BIRTHDAYS!!

Mariska is officially 7!! She had a pretty good birthday. She had several friends over to play the day before and we had cake and presents as a family on her actual birthday.

 

Brent made Brynley this incredible butterfly cake for her 4th birthday party!!

 

 

 

 Silly friends! We had a great turn out for her party! I think all but 3 of the kids we invited came. We played "Hot Potato", "Doggy Doggy Where's Your Bone", "Freeze Dance" and "Simon Says".

 

 

 She loves her new "Hello Kitty Cat" sleeping bag and her froggy pillow pet.

 

It's been such a busy month so far!! I'm so excited for January when things can calm down!!

 

We also went to our neighborhood's annual Christmas meet and greet... We took pictures with Santa, had the girls' faces painted and took a hay ride. They had lots of fun!

 

 

 

 Brynley wouldn't get anything other than a butterfly... so we made her a "Christmas Butterfly"!

November

November was a good month as well. We had lots of fun with Mariska's teeth. She lost 3 more in as many weeks.

 

 Brynley is a little too excited to get her teeth knocked out...

 

 Nanny McPhee.

 Mariska's last tooth to go was really weird. It hung on by a really long sharp spike that shot up into her gums. She would fuss anytime we tried to wiggle it out, because, as we later found out, the spike was actually stabbing her gums. To get it out I pulled straight down real hard and it finally gave. But until then, we had lots of fun taking "hick pictures"...

 

 

 

 Sticking her tongue through her gap is pretty funny.

Brynley was also an indian for her Thanksgiving party at preschool.

 

 Brent made Thanksgiving happen at our house. I slept most of the day, since I had worked the night before. He did absolutely everything.

 The day after Thanksgiving is always our day for decorating for Christmas. The girls have the best time hanging all their ornaments and love asking about why they got certain ones.

 

October

 I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged!! As most of you know, my part time weekend shifts were taken away and I've had to go to work full-time. I'm working the grave shift and trying my best to keep on top of things. It's been a huge adjustment and we're still trying to find a good routine.

 The picture above is a fun on for me because Brynley takes the hand held part of her toy vacuum and says, "Mom, I'm honorning!"

The picture below is of Mariska's first lost tooth!!

 

 We had a lot of fun for Halloween. The girls loved these masks my parents sent for them to make.

I was a ghost and Brent was a Jack-o-lantern....

 

 We went to a party and the girls had lots of fun playing "Minute to Win It" games. Mariska was really good at stacking cups!

 

 

 

 Brynley was a witch.

 And Mariska was... A fairy princess going to the masquerade ball.

 

Brynley has also started going to a Mother's Day Out preschool every Thursday and she is absolutely loving it!!

Thinking, thinking, thinking...

So I absolutely love my schedule of Saturday and Sunday grave shifts. They aren't the easiest, but I love that I can still be home in the week, even if I nap on the weekends. Of course, I usually nap on Sundays anyway, so adding Saturday isn't too big of an adjustment! I love that I have a regular, guaranteed 2 shifts a week.

  In the month of November I'm going to work a double shift of the Saturday 2-10 and then my 10-6 shift. The girl who works the 2-10 is having a baby, so I'll take over for her Saturday shifts until she is ready to come back. So that's nice.

 

Anyway, so my having a steady 2 shifts a week has gotten me to thinking. We've got some regular "extra" money, but I'm still hanging around during the week.... why not start my online classes already? So I ordered all the admissions and RN program information and it should be here in a day or two. Once I go back to school, I'll only be part time until I actually get into the RN program. That is full time for 2 years. This way I'm not too overwhelmed and I can focus on making my GPA the best it can be. The RN program is seriously competitive. And I will still have time to take Brynley to the library and playgroup and things.

 

So I'm not sure just when I can start classes, it all depends on the financial issues involved. But it shouldn't be any later than this next August, although I hope I can get in there by January, or even the summer semester.

 

For the last little while I thought I would hold off on school and focus on working until the girls were a bit older, but since I've gotten this great part time schedule my thinking has changed. I feel a lot about my going back to school in the same way that we felt about Brent getting his masters degree.... there will always be a reason to not do it, or postpone, but the sooner we get our educations the better, so even if it's stressful and/or scary, we need to just jump right in and do it!

