledgment that more children will be had in the future.)

So, what has Ender been up to?

1. He is FINALLY crawling and very much in the conventional sense of the word. I wish all of you could see him. He gets so excited when we put him on the floor and he gets to move on his own.
2. He is discovering his independence. He likes to crawl into the kitchen and see what he can get into. When I have to go to the bathroom, I usually let him know that I'm leaving, go ahead and do so, calling to him the whole time. Generally, by the time I'm done, he has found me and gets all proud of himself when he does so. It's pretty cute.
3. He loves to talk to Daddy on the phone. Unfortunately moving up here to Springville keeps ScottE away from home more so than before. We knew this would happen and is a sacrifice we are making for the time being. However, Ender gets so excited when I'm on the phone. Since it's usually Daddy, I will put it on speaker so Ender can not only hear Daddy, but can talk to him as well. I posted a video on Facebook, but you can see it here: 
    
4. He is eating all kinds of foods these days! I guess you could say that he's eating true “big boy foods!” He loves bananas (is he really mine? lol), scrambled eggs, hot dogs, grapes, stroganoff, spaghetti, peas and carrots, creamed corn, lunch meat... etc. He makes a pretty big mess partly because of what he eats and the fact that he refuses to let anyone feed him anymore (as shown below), but we are loving the learning experience! =)
   

   

   
   

   
5. He has FINALLY mastered a sippie-cup. He absolutely LOVES orange juice. We try to get him to drink at least some water, but it doesn't always work out that way. At least he is finally hydrating himself. We usually water the OJ down a little so that it's not totally concentrated, but that is pretty much the only thing he will drink!
6. He has so many teeth! I know for sure that he has 4, but I also know that more are coming in because it is growing increasingly difficult to brush his teeth at night.
7. He is saying a bunch of things:

• na-nana (banana)
• na night (to go to bed)
• momma
• dada (of course)

and making all kinds of other noises! His jabbering is so cute and I can't wait until some true words come through. He also can point at things to let us know what he wants. He will crawl across the room and point, usually at his juice, and scream or try some other way to get my attention. It's so cute, but I wish the screaming would stop. He really tries to mimic the sounds we make when we talk to him. Hopefully he'll find another way to communicate soon! =)

I think that's really all of his recent antics. I am so grateful to have the family near that we do, but I wish everyone was out here! The foliage is so beautiful right now... with so many colors it's unreal. The beauty created by our Heavenly Father is unmatched!

Chaos

Well, it's been far too long since I've written anything. I always forget how much I love writing, but with the move, things have been more than a little chaotic. Things are really starting to settle down now though. We are getting back into our routine and I'm really hoping this time around will include writing for me! =)

The house is really coming together a lot faster than any other place we have lived before. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we don't have everything here with us. We put a lot of things in storage so we have been able to just have the things that we need here at the house. It has made unpacking much easier... I think once I get the empty boxes out of here, things will really start moving along again. Unfortunately for Ender, things have been piling up in his room because it's the only room with any space...

Speaking of my little man =)... he is doing really well! He's been cutting all kinds of teeth lately but has be dealing with everything quite well. He sleeps a lot which has made Mommy's life much easier. He is becoming more and more mobile. He is almost crawling in the traditional sense of the word, but he also rolls around a lot. He is growing less content with just being on the floor, at least not when Mommy is in the room. He is becoming quite the Momma's boy! He eats so much these days and has started eating big boy food! =) He loves eggs, honey nut Cheerios, yogurt and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on! I've been trying to just give him things that will be easy for him to chew but he also doesn't always chew his food. A lot of the times he just swallows things whole, which is also kind of scary, but he does pretty well with not choking (at least not often enough for me to stop feeding him).

We don't have TV anymore, but we do have a home phone and Internet, which we haven't had in a very long time! =) It's been really nice to not have to worry about having to connect to someone else's network or using the air card from ScottE's work. It's been nice not having TV, but I've been watching a lot of movies. We really need to increase our library! I've already watched several and am getting tired of watching the same ones... hint hint =)

Our trip out to California was a lot of fun... it was really nice to go back and spend time with family and friends. I was really grateful to those who drove us around or housed us or fed us.

Not that I got to experience this when we were there this last time, but one of the things I miss most about California is fog. You know, the crisp, cool, refreshing fog of the fall? The first time I experienced fog in PA, I got so excited! I looked outside and saw the mist over the land and thought, “Oh, I'm sure it's gorgeous out there!” I walked out and was sorely disappointed... it was gross and heavy. I felt disgusting just walking around. Well, this morning, I looked outside and it was beautiful. There was a mist all over the fields around our place and it was cool and crisp outside!

I love it up here! =) The only real downside is that ScottE is gone a lot with work. He has applied for another job and we are very much hoping and praying he gets it. He'll be home a lot more and only working 40 hours a week. CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT!!

Life is good =)