Summer Days

It's been so long since I've blogged! Summer is in full swing and I'm enjoying the benefits of working a 9 month job. We got an awesome dog! Her name is Minnie ~ she's 1/2 black  lab and 1/2 great dane. She's sweet and smart and very tolerant with the kids.

We went to the annual Kelly Family Reunion. It's been about three years since I've attended, so it was really nice to see everyone. My sisters and I got together the night before and had some sister time. I don't think there's anything better! 

Summer is my favorite time of year. I definitely appreciate having the time off from work to spend with my family. 

Oh these kids...

Today when I went to get Apollo and Halea off of their bus, I noticed that Halea had fallen asleep on the bus. Normally she's wide awake on the bus ride home sitting next to some strange kid. Today the bus driver had put her next to Apollo and I think she felt so comfortable next to him, she fell asleep. 

Bryce went on a field trip to Chinatown in Seattle today with his class. Ryan gave him a little bit of spending money. I figured he would come home with some little trinkets or something. Nope. He came home with two grocery bags full of foods from the Chinese market. Fortune cookies galore!

Parker had his birthday last Saturday. He had decided that he was turning 58 so that he could then be older than his teacher and be her boss. 

I love all my babies so much!!!

Mama in the Making

I read this wonderful story a long time ago about the miracle that mothers are. It takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 years to see the miracle unfold, so a lot of people miss it. After reading that, I have recognized the miracle that it is when a girl becomes a woman and then a mother.
This morning I was getting ready for work. Halea was sleeping in my bed. She had fallen alseep there with her dollies last night, and I didn't have the heart to move her. So, while I was doing my hair, I heard my daughter's sweet, breathy voice say in a hushed tone, "It's ok baby, mama's got you", something I have said to her when she has been upset. I looked around the corner and there she was wrapping her dolls in my workout sweat towel and rocking them. Miracle in the making!

Poor, Neglected Blog

This whole working mom thing is harder than I thought it would be. I haven't really cooked since getting the job. Ryan has been awesome to take my role while I have been working. He just got a job at a mental health facility, so things are about to change, AGAIN! We won't see much of each other working opposite shifts, but the kids won't have to be in daycare at all. Halea and Apollo are going to start afternoon preschool so the small hiccup when Ryan leaves for work and I get home, the kids will be taken care of. I feel so blessed that everything is working out well ~ better than I could have imagined.

I took on another bootcamp class. Going a month without teaching was killing me! It's one thing I'm really good at ~ fitness is my passion and I love sharing that with people. So, I feel blessed to have this awesome class to teach. They're not my Friday am mommy friends, but they'll do. And I'm sure they will become friends soon.

Summer is 11 weeks away ~ that's when I'm done working for the 2011/2012 school year. I can't wait to have long lazy summer days with the kids.

Working and Working Out

I had Monday and Tuesday off this week and I had a little awakening on Sunday after a conversation with my mom (check monicasweighdown) that had me back on my treadmill early Monday morning. I love my job ~ the kids are great (who doesn't love little sickies and fakers), the paperwork is fun (because it's still new) and it's nice to have other adults around to talk to. But I don't want to allow the fulfillment of my job replace my need to keep myself in shape ~ to keep my body a priority. It's hard. I'm having to sleep in my workout clothes, wake up at 5 am and get my butt on the treadmill by 5:05 to make sure I have enough time to run, shower, dress, and eat before I get to work at 7:30. Today I did just that AND dressed Apollo so Ryan could take him out to the bus. It all worked out! Let's hope I can keep it up.

Happy ValenTYMES!

That's my favorite way to say it. I normally look forward to holidays ~ seriously any reason to celebrate ~ but since I started working, I've been so busy with it that I haven't put forth the same effort I normally would. Poor Him.

When I drove to work this morning there was some chocolate, a single red rose, and a letter from my sweetheart waiting in the car for me. The letter made me smile all day :) I had a great day at work and enjoyed messaging back and forth with my sweetheart. Tonight he is making us surf and turf. We saw the third Twilight movie on Saturday, so we're going to enjoy a quiet night at home after the kids go to bed (if you know what I mean ~ wink, wink ;)

P.S. I found a receipt from a jewelry store, so he might have a few more tricks up his sleeve.

Crap List

The training goes on...and on...and on. It's been a good week at work. I've met a lot of the kids that I will care for and I have a pretty good grip on what is expected of me. I'll have another week of training and then I think I will be on my own. Everyone has been SOOOOO nice and helpful and has offered to help me out if I need any advice, ever. It's nice to feel so welcomed and loved by everyone.

This lass week I was on Halea's crap list. She wanted nothing to do with me and would only let daddy help her. Last night she had a change of heart and wanted mama cuddles. It felt nice to have my girl back. I know it's hard on her. She has only ever known having mama at home, so this is a big adjustment for her. I know she is in loving, capable hands with daddy, though. And yes, Daddy is not mama, but he's also not Andre Mulroy.

One of the followers of this blog, who shall remain unnamed (go check the comments if you're curious) mentioned that my dream job may have come a few years too early. 1 1/2 actually. I know this is where I am supposed to be. Nothing that led me to this job could have happened by chance. It's a huge blessing for our family. Adjustments are necessary and expected any time growth occurs.

Adjustments

So far the job is AWESOME! I've like every nurse that I have met so far. And I think once I get through the training and understand each facet of the job it will be easy compared to positions I've had before.

When I get home I'm excited to see the kids and hear about their day. Ryan is usually a little less patient with them because he's been home with them all day, so it's nice that he can hand over the responsibility to me and I'm ready to take it. He's great about cleaning the house and feeding the littles.

