Here are a few photos of a mama blessing I had the honor of hosting last week. It was an amazing night filled with beautiful women, yummy food, and lots of love.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
And there will be three!
The silence over here has been purposeful, as I wanted to wait a while to come out and say it in person to my family and close friends. I'm pregnant again!! This baby was a complete and utter surprise back a few months ago. Addy actually prompted me to go check the calendar after she told me she wanted to be my doula when I have another baby. Um, another baby?! I thought, then ran to the calendar to check my dates and sure enough, she knew already. I was a few weeks late by that point, but couldn't even fathom another baby until I had taken the test. Sure enough, that second line popped right up as soon as the stick was wet!
Well, whoa. After all the crazy in February with Aaron and buying the RV, selling a ton of stuff, and mentally saying goodbye to the house, I had to completely switch gears! No, I did not want to give birth in the RV. No, I did not want to move an hour away from my amazing tribe of women here in Topeka. It really helped that the very next day after we found out about this pregnancy, Aaron received his first job offer! Thank you, Jesus! Yes, we could now stay since Aaron's new job is a lot closer than his old one!
So, yeah. We took the house off the market and put the RV up for sale. (Someone, buy our RV!!) We bought a couch. We bought a car! (Thank you, Kim, for the help with that!) I planted flowers! & potatoes! Because, I can garden again and not have to worry about moving! I started knitting again for this baby. Omygoodness, these tiny projects that finish up so fast! We accepted our new normal with grins and hugs and began to move through everything.
That's what has been going on over the last two months in our world. Lots of changes and figuring stuff out. But, such is life, eh? Some day, I still hope to have an RV, (or even a house boat!) and travel with my family. Right now, I'm focusing on growing another life with my body, taking care of my girls and my love, and changing as a woman again! A mom of three!! Holy moly. I'm excited. Christmas is going to be amazing this year :)
Well, whoa. After all the crazy in February with Aaron and buying the RV, selling a ton of stuff, and mentally saying goodbye to the house, I had to completely switch gears! No, I did not want to give birth in the RV. No, I did not want to move an hour away from my amazing tribe of women here in Topeka. It really helped that the very next day after we found out about this pregnancy, Aaron received his first job offer! Thank you, Jesus! Yes, we could now stay since Aaron's new job is a lot closer than his old one!
So, yeah. We took the house off the market and put the RV up for sale. (Someone, buy our RV!!) We bought a couch. We bought a car! (Thank you, Kim, for the help with that!) I planted flowers! & potatoes! Because, I can garden again and not have to worry about moving! I started knitting again for this baby. Omygoodness, these tiny projects that finish up so fast! We accepted our new normal with grins and hugs and began to move through everything.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
More RV Talk:
So, Friday night I was talking to a few girlfriends about the New Big Endeavor we are about to embark on. Then this huge affirmation hit me, and it was sitting in front of me the entire time! After my love is done with course work he will be ABD, meaning he can teach but it will not be anything long term, like semester by semester work. This could mean there may be lots of relocating involved until a permanent job presents itself, (and also until he actually writes and defends his dissertation.) In realizing that sooner or later we might be jumping from job to job, I also realized that this whole, crazy RV dream probably would have popped up then, too. Because who wants to pack and unpack once a year, (or twice!) Why not bring our home with us and just drive to where the next job takes us. This is truly a unique opportunity for us and I'm just so excited, scared, nervous, anxious, crazy in LOVE for it all. 
^This^ pretty much sums up my feelings right about now :)
Sunday, February 19, 2012
House show:
Last night was wonderful! There was so much love in this house I thought it would burst! See, I hosted my first ever house show, where we had two different artist come over and play some songs for my friends and me. I'm just so in love with that idea and want to do it every weekend :) (I might be kidding.) But really, food, friends, and music just go together and should get together more often. Check out Aaron and Chris!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Husband Update!
Wednesday, Aaron went to the neurologist. The doctor was pretty baffled like the rest of us from Aaron's symptoms. See, when A had his "episodes," he was aware during them, even though his entire body was convulsing. Apparently, that is just not very common when it comes to seizures. The fact that A could remember them happening, but kept falling back asleep just did not make sense.
Then the doctor asked how long Aaron was in his car.
And that's when it clicked.
Aaron was in his car reading for about 3 hours before it happened. And his car would smell like gasoline, even for driving it a short distance, let alone after running it for hours on end. We think he actually had carbon monoxide poisoning. Symptoms include headache, nausea, confusion, and seizures. This could explain why he kept "falling asleep," or passing out. Scary much?