 

 I'm excited, but kind of nervous. I'm anxious to get it all worked out and know exactly what I'm doing. And next year, if things are going well enough money wise, we could put Brynley in a Mother's Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can go to class... but we'll have to see how things are going at that point.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling and procrastinating the housework! So those are my thoughts and feelings... and now I'm getting back to work!

September

A lot happened in September! I was getting increasingly frustrated with not finding a job. And one day while Brynley was at her little weekly preschool, I was out looking for a job and when I came home without one, I started to somewhat panic. I'm not sure why. But I felt completely panicked at the idea that I needed to have a job RIGHT NOW! I was stressed beyond belief. So Brent came home and we started talking. He didn't say anything real profound or dramatic, he said the normal "everything will work out" stuff that he always says when I freak out on him. But something clicked in me that totally let go and didn't worry anymore. So for the rest of that whole week and on into the next I was perfectly calm. I came to truly accept that if Heavenly Father doesn't want me to work right now, we'll be okay and I started to be at complete peace with being home and knowing we'd be alright. So that's when I got a phone call. It was a lady from the Oddfellow and Rebekah Nursing Home down in Ennis. She asked if I was still looking for a job and if I'd be able to "come in and talk with her tomorrow". I said I could, because she miraculously wanted me to come in at the exact same time Brynley was at her weekly preschool...

 

So the next day I told everyone that I was going in for a job interview. And I asked that if I wasn't back by the end of preschool if Brynley could stay a little late. So, I walk in and the woman shakes my hand, says it's good to see me... and hands me the "new hire forms" and a cup to pee in. As I was filling out my tax papers, I realized that I really had no idea what kind of job I was signing up for. I put on my application that I could only work the day shift, so I knew it was for 6-2, but I didn't know if it was part-time or full-time. So while I was waiting for the woman to come back, I asked the receptionist if she knew which one I was going to work. She looked down at her papers and said, "she's got you down for full-time". And my heart just completely sank, knowing that I couldn't turn it down, but knowing that I wouldn't be with Brynley and she'd be in daycare 4 or 5 days a week. But I reminded myself that Heavenly Father is in charge and kept going.

 

A little later I was filling out more papers, and the woman says, "I put you down as full-time, but exactly what shift were you looking for?" - I told her I had to work the 6-2 so I could be home when my 6 year old got off the bus. And she says, "Well I don't have any 6-2s open right now. The only thing I really have open would be 2-10s or I have the Saturday and Sunday grave shifts, 10-6 open." - I thought about taking that or just working PRN and covering shifts now and again. PRN is really irregular and some months I might maybe not get any shifts at all. - So as hard as I know grave shifts are, I realized that this was the perfect solution to my desperately wanting to fulfill both priorities of being a mom to my girls and our financial goals. This position fit perfectly into our family's needs right now and it's even the perfect days of the week. I can sleep both Saturday and Sunday during the day and then on Mondays I'll have to get some special videos and toys to keep Brynley happy while I snooze on the couch. This perfect scenario for us literally just fell into my lap. I didn't even interview, I walked in and had a job!

 

I am so full of gratitude to our loving Heavenly Father. He knew what was best for us. He knew that my heart would be heavy leaving Brynley at daycare this early in her life. He knew the righteous desires of my (our) heart were to do nothing but keep the commandments of being the best parents possible and all the Provident Living counsel of the church. He also knew that I needed to turn all my worries over to him with faith before he gave these blessings to us. It has made my testimony so much stronger and it was a wonderful teaching opportunity for us to teach Mariska about prayer and Heavenly Father blessing us after we try our very best and trust in him.

 

I've worked 2 full shifts now. As hard as the work can be, and as nasty as it can be, the whole time I'm there I am just completely thankful to be there, knowing that I'm helping contribute to our financial goals and will still be home as much as I can. And now when I'm home, I'm completely thankful to be there too, knowing that I'm making my family and home my priority, but still able to help with finances and have something of my own to be proud of. I feel so fantastic!

 

 So. That is how my going back to work has all turned out! Now on to more fun stuff. This picture is of our attempt to make Mariska's hair wavy by sleeping in braids. She has a friend down the street that does it and Mariska liked how it looked. I'm thinking her hair is just to short to pull it off!

 

The picture below is Brynley dancing to the song at Story Time at the library! I was so excited to find out that it's being run by the same awesome ladies as last year!! They do such a great job. They really go above and beyond to make it fun for the kids!

 

 Our favorite local grocery store, HEB, had a reading thing in the summer where you send in 10 titles of books you've read and they sent you a free "reading shirt"... and Brynley LOVES it. Once she has it on, it's pretty hard to get her to change out of it! It's so cute.