This next week I will have evening meetings three days of the week ~ all in a row. That sucks. It's hard enough being gone all day ~ especially from Halea ~ and then having to leave again??? We'll see how it goes. The only way this can work is that Ryan is not working yet. I have no idea how it will go once he's working in the evenings. I do know that we are blessed and there will be a way.

I GOT IT!!!

And I start on Wednesday. I feel so blessed!!!

Job Hunt

Now that Ryan is done with school ( and taking his state boards as I write) we have decided that both of us should go back to work.We will work opposite shifts so that our kids don't have to be in daycare. I applied for and interviewed for a job with our school district. I thought the interview went great (although I totally bombed a question about a ten minute seizure being a life-threatening emergency ~ oops). That was the Friday before all the snow, so it's been a week and a half. The kids were off almost the entire week, so I know the administration offices were closed. I've had very brief contact with the interviewer, but I really don't know where I stand. Aside from this job being fun and interesting and stable, it would give me the same breaks my kids have from school. So perfect! I've been looking at other nursing jobs and nothing jumps out as something that would utilize my skills as well as this would. I know whatever happens it will be a blessing.

How our kids passed the time when we were snowed in:

Parker mid-smolder ~ notice the diaper he's wearing ~ that's what 22 days on the road will do to an autistic child
We're working on the potty training again (although I got peed on tonight ~ seriously). 

I let Bryce download "pocket frogs" on my ipod. He was pretty happy with that. 

My sweet angel put daddy's gloves on her feet to keep her tootsies warm.

Best for last! Apollo had a great time being a ninja warrior jedi knight.  I'm not sure if the undies on the head are part of the ninja or jedi uniform  :)

Meet our new Washer

The newest and hardest working member of our family
Can't wait to meet you on Jan 26th

So Blessed!

Ryan is very good at selling things on craigslist. Since his dad has done so much for us, and it's a small way we can do something for him, Ryan has been selling items for his Dad. He has been trying to sell this antique furniture for over a year now. At first Ryan and his dad agreed to try selling it for $800, no bites except the scam ones. Lowered the price a few times all the way down to $500. Still nothing except the scams. Remember last summer when our dryer died? We fixed it by adding a new heating element,  but now our washer is dying. It's not spinning the clothes enough to get the water out and it takes three cycles of 70 minutes each to dry a load ~ not very energy or time efficient. Ryan's dad gave us $600 for Christmas that we were going to use toward a new washer and dryer. His dad also gave us some things to sell on craigslist and said we can keep whatever money we make from it. Ryan heard from a friend that if you list antiques for ridiculous prices, people will think it's worth more and buy it. So we listed the furniture for $1000 and the first day we had several responses (and one scam). We sold it yesterday for the full price!

THEN

Since I've been researching washers and dryers, I've been reading reviews and I was pretty confused at what the size difference is between 3.4 cu ft and 3.6 cu ft. So we went to Home Depot so I could see first hand. The washer I wanted was $450 for the 3.4, but I realized that it's enough smaller than the 3.6 and that's the one I want for $599. We're trying to buy cheap with less bells and whistles so there is less opportunity for things to go wrong. As we were leaving we walked by the clearance items. There was a Maytag Bravos dryer that had been a floor model. Originally $850, marked down to $550 with and extra 30% off making it $380 ~ you can't even buy a cheap dryer for that! So we bought it! It has every bell and whistle we could hope for! I feel so blessed we found it! Now we just need to find a washer...

My Dream House

http://www.houseplans.com/luxury-home-plans?pv_page=1

A funny thing happened the other night...

But we're not laughing quite yet.
Ryan and I had a board meeting for Hospitality House. We were only going for 45 minutes, so we left the kids home with Bryce in charge. Shortly after we left, Halea pulled a lamp down on her face. She nicked her cheek. Rather than calling his parents, Bryce took Halea to our next door neighbor's house to ask for a bandaid. They gave him one and he went back to finish caring for his siblings. No big deal, right? It became a big deal when the neighbors called the police and reported us for leaving our kids unattended. Really?!? The police came by and found that Bryce is old enough to care for his siblings and spent some time talking to the kids (now Parker wants to be a police officer). They left shortly before we got home. Still not a call to his parents. I found out the police were in my home when I noticed Halea had a jr police badge on her pj's. My take on this: Bryce should have called us ~ but he didn't. He went to the neighbors (the same neighbors who take their dog potty in my yard ~ but do you see me calling animal control) and they reported us to the police. Good feelings gone.

Yesterday Parker fell off of our kitchen fireplace (he shouldn't have been laying on it in the first place). He landed on the cement below the stove and had blood flowing out of his right ear. We took him to the ER where we discovered that his eardrum was still in tact. They did a CT scan and did not find any brain damage, so the blood was coming from behind his ear drum. Hmmm. He seems to be fine now. Because of his autism he does not feel pain or doesn't complain about it ~ so it's kind of hard to gage how he's doing.

I know we're going to laugh about all these funny things happening ~ just not quite yet.

Bryce

We're Home Part 2 (longest blog post EVER)!

Jake and the Neverland Pirates 

Nemo Submarine

Sleepy Superheros

Laguna Beach 

Autopia

Carousel

Amazing family pictures ~ no one is crying!

Universal Studios

Halea with Curious George at Universal Studios

Ryan and Halea in Whoville

New Year's at Downtown Disney

Feeding the pigeons at Santa Monica Pier

Venice Beach 

Burying Bryce's feet

Tinkerbell and Halea

Grizzly River Run at California Adventure

New Year's Eve

Belle and Halea

Ariel and Halea

Parker telling Ariel all about his new star wars transformer toy

Halea at princess faire

Climbing death at Huck Finn's island

Waiting to go in the haunted mansion

Tarzan's Treehouse

On our way home!