Now, there is no way to test whether or not that was exactly what happened. A still cannot drive for 3 months, and is going to have a MRI and EEG done to rule out anything else. Imagine our shock, (and some kind of piece of mind,) after putting this all together!
We still have decided that he needs to be closer to school. During the last week, he has gotten caught up on schoolwork and the girls and I have gotten to see him more than we usually do. It's been great! We are still having the house sale, (starting tomorrow!) and are still wanting to move into an RV, just not as fast as we initially thought. Aaron is also not going to be in any car for a long period of time either. That guy...
Then the doctor asked how long Aaron was in his car.
And that's when it clicked.
Aaron was in his car reading for about 3 hours before it happened. And his car would smell like gasoline, even for driving it a short distance, let alone after running it for hours on end. We think he actually had carbon monoxide poisoning. Symptoms include headache, nausea, confusion, and seizures. This could explain why he kept "falling asleep," or passing out. Scary much?
Now, there is no way to test whether or not that was exactly what happened. A still cannot drive for 3 months, and is going to have a MRI and EEG done to rule out anything else. Imagine our shock, (and some kind of piece of mind,) after putting this all together!
We still have decided that he needs to be closer to school. During the last week, he has gotten caught up on schoolwork and the girls and I have gotten to see him more than we usually do. It's been great! We are still having the house sale, (starting tomorrow!) and are still wanting to move into an RV, just not as fast as we initially thought. Aaron is also not going to be in any car for a long period of time either. That guy...
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Help! SOS!!!
My last post was on Monday. Tuesday morning, something happened to our family that marks a pivotal moment in our lives. My husband, Aaron, had three back to back (what we think were) seizures.
First, we were shocked, as he's never had one of these before, let alone three!
Then we were thankful that he was/is okay. He wasn't driving, walking, or standing. He was in his car reading, safely laying back already before they started. We are also so thankful that my mom had decided just a few days before that she was going to come visit us that day. She was with me when Aaron told me what happened. She was also able to watch the girls so we could go to the ER together. I'm so glad she was here so that I could process what was happening with her. If they were in fact seizures, Aaron will not be able to drive for 6 months. He sees a neurologist on Wednesday. After more tests will we know more about what exactly happened after that.
Now we are concerned. What does this mean for us? Where do we go from here? We've determined that they were triggered from his over-exhaustion and stress. He has been working full time and going to school full time. And when I say school, it's not just gen-eds that he is taking. He is in his fourth semester of a PhD program and is assigned to read 400-600 pages per week, plus write around 5 10-30 page papers throughout the semester. Aaron is also a graduate teacher's assistant this year, which adds about 80 or so papers to grade a week and asks that he is in class with his teacher too. Roughly, he is on campus about 40 hours a week and while working his full time job, he is away another 33. With this schedule and the location of both his job and school, he is also driving at least 12 hours a week.
This is crazy. And this is going into the last half of the second year of doing this. It's too much. Thank Jesus that I've gotten to meet and have such an amazing support system in the compassionate families who have all turned into friends I've meet here in Topeka over the last 18 months.
Now, here is the exciting, scary, moving way to fast, hard part. We've got to get closer to his school. We thought about slowing down in the program and drawing it out longer, but Aaron only has two classes after this semester to be ABD. He is so close! We are so close! And we moved 8 hours away from everything we've ever known for this opportunity of school. So, we are going to move to Manhattan. Moving again! Didn't we just do this 18 months ago? Didn't I just finish painting the entire house?
Sigh. I just can't stand still can I?
It's going to work though. It's not worth Aaron's health, stretching him out so thin. It's not worth stretching me out so thin with taking care of the girls, the house, and him. I miss my husband! I would love to see him more than an hour a day. (And having him be coherent enough to connect to.)
The last few days have been a lot of processing how we are going to make this work. Monday we are having a realtor come over and put our home on the market. Aaron just listed his car on Craigslist. (If he in fact did have seizures, he will not be able to drive for 6 months. Even if he can drive, we are downsizing to save money on insurance, since we already own it outright.) We are going to have a house sale very soon, like within the next week. We have to get rid of a ton of stuff because that brings me to my next point:
We are buying an RV!!
Read that again, we are buying an RV.
Rental prices are completely ridiculous in Manhattan ($750 without utilities!) and buying another house is so out of the question, (we own two already! Ahem.) So, without getting too much into details, we've worked it out to it being financially reasonable to do this. Our living expenses will be right around half of what we pay now. With that, and cutting out all of the driving time, (can we say gas money!), we will still be meeting our financial means if Aaron or I find a part-time, minimum wage job to work in between his school schedule. The girls will not have to go to daycare and I will still be able to homeschool A. (Post coming soon about that! Living on a campground will be amazing for her learning!)