 

After each bath, Brynley has to come out in her towel to "say hi" to Daddy and Mariska.

 

 The weather is finally nice enough to ENJOY being outside some!! The girls were outside almost all day while Brent built a fence around the garden area to keep the dog out.

 I watched a little baby girl for a few hours the other day and the girls just loved it. This was Brynley's first time holding a baby. Mariska was pretty good with her and enjoyed trying to make her smile.

That's about it for now! We're looking forward to fall and all the holidays! This is my favorite time of year!!

Well, summer is over. We're back to structure and routine and schedules. I love it! I love summer too, but the uptight control freak inside me really loves the structure of the school year. I love calendars and check lists and all the neat things that come along with Brent working and Mariska going to and from school.

 

I took my CNA exam two weeks ago. I had no problem passing, it's just like riding a bike. - I still have yet to get my actual certificate in the mail, which is really annoying, but it should be here any day now. I've applied to 6 different part time hospital jobs and haven't heard back from any yet. I'm actually having a pretty hard time with it and I've spent a lot of this week in a sort of frustrated depression. I'm trying to snap myself out of it, but sometimes that's a lot easier said than done. I'm really trying to remember that all things are in Heavenly Father's hands and that everything will work out according to what he knows is best for us. It's still hard to deal with not a single phone call though, I was super excited to pass my test and get out there and really "hit the pavement" getting a job. I was really hoping that my resume wasn't quite so pathetic and out dated. But hospitals are really looking for people with recent experience. My last actual CNA experience was 6 years ago!! Plus, I've actually never applied for a job and not gotten it, so this is pretty new.

So, that being said, I'm going to keep applying, but I'm also going to print out some resumes and go apply at some hospice companies. If nothing pans out with them, I'll start going back to some nursing homes. I really hope to only work part time through the school year and then find a full-time job next summer. - And get going back to school for my RN. But I can't do either of those things if I don't find something else to update my resume with during the school year.

 

Brent is just about as tired and overwhelmed as he can get!! Second grade is really kicking his butt! They are so dependant and he has to help them with everything, it is very different from 5th grade. Even though he's really beat, we are thankful that he's having the experience of a younger grade, because it will help him in years to come as he moves on into administration.

 

Mariska is in 1st grade this year! She loves school. She absolutely thrives during the school year. She gets bored really easily during long breaks here at home. During the school year she is busy and entertained and social and LOVES it! We have a lot of friends down here that homeschool... and I just don't get it. It certainly only works for certain types of people, and I don't think Mariska or I are those types! She has had fun this week especially because her good friend from last year, whom we thought was moving away over the summer, actually didn't! So she's loving that. She's also having fun because two of her friends from church are at her school this year now too. They weren't last year. She even gets to car pool in the morning and ride the bus home with one of them! This week has been really great for Mariska.

 

Brynley is as sweet as ever. She's still pretty obsessed with Candy Land, but it's not constant anymore. We're really excited for next week for Brynley because she begins her little once a week preschool down the street. It's being done by the same young girl that did it for Mariska 2 years ago. They do a great job. It's only for 3 hours every Wednesday, but they pack a ton into those 3 hours and Brynley is going to LOVE it. Also next week the library starts "Story Time". Brynley has certainly missed that over the summer. I'm also hoping that once I find a job, she'll get to go down the street to a woman's house that has other kids with her during the day. I'm not sure if it's run in a structured way like daycare is, but she'd love going and playing with other kids once or twice a week.

 

Last week on the last day of summer break, my friend and I took our kids to a place called "Pump It Up" and we all had a BLAST!! They had 5 different giant bounce houses, the kids only really played on 3 of them, but they had the greatest time! I am definitly going to look for more coupons to one closer to our house. Brynley keeps asking me if we're going to go to the "jumping store"... everything to her is a store. After we went to Six Flags, she kept asking to go back to the "roller coaster store". We'll go back someday!!  

Mariska on her first day of 1st grade!! I can't believe how big she is getting!! I love it! It's so much fun!

Brynley helping me clean. She says, "I need to wash"... her dusting my mattress is a BIG help.

Brent plays a game with the girls called, "Can't get past me." - It's the most basic of games you can think of, but the girls LOVE it. All they have to do is... try to get past Daddy. I apparently didn't really get a picture of Mariska, I'll have to next time.