When Aaron is done with his course work, (in less than a year,) there is a great chance of moving again. This was another factor in choosing an RV. If we have to move again, in the next 18 months, we don't want to have to pack up again.
This is where I need help. My little family needs help! We are going to need help from friends in moving our bigger furniture that we plan on keeping in storage. This is just a few dressers, our table/chairs, a twin bed, a few totes, and possibly our fridge and stove. (We may throw that in with our house if it sells, or if we end up renting it out in a few months.) We also are going to need help with advertising by word of mouth about our house sale. We are going to be opening up our house and selling a ton of our things!
In all of this, I am going to be returning to facebook to network. I have to so I can get the word out about all of the stuff we plan on selling. Here's a small list of some of the things we are selling:
* our couch with slip cover
* 2 short bookshelves
* 3 tall bookshelves (2 of which belong to our entertainment center)
* a dark wood entertainment center with storage underneath
* a 32" Vizio flat screen
* all of our movies: dvds and vhs tapes
* 5 or 6 different kinds of lamps
* lots of picture frames
* most of our wall hangings, things I've made, figurines, mirrors
* my blue guitar
* lots of books
* a futon
* a desk
* a table
* hoops I've made (and hoarded :)
* a 3 year old, 9 piece Emeril stainless steel pan set
* a Kitchenaid hand mixer
* push Snapper lawn mower
* yard tools
* house plants
* little girl things: clothes, toys, decorations, baskets, shoes
And a whole ton more of stuff!
I'll be taking pictures of some of our stuff to promote the sale and posting them on here. Most like the house sale will start this Friday and last as long as it needs to. PLEASE, HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD, MY TOPEKA FRIENDS!
I think our lives have just started moving in fast forward, so we would all appreciate any thing we could get: thoughts, prayers, good vibes!
First, we were shocked, as he's never had one of these before, let alone three!
Then we were thankful that he was/is okay. He wasn't driving, walking, or standing. He was in his car reading, safely laying back already before they started. We are also so thankful that my mom had decided just a few days before that she was going to come visit us that day. She was with me when Aaron told me what happened. She was also able to watch the girls so we could go to the ER together. I'm so glad she was here so that I could process what was happening with her. If they were in fact seizures, Aaron will not be able to drive for 6 months. He sees a neurologist on Wednesday. After more tests will we know more about what exactly happened after that.
Now we are concerned. What does this mean for us? Where do we go from here? We've determined that they were triggered from his over-exhaustion and stress. He has been working full time and going to school full time. And when I say school, it's not just gen-eds that he is taking. He is in his fourth semester of a PhD program and is assigned to read 400-600 pages per week, plus write around 5 10-30 page papers throughout the semester. Aaron is also a graduate teacher's assistant this year, which adds about 80 or so papers to grade a week and asks that he is in class with his teacher too. Roughly, he is on campus about 40 hours a week and while working his full time job, he is away another 33. With this schedule and the location of both his job and school, he is also driving at least 12 hours a week.
This is crazy. And this is going into the last half of the second year of doing this. It's too much. Thank Jesus that I've gotten to meet and have such an amazing support system in the compassionate families who have all turned into friends I've meet here in Topeka over the last 18 months.
Now, here is the exciting, scary, moving way to fast, hard part. We've got to get closer to his school. We thought about slowing down in the program and drawing it out longer, but Aaron only has two classes after this semester to be ABD. He is so close! We are so close! And we moved 8 hours away from everything we've ever known for this opportunity of school. So, we are going to move to Manhattan. Moving again! Didn't we just do this 18 months ago? Didn't I just finish painting the entire house?
Sigh. I just can't stand still can I?
It's going to work though. It's not worth Aaron's health, stretching him out so thin. It's not worth stretching me out so thin with taking care of the girls, the house, and him. I miss my husband! I would love to see him more than an hour a day. (And having him be coherent enough to connect to.)
The last few days have been a lot of processing how we are going to make this work. Monday we are having a realtor come over and put our home on the market. Aaron just listed his car on Craigslist. (If he in fact did have seizures, he will not be able to drive for 6 months. Even if he can drive, we are downsizing to save money on insurance, since we already own it outright.) We are going to have a house sale very soon, like within the next week. We have to get rid of a ton of stuff because that brings me to my next point:
We are buying an RV!!
Read that again, we are buying an RV.
Rental prices are completely ridiculous in Manhattan ($750 without utilities!) and buying another house is so out of the question, (we own two already! Ahem.) So, without getting too much into details, we've worked it out to it being financially reasonable to do this. Our living expenses will be right around half of what we pay now. With that, and cutting out all of the driving time, (can we say gas money!), we will still be meeting our financial means if Aaron or I find a part-time, minimum wage job to work in between his school schedule. The girls will not have to go to daycare and I will still be able to homeschool A. (Post coming soon about that! Living on a campground will be amazing for her learning!)
When Aaron is done with his course work, (in less than a year,) there is a great chance of moving again. This was another factor in choosing an RV. If we have to move again, in the next 18 months, we don't want to have to pack up again.
This is where I need help. My little family needs help! We are going to need help from friends in moving our bigger furniture that we plan on keeping in storage. This is just a few dressers, our table/chairs, a twin bed, a few totes, and possibly our fridge and stove. (We may throw that in with our house if it sells, or if we end up renting it out in a few months.) We also are going to need help with advertising by word of mouth about our house sale. We are going to be opening up our house and selling a ton of our things!
In all of this, I am going to be returning to facebook to network. I have to so I can get the word out about all of the stuff we plan on selling. Here's a small list of some of the things we are selling:
* our couch with slip cover
* 2 short bookshelves
* 3 tall bookshelves (2 of which belong to our entertainment center)
* a dark wood entertainment center with storage underneath
* a 32" Vizio flat screen
* all of our movies: dvds and vhs tapes
* 5 or 6 different kinds of lamps
* lots of picture frames
* most of our wall hangings, things I've made, figurines, mirrors
* my blue guitar
* lots of books
* a futon
* a desk
* a table
* hoops I've made (and hoarded :)
* a 3 year old, 9 piece Emeril stainless steel pan set
* a Kitchenaid hand mixer
* push Snapper lawn mower
* yard tools
* house plants
* little girl things: clothes, toys, decorations, baskets, shoes
And a whole ton more of stuff!
I'll be taking pictures of some of our stuff to promote the sale and posting them on here. Most like the house sale will start this Friday and last as long as it needs to. PLEASE, HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD, MY TOPEKA FRIENDS!
I think our lives have just started moving in fast forward, so we would all appreciate any thing we could get: thoughts, prayers, good vibes!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Soft Paws
Last week, our cat Howard was almost declawed until I read up on the awful procedure. I don't know what I thought it was going to be like but I definitely did not think it was going to be like this! Crazy! There was no way I was going to send him off to do that, but he is a scratcher so I had to do something to keep him from not tearing up the furniture, (and us!)
Enter Soft Paws. They are little vinyl caps that get glued onto his nails and for each treatment, they last about 6 weeks. After seeing the color list I was sold on at least trying them. And, after a few days, I'm sold on them entirely. Howard has not been able to scratch at all and the girls and I can play with him without getting all scratched up.
I think he likes them, I mean, he's posing and all...
Enter Soft Paws. They are little vinyl caps that get glued onto his nails and for each treatment, they last about 6 weeks. After seeing the color list I was sold on at least trying them. And, after a few days, I'm sold on them entirely. Howard has not been able to scratch at all and the girls and I can play with him without getting all scratched up.
I think he likes them, I mean, he's posing and all...
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Oh, hey there!
So, I'm thinking about coming back to blogger. I tried typepad for a while, but for the free version, couldn't figure out how NOT to have a black background. And that get's depressing, ya know? And even tried tumblr for a bit. But couldn't get comments on there, and I like comments! I like hearing what other people think... well most of the time :) I'm going to try posting on here a few times before I make the commitment. Also, want to see if this is as screwy as I remember it was a year ago... so! Let's hope this works. I miss rambling on here.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Frugality check: 2011
This post is a long time coming. I'm always trying to save money but when I do, I seem to sabotage it with spending elsewhere. I'll make a home cooked meal from scratch, then turn around the next day and we'll spend$40 dollars on one meal!
I'll admit, I'm not very organized. I have a hard time keeping up with the house, dog, 2 girls, a very tired husband and not to mention myself. Most days I have no idea what we are going to eat, where we are going to go or what the day even looks like. So, I'm going to try this whole organizational thing... I thought I'd share a few things here today that I would like to either start, do or be involved in, then, every month make sure to update and see how my checklist went. So, here goes!
~ Last night, I wrote down my first meal plan. I know, FIRST ever. I wanted to see if I could plan ahead another week until payday, that way I will only use cash for groceries then. I did it! I found way more in my freezer that I thought we had and even planned ahead for snacks. Can we say lots of stovetop popcorn?
~Meal planning said, I would like to have a central location for all of my planning that is not digital. I have found a few templates around the web for diy planner printing so I'm going to give it a go at that. I think I just might have to sew a binder cover for it to make it cutsies :)
~ I am going to find a better spot for Addysen's diabetes supplies. Her sister is able to open that cabinet and we really frown upon 1 year olds playing with lancets and keytone strips.
~Found this blog. Am adding it to my blogroll and will be reading that more.
~Sundays are now going to be the no-digital day. (Starting small... one day a week) We, as a familia, are going to not use computers or television at all on Sundays.
~ Aaron and I have started playing cards after supper. I love this! After we eat, and while the girls are still eating, we play 1-3 rounds of rummy. It's just great because we have to slow down and just be. Then he helps me with dishes!! Huge help on my part!! Then its baths, books and bedtime for girls... I think after it might have to be bath, book and bedtime for mama too.
~ Our family is only taking cash with us when we leave the house. We've tried this before and have just never followed through. And I am rewarding Addy with pennies when she helps out around the house. This way, we will not come home with something new for her every time we go to the store. If we are saving, she is too!
~Lastly, we are using set monthly allowances. Aaron is a sucker for bad food when he travels and I love thrifting.
I have not added any sort of exercising in here just yet. Baby steps for this unorganized mama. This overhaul started when Aaron and I went over finances last week. He is definitely taking home enough money to provide for us, we just are not saving near as much money as we should. So, here's to living just a bit simpler, taking it a bit slower and doing everything with a thoughtful mind :)
What tips do you have for being more mindful of how and what money is spent in your home?
Friday, December 3, 2010
This moment
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -Soulemama
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Home again
We are all so happy to be home again. How I love knowing just where everything is to bake and cook in my own kitchen!! So many pictures to come of this last trip we've came back from. I hope verybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Happy Birthday, Dear Elliot!
She's one! I cannot believe it. It seems like I just had her and now she's romping around, playing with her sister.
My dad was here over the weekend so we opened presents from him and mailed in presents from my mil then. She's also been wearing her birthday sweater all week!
Her birthday shirt was appliqued and a tutu was made in honor of her first year:) This peg bear was made using the pattern in one yard wonders. He even has a bell in his belly. Addy named him (her) Rosalita.
Remember Addy's birthday banner?
After a birthday dinner of mac n cheese and bananas, homemade applesauce spice cupcakes with browned butter frosting were eaten. She is one. Oh how I love homemade birthdays in this family.
My dad was here over the weekend so we opened presents from him and mailed in presents from my mil then. She's also been wearing her birthday sweater all week!
Her birthday shirt was appliqued and a tutu was made in honor of her first year:) This peg bear was made using the pattern in one yard wonders. He even has a bell in his belly. Addy named him (her) Rosalita.
Remember Addy's birthday banner?
After a birthday dinner of mac n cheese and bananas, homemade applesauce spice cupcakes with browned butter frosting were eaten. She is one. Oh how I love homemade birthdays in this family.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
apples
This past weekend the girls and I got out of the house to let Aaron do some more reading.I swear, if that man is not reading he's sleeping,poor guy. He is so busy.
We found an apple orchard online and made our way over there.
We've been to orchards before but this was the first time we've actually picked apples ourselves. Addy had a blast. Elli was more than happy to chew on an apple and watch. We got to learn about their apple press that was made in the 1890's.
We are slowly getting out and exploring this foreign city. On Sunday we went to the annual Apple festival a few blocks away. We ate apple fritters and listened to live bluegrass. And because all four of us went, it was perfect.
We found an apple orchard online and made our way over there.
We've been to orchards before but this was the first time we've actually picked apples ourselves. Addy had a blast. Elli was more than happy to chew on an apple and watch. We got to learn about their apple press that was made in the 1890's.
We are slowly getting out and exploring this foreign city. On Sunday we went to the annual Apple festival a few blocks away. We ate apple fritters and listened to live bluegrass. And because all four of us went, it was perfect.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Welcome, Jasper!
We welcomed Jasper into our home almost 2 weeks ago! He was adopted from the Helpnig Hands Humane Society and is adjusting quite well. He is a Shar Pei/Chow mix and is just a lover.
I had to, of course, do a little sewing for him to give him a proper welcoming...
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
We followed the drum
We attended our first pow wow Sunday and it was fantastic. The entire atmosphere was relaxing, yet respectful and we were all in awe then entire day. Later that night, we went back to the pow wow and got to dance in the arena with everyone. I had a great time learning alongside my family. Addysen came home with a bamboo flute that we've both been enjoying. I recommend everyone going to a pow wow, you'll learn a lot!
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